One of California’s biggest student advocacy groups is launching a program to advocate changes in the textbook industry’s releasing of what it called unnecessary new editions on a regular basis.
During the 2003-2004 school-year, students will spend an average of $898 on textbooks, according to data gathered by the California Student Public Interest Research Group.
This cost is increasing mostly due to the release of new editions or bundled editions of existing textbooks which mostly include CD-ROMs as supplementary material.
The problem with the bundled edition is that the software does not always work and the new editions are therefore useless, said Ronald Miech, vice chairman of UCLA’s mathematics department’s undergraduate program.
Rep. David Wu, D-Ore., and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., have both introduced legislation to address the issue in Washington, D.C. On a state level, Carol Liu, D-La Cañada, chairwoman of the California Assembly Higher Education Subcommittee, backs the effort.
Andrea Brose, a UCLA math professor, said she does not support publication of new editions since a subject like math does not change much and the add-ons are a distraction to students.
Though some new editions are released on the basis of added software, others are released containing new information.
Often, the only change is in the price and the information is arranged in a different order, said Mark Thornton, CALPIRG state board chairman and one of the coordinators of the Affordable Textbooks program.
New editions of textbooks are released on average every three and a half years, according to a report released by CALPIRG. To fight back, CALPIRG has organized a nationwide online book swap that allows students to search its database of over 3,800 books.
Another alternative CALPIRG suggested is for publishers to make books available online.
Online books could eliminate printing costs, thus passing the savings on to students.
The high prices of textbooks are making it extremely difficult to stay in school, said Citlalli Vazquez, a first-year political science and international relations student who receives financial aid and works part time to pay college expenses.
In light of recent and proposed increases in student fees, the growing prices of textbooks are affecting students even more.
There is no reason for the increase in book prices, since students are already facing an increase in student fees and a decrease in financial aid, said Matt Kaczmarek, chairman for University of California Student Association and the external vice president of Undergraduate Students Association Council.