One of the biggest student advocacy group’s efforts to
stop the rise of textbook prices have culminated in the second
edition of Ripoff 101, a report published a year ago that finds how
the “publishing industry’s practices needlessly drive
up textbook costs.”
This report was released simultaneously on Tuesday at a
multitude of California Public Interest Research Group
chapters.
“The second edition of our report reviews common trends
(found) to be pervasive in the textbook industry,” said
Trevor Johnston, a second-year political science student and the
CALPIRG textbook site coordinator.
The Association of American Publishers refuted the assertions of
PIRG’s report on Tuesday through their own Zogby nationwide
survey.
The association’s report interviewed a 1,029 nationwide
faculty.
“We have discussed with (PIRG) the hundreds of choices for
individual courses that faculty have to choose from, everything
ranging from customized books to basic texts to fully loaded,
highly illustrated textbooks packed with learning and study
aids,” said Patricia Schroeder, president and chief executive
officer of the Association of American Publishers, in a statement.
“These are 21st century tools used to prepare students to
succeed in today’s world.”
Ripoff 101’s second edition did not agree that the extra
tools and supplements available in the new editions are
necessary.
PIRG surveyed the most widely purchased textbooks at 59 colleges
and universities across the country.
In their results, they found that “wholesale prices
charged by publishers have jumped 62 percent since 1994.”
Another reason Ripoff 101 cites for the increase of textbook
prices are new editions.
Joseph Vardner, a fourth-year civil engineering student and
CALPIRG textbook organizer, said that one of the main differences
in new edition textbooks were cosmetic.
The report found that the average time difference between two
editions of the same textbook is three years.
An example used in the study was “Calculus ““ Early
Transcendentals.”
They reported that a new version of the fifth edition of this
textbook sells for $132.26, while used copies of the fourth edition
could be found selling from between $11 and $100.
“This is a saving upwards of $100 if students look in the
right places,” Johnston said.
These costs only reflect what American students pay, as the same
calculus textbook is sold overseas for significantly cheaper,
according to the report.
“The exact duplicates are shipped overseas, and going
abroad somehow depreciates (the textbook’s) value,”
Johnston said.
The cost for students in Great Britain, Africa and Middle East
students is reported on average to be $62.
Since the publication of Ripoff 101 last year, many changes have
occurred in the textbook publishing industry.
At the beginning of the 2004-2005 school year, Thomson Learning
made available its Advantage Series, which are cost-saving versions
of textbooks. Thomson Learning has said the Advantage Series was
not a response to CALPIRG’s efforts.
CALPIRG’s efforts were seen in its sponsorship of two
state bills last year.
The first was designed to prevent publishers from consistently
increasing textbook prices, and the second provided guidelines for
a textbook rental program.
The latter bill was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last
fall.
Alongside CALPIRG’s efforts to prevent the rise of
textbook prices, the Undergraduate Students Association Council has
its own book-lending program to alleviate the pressure of buying
books.
“When addressing financial concerns with students, we
consistently see the textbook issue,” said Alex Gruenberg,
the USAC Financial Supports commissioner.
The book-lending program runs on donations, but the program is
not able to accommodate as many students as the Financial Supports
Commission would like, Gruenberg said.