According to recent sales figures, rising textbook prices are
forcing more students to turn to used materials. The UCLA
bookstore’s typically long line has also largely disappeared
this quarter, as many students opt to order their books online.
Numbers from the “rush period” during the first two
weeks of fall quarter show a 14.1 percent increase from last year
in online textbook sales, and a 4.5 percent increase in used
textbook sales.
Keith Schoen, ASUCLA retail director, said the obvious proof of
rising online sales is the absence of a long line of students
waiting to buy their textbooks at the ASUCLA bookstore.
More students are finding it easier to have their books put into
one box ready for pickup instead of buying them in person.
“I always have so many books to buy each quarter. … I
would rather just have them all sorted out for me than go pick them
out one-by-one at the store,” said Annette Mendoza, a
second-year neuroscience student.
The increase in used textbook sales is a likely result of more
students resisting pricier new textbooks, Schoen added.
“Books are getting more and more expensive, with
publishers bundling up their books with CDs or Web site access
codes,” he said.
The bundling of textbooks also deters some students from
removing plastic wrapping until they are certain they will be
taking the corresponding class. Once unwrapped, books cannot be
returned to the publisher. This year returns of textbooks have
dropped by 11.5 percent from last year.
Michelle Jhun, a third-year neuroscience student, said last year
she had to take a chemistry course which required her to buy a $300
bundle of textbook, manual and lab kit.
Many students like Jhun face a dilemma, not knowing if they
should take off the wrapping or leave their books wrapped and risk
falling behind in their work.
“I didn’t know if I was going to take the class or
not because it was hard, and I was also afraid that I
wouldn’t be able to catch up with the readings,” she
said.
Jhun said she decided to return the package and instead bought
the textbook separately and borrowed the lab kit from her
friend.
Some professors have responded directly to students’
concerns about high textbook prices.
James Honaker, a political science professor, said he no longer
assigns a textbook for his statistics class because many students
said they weren’t getting their full money’s worth from
the book.
“There’s no good statistics book that’s less
than a hundred dollars, and I don’t want to give a lousy book
to my students,” he said.
Honaker said this is the first time he’s teaching the
class without the textbook and that he is trying to give the
students more thorough lecture notes.
Despite the high cost, some professors choose to assign bundled
textbooks and rely on the extra materials to complement their
lessons.
Patricia Phelps, a physiological science professor, said the
book she assigns comes with an anatomical atlas which is very
useful for students. She also said she has been using the same book
since she started teaching the class about eight years ago.
“Quality is an overwhelming factor rather than price when
I’m choosing my books,” she said, adding that there
were only two other books from which she could have chosen.
Other professors try to lower textbook costs by requesting
course readers from Academic Publishing Services. Sales for APS
materials increased by 47.7 percent from last year’s
figures.
“More professors are choosing to select articles needed
for their classes, and then sort out copyright clearance through
APS instead of assigning students so many books to purchase,”
said Neil Yamaguchi, ASUCLA director of academic support.