Bundles and Access Codes Destroy Efforts to Cut Textbook Pricing -- Campus Technology

"The practice of faculty relying on bundled textbooks and, specifically, access-code materials to provide course problem sets, quizzes, tests and case studies, has wreaked havoc with student efforts to find cheaper textbook alternatives. According to a new report from the Student PIRGs, among a sample group of schools, 45 percent of these supplemental resources were unavailable from any source other than the campus bookstore. As the report's authors noted, the use of those bundles, which exist behind paywalls, eliminates the ability of students to "shop around" — which means they're "forced to pay full price for these materials." They also can't resell their textbooks because the access codes typically have expiration dates...."