Survey Shows Students Opting Out of Buying High-Cost Textbooks
abernard102@gmail.com 2014-01-29
Summary:
"Today, a survey released by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund shows that 65% of student consumers have opted out of buying a college textbook due to its high price, and of those students, 94% they suffer academically. Over the past decade, college textbook prices have increased by 82%, or at three times the rate of inflation. Textbooks are one of the largest out-of-pocket expenses for students and families trying to afford college every year. Recently, alternatives to brand-new, print edition textbooks have become widely available through rental programs, used book markets, and e-textbooks. While these markets offer students upfront savings, their prices are still dictated by the prices of the new print editions ... Open textbooks are faculty-written and peer-reviewed like traditional textbooks, but they are published under an open license, meaning they are free online, free to download, and affordable in print. 82% of survey respondents said they would do significantly better in a course if the textbook were free online and a hard copy was optional, which is exactly how open textbooks work. Open textbooks save students $100 per student, per course on average ..."