In recent semesters, textbook costs have begun to soar. According to a July 2005 report by the Government Accountability Office, college textbooks prices “nearly tripled between December 1986 and December 2004.” This report sates that the overall price increase was 186 percent during this time span, while inflation rose only 72 percent. The National Association of College Stores reported in, “Student Watch 2008,” that students spent an average of $702 on required course materials during the 2006-07 academic year.
SMU students are no exception to these statistics and, especially with a tuition that is already very expensive and is continually on the rise, Mustangs are certainly feeling the pinch of high textbook prices. This fact seems to go unnoticed by many of our professors, who continue to require very expensive textbooks that may either go unused or only partially used.
It does not make sense to be required to by a textbook that costs over $100 just to use one or two chapters, nor does it make sense to require that a student buy a new edition of a textbook just so that they can have a single updated chapter or new end of chapter questions. Surely there must be a cost effective solution that allows students to keep some money in their pockets.
We would like to encourage professors to consider the costs of textbooks before deciding upon their required texts. Many professors create course packets by taking certain chapters from each textbook with permission from the publishers, which prevents student from having to buy several textbooks only to use pieces of each one. Others create standard questions that are applicable to each edition of their required textbook, or find alternative online publications that cover the same or similar materials as new chapters of updated textbooks. This allows students to save money by purchasing older editions online.
Even though textbook costs are daunting, we know that some professors are simply unable to get around high cost of textbooks. Because of this understood fact, we would like to suggest that all professors be required to put a copy of their required textbooks on reserve in the library. This way, students who do not have the financial means to afford their textbooks will still have access to them.
In any case, we feel like professors should feel personally responsible for the amount of money they are requiring their students to spend on books and understand that we are often unable to afford what they require. With tuition being such an expense at SMU, we should at least be able to afford the materials necessary to receive our education.
