Ask a college student about the price of textbooks. Wherever they attend school, chances are they’ll say the same thing: Too expensive, too expensive and too expensive.
Oregon is no exception. Students here pay upward of $900 each year on textbooks. That figure alone is one-fifth the amount of a student’s cost of tuition and fees. Over the past 20 years, the rate at which textbook prices have increased has doubled the rate of inflation for that same time. Give the Oregon State Legislature some credit, though. At least they’re trying to help.
A new law this year will take one big step toward making textbooks more affordable to students. The law will force publishers in Oregon to sell textbook bundles – books that are supplemented with things like CD-ROMS and additional workbooks – individually. Whereas students last year would be forced to buy any additional material along with the course-required textbook, this year students will be able to buy the book separately.
Of the $900 average a student pays for textbooks, it’s estimated up to $200 comes from these bundled materials. Often, a student doesn’t even need them for the class; they are simply a way for publishing companies to make more money at students’ expense. Breaking down the textbook bundles will allow students the option of buying the entire package, or just the textbook if they wish.
Another aspect of the law will make textbook prices more transparent by requiring publishers to disclose textbook prices before a professor orders them. According to the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group, nearly 80 percent of professors say they almost never know the price of a textbook before ordering it. Such information was previously given only at the publisher’s discretion. This will no longer be the case.
One more step the state is taking is to make publishers provide information on how long they plan to keep a book on the shelf. The aim of this requirement is to prevent publishing companies from constantly publishing high-priced new editions of textbooks.
While it’s encouraging to see the state coming to the aid of students in need, this measure alone isn’t enough to make textbooks truly affordable to University students. The law only applies to Oregon publishing companies, so a publisher in California or anywhere else is unaffected by this new law.
Additionally, whether or not bookstores such as The Duck Store sell unbundled textbooks will depend on whether they have all the materials in supply. Students in their second week of classes who need a book may find themselves at the whim of the seller. If all that’s on the shelves are bundled books, then those students are out of luck.
It’s encouraging to see the state working for the interests of college students. But the only hope for real change in the textbook industry is that the initiative catches on, state by state, and compels the federal government to enact a law. Short of that, any future change in state law will be incremental at best.