Textbook prices taxing on students

Tiana Smith is studying to become a registered nurse, but things don’t always go smoothly for the 24-year-old. She’s often forced to work extra days or even borrow money from family and friends to continue her schooling.

Why does she need the money? To pay for her textbooks.

The Golden West College student is in a predicament familiar to many of her fellow students, as a recent state report showed that textbooks make up 59% of a community college student’s costs.

“It’s really expensive,” she said. “Sometimes I don’t even use the books for the class. It’s unnecessary.”

Kyle Meecham, who is going into his first semester at Golden West, agreed.

“Yeah, it sucks,” he said. “It’s just kind of weird. It’s not like you’re going to use the books again. They’re just going to come out with another version.”

Like Smith, Meecham is paying for his own education. With the rising cost of textbooks, things can be difficult to manage.

“You can’t work full-time since you’re going to school full-time,” he said.

Students aren’t the only ones noticing the issue, however. State Sen. Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) requested the report from the state auditor. Harman feels the rising cost of textbooks is an issue that must be solved.

“I think there might be need for some type of legislation,” Harman said. “There was a bill by the government, but it was a bit too stringent. I’m looking for something reasonable that takes into account the publishing industry.”

The publishing industry is certainly paramount in this issue: It’s where it all begins.

Sue Redman, vice president of corporate communications at the Nebraska Book Company, a textbook distributor, explained the techniques many publishers use to keep prices up. Publishers often increase the frequency of new editions, preventing students from buying used (and cheaper) books. They also bundle items such as CDs and DVDs in with the textbooks, features that jack up the cost of the textbooks.

“I definitely think it’s an issue that needs attention,” Redman said. “We need to find a balance. When students are paying for school themselves, $70 to $80 more per term makes a big difference to them.”

Carrie McCully, the course materials manager at the UCI bookstore, agreed that the issue starts with the publishers.

“I think it needs to start with the publishers,” McCully said. “There really isn’t much [we can do], unless you can get the professors to be a little more aware. Some care, some don’t care. That’s why we have some lower cost options for students.”

Professors can utilize options such as online texts, or simply choose less expensive texts for their classes. On the other side of the coin, students have sites like half.com and amazon.com available to them, allowing for the resale of used books at much cheaper prices.

However, hope may be on the way. President George W. Bush signed the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 on Aug. 14. One of its aims is to facilitate the “unbundling” of textbooks, which may ultimately result in the lowering of costs for students.

That said, the issue of textbook prices still remains unresolved for Harman.

“I would expect some time that I’ll introduce some legislation,” he said. “I want to level the playing field for students.”

Efforts to contact representatives from McGraw-Hill and Houghton-Mifflin, leading textbook publishing companies, were unsuccessful.