New act to cut college textbook prices

Publishers required to tell professors about updates and revisions

By: Nicole Loring

Posted: 2/14/08

Chad Brooker has a few suggestions on how students can save hundreds of dollars on textbooks.

Brooker, a Syracuse University senior political science, policy studies and economics major, said students can buy and sell books online, shop at Follett's Orange Bookstore instead of the university bookstore and buy "no-frills" simply collated textbooks when they are available from the publishers.

But as of last Thursday, it might be even easier for students to save where it counts. The College Opportunity and Affordability Act, or HR 4137, was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The bill orders textbook publishers to tell professors what changes have been made to textbooks from one edition to the next, so professors can choose whether to assign a newer, more expensive edition of a textbook especially if there were only few changes made from prior versions, said Brooker, executive committee member of the New York Public Interest Research Group.

"The best part about this bill is that it will give students options," said Christine Elliott, project coordinator of NYPIRG.

NYPIRG has committed itself to the issue of high textbook prices. The student-led group called Congressman Jim Walsh asking him to support the House version of the bill, which included the clause about lowering textbook prices, Elliott said.

If a textbook is bundled with CD ROMs and workbooks, the new bill will require publishers to also sell the textbook without the additional materials as a cheaper option to students, Brooker said.

Other provisions of HR 4137 include providing cost and information resources to prospective college students, changing the Pell grant maximum -need-based grants to low-income undergraduate from the government - and stopping student loan providers from making business arrangements that can be detrimental to students, according to GovTrack.us.

The House bill will be passed to the Senate where it will be voted on, but the Senate could have its own version of the bill being considered, which wouldn't necessarily include the textbook clause, according to GovTrack.us.

As reported in The Daily Orange on Jan. 28, NYPIRG surveyed 80 SU students about how much they spent on textbooks this semester, and 35 students agreed to pose for a photograph holding a whiteboard showing exactly how much their books cost.

The average amount of money spent by these students was approximately $500, said Brooker.

"These pictures were sent to local, state and federal legislators so that lawmakers could see the personal cost of high textbook prices," he said. "The legislators that we showed these pictures to were dumbfounded that students are spending $700, $800, $900 a semester on textbooks; they didn't know it was that big of an issue."

HR 4137 will do a lot to lower these prices, Brooker said. "The biggest part about this bill is openness in the textbook industry. It mandates that textbook manufacturers and publishers release basic information so that professors get all the information about a textbook," he said.

Elliott said the bill would require publishers to tell professors the price of textbooks before they bought them. "It would also make universities reveal the ISBN numbers of the required texts to students early, preferably as soon as students could register for classes," so students could shop around for lower prices, she said.

"If it does nothing to bring down the cost of the textbooks themselves, the bill will at least show the professors the price so they can choose different books or older editions to bring down the cost to students," Brooker said

"Removing color photos, a hard cover and laminating can take a textbook price down from $150 to $40 or $50, which will save the average student taking five classes about $500 a semester," Brooker said.

Elliott encouraged students who are interested in this bill to get involved. She said those interested should write to their senator or congressmen.

"We're the constituents, so it's good for them to hear from us," she said.

Brooker agreed that students could be a major force in getting HR 4137 to pass in the Senate.

"Especially this year, with students getting out in the polls and voting, legislators are realizing that we are a powerful voting block, and that we have needs that they can meet," he said.

naloring@syr.edu