Textbooks

[Myra]

Just something to think about....I bet that if colleges started including the costs of textbooks in with their tuition costs (not seperate like it is now but lumped into the tuition fee) that costs of textbooks would plummet. The colleges would neogotiate better costs for textbooks and would have the clout to get the costs down. Now I think it is just a racket - my son spent $700 on books last semester and now $600 this semester!

 

Just my rant for today!

Myra

[Karen in CO]

I was prepared to spend hundreds per semester on books when my son went to college based on his experience with CC classes in high school. I was shocked that his textbooks never cost more than $50 per semester. He went to an American university in Japan. I still haven't figured out why his books were so inexpensive.

[Myra]

Wow! I'm jealous! And ours were all used and we shopped around on the internet and used-book stores to find the best deals!

 

 

Myra

[regentrude]

.I bet that if colleges started including the costs of textbooks in with their tuition costs (not seperate like it is now but lumped into the tuition fee) that costs of textbooks would plummet. The colleges would neogotiate better costs for textbooks and would have the clout to get the costs down.

 

 

Not sure how you think this is going to work, since it is usually not "the college" that sets the textbooks, but individual instructors who decide on a semester basis which text to adopt. It is also not clear what price one would include, as prices vary dramatically depending on source.

As a rule, students should avoid the university bookstores as much as possible. I bought DD's French text online for $29 in excellent condition - the school's bookstore asks $128 new and $96 used. It boggles my mind how many student still get the books from the school bookstore.

 

What should also happen is that students should become more proactive in asking their instructors whether they can substitute less expensive books, such as older editions etc. and bringing the issue of textbook cost to the attention of the people who make the decisions.

[Myra]

Regentrude,

You're right, of course! :hurray: My post was a more tongue-in-cheek rant made in frustration after getting my credit card bill for the texts!

 

Myra

[curlylocks]

The cost of textbooks is a "racket".

 

I have had 2 children take dual enrollment courses at the local CC. The books have never been less than $160 each -- USED. This is for core classes such as "College Writing", "Intro to Computer Applications", etc. The College Writing textbook my daughter purchased was never used. (As in, the instructor NEVER assigned/used the required textbook.)

 

When a student tries to sell a book back to the college bookstore, they are offered pennies on the dollar. One usually makes out better trying to sell the books to a student taking the class the following semester. (and that only works if the instructor doesn't change books mid-year)

[regentrude]

The cost of textbooks is a "racket".

 

I completely agree. Especially the "new"editions, which contain only cosmetic changes. I alienated several text book reps when I told them that I am not interested in a new book because I want my students to buy their books used, cheap.

 

I have had 2 children take dual enrollment courses at the local CC. The books have never been less than $160 each -- USED. This is for core classes such as "College Writing", "Intro to Computer Applications", etc. The College Writing textbook my daughter purchased was never used. (As in, the instructor NEVER assigned/used the required textbook.)

 

It may be a good idea to contact the instructor prior to purchasing the text and ask whether the book is actually required and not just recommended, and in which way the book is going to be used. I would be very happy to tell my students exactly what they need their text for. If a book is required and then not used at all, I would not hesitate to bring up the issue with the school.

 

When a student tries to sell a book back to the college bookstore, they are offered pennies on the dollar. One usually makes out better trying to sell the books to a student taking the class the following semester. (and that only works if the instructor doesn't change books mid-year)

 

Bookstore buyback is a rip-off. I usually tell my students whether I will use the same text the following semester and encourage them to sell directly to other students who will take the course. If the instructor does not volunteer the information, the student should ask whether the same text will be required the following semester so that they can make private selling arrangements. Usually, instructors are required by the school to set the textbook several weeks before the end of the preceding semester - so at the end of a semester, the instructor does already know which text he will require next. Ask, ask, ask.

I have found my colleagues to be very aware of the textbook price issues, and many of them actively search out inexpensive books. Please do encourage your students to bring up issues with textbook prices to their teachers.

[In The Great White North]

I was shocked that his textbooks never cost more than $50 per semester. He went to an American university in Japan. I still haven't figured out why his books were so inexpensive.

 

There are "International Editions" of many US textbooks that are printed on thinner paper, fewer and/or no pictures, paperback, etc. They are still in English and would work just fine. However, they generally say something on them to imply that it would be illegal to sell them in the US. I have no idea if that is true or not. They show up occasionally on ebay, AbeBooks, etc

[Brenda in MA]

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There are "International Editions" of many US textbooks that are printed on thinner paper, fewer and/or no pictures, paperback, etc. They are still in English and would work just fine. However, they generally say something on them to imply that it would be illegal to sell them in the US. I have no idea if that is true or not. They show up occasionally on ebay, AbeBooks, etc

 

My son bought two of these international editions. One was fine, a psychology text. The other was an engineering text, and the problems in the book had all the units in metric, where the regular book used English units in the problems. He ended up having to buy the regular text anyway. So the int'l versions of some books are fine, others are not.

 

I think I spent more on books for my son's CC classes than he usually spends now at his 4-yr school. His freshman books seemed to be more expensive, too, because they often came with on-line access codes or special lab books specific to the school. His upper class books seem to be markedly less expensive because fewer of them come with access codes and bundled study guides or lab books. Not all of his current classes have a text, and for the ones that do, he tries to buy them used on-line and then resell them through amazon at the end of the semester. Doing this really cuts down on the net price. He's also done textbook rentals a couple of times if it's a book he's pretty sure he won't need again or want to keep as a reference. He's also borrowed books from other students and lent his books when he's done with them if it's a text he thinks he wants to keep.

 

HTH,

Brenda

[Barbara H]

Great idea. At a minimum, I'd like to see bookstores be required to inform faculty what price the students will have to pay for the books they are assigned. There are some professors who are sensitive to this concern, but there are others who really have no idea when they are assigning books what they will cost. Because there are so many variables in pricing it can be hard to know.

 

There are some colleges that include the price of books in the overall cost of tuition and fees. Appalachian State is one of them. I don't know if that has lowered the cost for books or not.

[creekland]

I do wonder what the profit margin is on books. I'm thinking I've never seen that listed anywhere as I imagine I would remember at least the rough idea. I do know they change editions extremely frequently now in order to avoid the resales...

 

Fortunately for us (and possibly knocking on wood), we've never had to pay more than $500 for texts (including all my kids). When we do need an expensive book, that price is brought way down when we resell it. Otherwise, we buy used and still (mostly) resell. Some are kept. We also have gone the "older edition" route before (always checking with the prof).