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National legislation proposed to lower textbook cost
Colorado student orgs follow suit
Aaron Hedge
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: News
In light of skyrocketing textbook costs, Colorado student organizations are following suit in a nation-wide legislative effort to lighten the load textbooks impose on students' wallets.
The Associated Students of CSU (ASCSU) and the Associated Students of Colorado (ASC) began a campaign this semester directed at state lawmakers pushing legislation requiring textbook publishers to make textbook information transparent to teachers and students.
Other state institutions will be writing letters this semester.
CSU students have written and sent 227 letters to Sen. Steve Johnson, (R-Fort Collins), over the past weeks, said Dan Palmer, textbook efforts coordinator for ASCSU.
The price of textbooks has increased 40 percent over the past five years, which is twice the rate of inflation, according to a U.S. Department of Education report.
And most students don't know what the costs are because publishers aren't required to disclose that information, said Gibson.
Bruce Hildebrand, executive director of the Higher Education department at the Association of American Publishers disagrees, said that there is concern among publishers that the market is too transparent.
He points out that huge amounts of textbook information is available online through International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs).
"How much transparency do you need?" he said. "(Publishers) have used the Internet to explode information to the public."
Another problem is bundling, which is the inclusion of learning supplements like CDs and Internet ID cards with textbooks. Bundling increases costs of textbooks by adding material that may not be used in class onto the price.
Hildebrand said students assume that publishers are at fault for the high price bundling generates, but the blame actually lies with teachers.
"The faculty go through (curricula) and choose what works best for their instructional needs and their students," Hildebrand said. "Nobody is asking the question 'Who is choosing the textbooks?' (and that answer is) the faculty," he said.
The Associated Students of CSU (ASCSU) and the Associated Students of Colorado (ASC) began a campaign this semester directed at state lawmakers pushing legislation requiring textbook publishers to make textbook information transparent to teachers and students.
Other state institutions will be writing letters this semester.
CSU students have written and sent 227 letters to Sen. Steve Johnson, (R-Fort Collins), over the past weeks, said Dan Palmer, textbook efforts coordinator for ASCSU.
The price of textbooks has increased 40 percent over the past five years, which is twice the rate of inflation, according to a U.S. Department of Education report.
And most students don't know what the costs are because publishers aren't required to disclose that information, said Gibson.
Bruce Hildebrand, executive director of the Higher Education department at the Association of American Publishers disagrees, said that there is concern among publishers that the market is too transparent.
He points out that huge amounts of textbook information is available online through International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs).
"How much transparency do you need?" he said. "(Publishers) have used the Internet to explode information to the public."
Another problem is bundling, which is the inclusion of learning supplements like CDs and Internet ID cards with textbooks. Bundling increases costs of textbooks by adding material that may not be used in class onto the price.
Hildebrand said students assume that publishers are at fault for the high price bundling generates, but the blame actually lies with teachers.
"The faculty go through (curricula) and choose what works best for their instructional needs and their students," Hildebrand said. "Nobody is asking the question 'Who is choosing the textbooks?' (and that answer is) the faculty," he said.
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