Covering the Cost: Why We Can No Longer Afford to Ignore High Textbook Prices

This is a report by Student PIRGs on the state of textbook prices and their impacts upon students at 132 American educational institutions. 

"Key Findings from the Report:

• Almost one-third (30%) of students replied that they had used financial aid to pay for their textbooks.

• For those that used financial aid, the amount of financial aid dollars they put toward purchasing textbooks was more than $300 on average per semester.

• Textbook prices disproportionately impact community college students: 50% of students report using financial aid for books at community colleges, compared to 28% at 4 year public schools. And, on average, community college students use more financial aid than their peers at 4 year schools.

That means that nearly 5.2 million U.S. undergraduate students spend a total of $1.5 billion dollars of financial aid on textbooks every semester, or $3 billion per year.

The report discusses potential solutions, and lays out recommendations for decision-makers on all levels."