Our View: College textbooks costs can be reduced with technology - Opinion - The Bulletin - Norwich, CT

According to the National Association of College Stores, the average college student will spend $655 this year on books and supplies, down slightly from the $702 average students spent four years ago. The decline is attributed to an increased effort in promoting the use of used textbooks. The rising cost of a college education has been a subject of debate for years. The excessive cost of textbooks has been an issue for decades, with little relief being offered or even pursued. Individual professors decide which textbooks will be mandatory in their classes. A single new textbook can cost as much as $200 whereas students can save upwards 50 percent by purchasing used books. But that little bit of relief is limited. According to a recent report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the trend of college professors selecting the latest — and most expensive — editions for their courses has shown no sign of weakening ...A U.S. PIRG Education Fund survey released in January found that 65 percent of student opt out of buying a college textbook because of price, and of those students, 94 percent say they suffer academically ...  Open textbooks are like traditional textbooks — faculty-written and peer-reviewed — but published under an open license, meaning they are free online, free to download, and affordable in print ..."