Opinion: Yet another textbook rant

By Nicholas Ketchum
Deputy Editor

A new semester can bring a feeling of starting fresh, and nothing feels better—at least to me—than a fresh start. I’m generally excited to get back to class because that’s the kind of nerd I am.

That is, until I hit the bookstore and see the options and prices. Yes, this will be yet another rant on textbooks.

First things, first. The. Prices. Are. Ridiculous. They were ridiculous 20 years ago, and so much more nowadays that I’ve forgotten how to laugh.

According the Bureau of Labor Statistics, since 1998 college textbook prices have risen more than 180 percent—more than twice the rate of inflation, overall. In 2017 average college student spent $1,168 per year on books, compared to $250 per student per year public school districts pay for similar books—often printed by the same publisher.

What gives? A 2009 study by the University of Michigan suggests a few reasons: the churn of newer editions, one-time web access codes, and different pricing priorities between college administration, faculty and students.

Most of us are familiar with the first reason, which are the ever coming revised editions that show up every two, three, or four years, usually obsoleting previous editions and reducing used, pre-owned options. I’m not sure why a Calculus book, for example, would need to be updated every two or three years except to create new sales or to replace bad wording. Something’s fishy here.

Another reason the study cites involves those convenient, single-use web course codes. Oftentimes web courses will reference only current textbooks, where old textbooks may not match those references. This pushes students to buy new, and the prices for web access also tends to be on the high side. In an era where Netflix only costs about $13 per month, there should be no reason why web access sometimes exceed $100 per course per semester.

A third reason mentioned by the study is the proliferation of “custom” textbooks—books designed for courses at a particular school for a particular period. This seems to limit resale options down to just a single region, and sometimes a single bookstore. I’m no economist, but I imagine that by limiting resales to only local markets, there would be a downward pressure on buyback offers due to fewer bids.

And what about those shrink wrapped printouts that publishers call “loose leaf” textbooks? Well, I don’t call those things books—they’re more like printouts.

Books—according to most dictionary definitions—are collected pages bound together, sometimes on a spine. Books have pages that don’t rip out easily when flipping through. Books don’t require additional purchases such as binders or rings to hold things together. No, loose leaf books hardly meet the definition of a book. They’re printouts.

For many classes the only “books” offered at the on-campus bookstore are those loose leaf printouts. But I want a book! For example, I plan on taking Calculus 1, 2, and 3. A single textbook, authored by Ron Larson and published by Cengage, is prescribed for all three courses.  So, I need a book that can withstand three semesters of punishment. I don’t get that in loose leaf form.

Sure, I could just carry specific pages required for each class period, while leaving the remainder in a safe place, but I’d rather have all the material so that I can reference other chapters. Sturdy, well-bound hardcover books are perfect for this use-case.

For now, I can resort to Amazon to get traditional texts. I only hope the printouts won’t eventually replace bound books entirely.

And good luck if you want to sell loose leaf texts back to the on-campus bookstore. I asked one bookstore employee if they accepted returns or offered buybacks of loose leaf materials, she responded that they usually do not, since they’re often bundled with those one-time access codes.

The good news is that there’s recently been a push to create low-cost open source textbooks, which are also sometimes available for free on the internet. For example, Calculus textbooks, published by non-profit OpenStax at Rice University, are available in hardback for only $33.50 at the campus bookstore!

Washtenaw Community College is on the right track, however. Recently, faculty and staff from around campus have launched an “open textbook initiative” to promote open source textbook development and use here on campus. So far, several instructors from various departments have begun using these texts in their courses—including those aforementioned Calculus courses.

The rise of open source texts seems like a pragmatic and effective response to textbook price inflation and declining quality. Hopefully we’ll see more adoption of these newer texts by professors and departments at WCC and other campuses.

For those of us who’d like better options, let’s do our part to spread awareness that open source textbooks are a thing—and that they’re a good thing for administrators, faculty, and students alike. More awareness might equate to more adoption. Let’s do what we can to spread the message to faculty and administrators.

Comments

comments