State promises break on textbook costs | New York | The Daily News

"The state is setting $8 million aside to cut the high cost of textbooks for students at State University of New York and City University of New York schools, including Genesee Community College. Students aren’t buying as many textbooks, however, with the increased popularity of digital and rental textbooks, a Barnes & Noble bookstore at GCC manager said. The SUNY and CUNY Open Educational Resources initiative offers freely available, high-quality books and other materials that can be downloaded, edited and shared. In 2017-18, OER replaced textbooks in more than 4,000 course sections with enrollments of nearly 100,000 students, saving more than a combined total of $12.3 million. The second year of state funding will expand the reach of OER to nearly 8,000 additional course sections with enrollments totaling 175,000 students. “We’re very familiar with the Open Educational Resources Initiative,” said Store Manager Amanda Konopa of the GCC location. “There are many textbook and resources options across all the disciplines. A lot of faculty members are using that (Open Educational Resources) to keep the cost of textbooks down for their students.” Konopa said she didn’t have a specific price range for textbooks or digital textbooks students buy at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. “It really depends on the class and it depends on the professor too. We have some textbooks that are only $3 if you rent them, like the smaller English books and stuff, and some are hundreds (of dollars).” As far as the bookstore buying books back from students, that is winding down now that finals are over, Konopa said. After commencement, textbook buy-backs end until December. The bookstore only sells or rents textbooks to those who have Genesee Community College student IDs — current or former students. “We’ve seen a decline in our textbooks that are being bought back because digital textbooks have been getting more popular,” Konopa said. “Rentals are still more popular, but digital is a cost-effective option if you’re looking at purchasing.” When someone sells a textbook back to the bookstore, he or she is paid cash that day. “We do have a cash-for-books program at the end of the semester. We buy back for both our store and for a national program. We also are able to pay cash for books that are in demand nationally,” she said. “With the national demand, we don’t have much control over the price. That’s based on supply and demand. If we need it (a book) for our store, we typically pay much higher than what the national price is.” “The use of OER throughout SUNY holds the promise of significant financial savings for our students while also empowering our faculty to provide a more individualized student experience with customizable content,” said SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson. “We continue to make college more accessible and affordable. SUNY is excited about the opportunity this tool represents for students and faculty throughout the state.” Richard Ensman Jr., GCC director of development and external affairs, said, “We don’t have percentages of classes or programs that use alternative (non-textbook) resources. But textbooks are still very heavily used. Many of today’s textbooks come bundled with digital resources, such as links to online information and data, other web resources, and video.” Ensman said GCC estimates that on average, a student can expect to spend $1,255 on textbooks and supplies. “But of course, the $1,255 is not an absolute. The cost certainly can vary from program to program,” he said. Ensman said GCC has been aware of the rising cost of textbooks for a long time and has tried to help students address the costs. “Proceeds from PELL grants can be used to finance textbooks. So when our staff prepares students to apply for financial aid, we encourage PELL-eligible students to factor in the costs of textbooks for the courses they plan to pursue,” he said. “We have substantial funds available to help individual students facing financial hardship (including textbooks). We have used these funds to help students defray last-minute needs, deal with unexpected price increases, or deal with emergencies. These funds have been generously donated to the GCC Foundation by members of our community.”"