Textbook Costs Stir Concern

With the cost of course materials rising, a congressional panel is studying ways to make them more affordable

by Julie Gordon

Nobody likes shelling out cash at the beginning of the semester. By the time you and your family have paid for a meal plan, housing, and tuition—or filed loan applications—purchasing hundreds of dollars' worth of textbooks is probably the last thing you want to do (see BusinessWeek.com, 6/8/06, "Graduating? Time to Look at Your Loans"). Though, on paper, learning is students' No. 1 priority, hefty course-material prices do not exactly encourage running to the campus bookstore.

The U.S. House of Representatives started taking action this summer, in the wake of a 2005 Government Accountability Office report that found that textbook prices almost tripled between 1986 and the end of 2004—rising by 186%—while tuition and fees increased by 240%. So, over the next year, the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance will study the rising costs and make recommendations to lawmakers and interested parties on ways to make books more affordable.

"It's an important issue because cost for some students—especially at community colleges—is a huge problem. For many low- or moderate-income students, there's inadequate financial aid," says Nicole Barry, deputy director of the committee.

Several states have also introduced legislation this year to encourage professors to consider cost when deciding on required texts and choose fewer bundled materials, which include extra pieces such as CDs. However, will these measures make a difference in policy—or will students continue to either pay full price or find books from alternative sources?

ADD-ONS ADD UP.

The investigation will reinforce that it is faculty members who choose which books to use in class, says Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the Association of American Publishers, a national trade organization representing about 300 members (the McGraw-Hill Companies (MHP), a major textbook publisher and publisher of BusinessWeek, is a member of the group). "Why would faculty choose large, hard-bound, full-color books with graded online homework and tutorials? Because they believe that will benefit students. It's a classic case of serving a need," says Hildebrand.

Publishing companies determine wholesale prices, college bookstores decide on final retail prices based on wholesale figures, and then faculty members choose materials for individual classes. The average mark-up bookstores place on new books is 33% and on used copies is 50%, so that's why most bookstores offer the same prices across the board, says Hildebrand. The more add-ons a book includes—complicated subject matter, color photos, hard covers, online tests and grading, and teaching packets and so on—the pricier it is. New editions, which come out about every four years, also add to the cost.

However, the GAO report noted that some book wholesalers and retailers say that packaging the supplements with the books limits students' opportunity to buy cheaper texts. The report also said that industry representatives and public-interest groups felt that publishers were revising textbooks more frequently.

STATES WEIGH IN.

Since the government is not directly involved with setting prices or choosing course materials, it is unclear what the advisory committee will be able to do about the issue. Barry, of the committee, says members will look at all feasible solutions, which have not yet been identified. She does not know if a cap on prices is possible or whether the committee will review that issue.

Regarding state legislation, most has come in the way of recommendations and not firm changes. This spring, Virginia's governor signed legislation requiring public colleges to create policies that encourage efforts to minimize book costs. "The content of the legislation is great, like California has a list of recommendations to the publishers and faculty to keep costs down.