A new course of action: Open textbooks | Ballard News-Tribune

"With textbook costs on the rise, students search for alternatives without sacrificing the quality of their higher education. Last fall the WashPIRG Foundation conducted a survey of 2,093 students from 150 different campuses across the country, including 87 responses from University of Washington, Seattle, and Evergreen State College. Released on January 27, 2014, “Fixing the Broken Textbooks Market: How Students Respond to High Textbook Costs and Demand Alternatives” highlighted their findings. 'We found that high textbook costs deter students from classes. In fact, 48 percent of students reported that textbook prices affected how many classes they took.  Students should be focused on taking the classes they need to earn their degree, not kept out because they have to choose between a textbook and rent,' said U.S. PIRG’s Higher Education Associate and report author, Ethan Senack. The team discovered that 65 percent of students decided against buying a textbook because it was too expensive; 94 percent of these students were concerned that doing so would hurt their grade in a course. According to WashPIRG, open textbooks are the answer students have been waiting, and saving for. Though online trends such as e-textbooks and used book rentals might temporarily lighten the burden on students’ wallets, the traditional marketplace dictates the prices of these books based upon the original textbook price, while online sources have limited availability and printing restrictions ..."