Two separate bills proposed in Congress and the California Senate, if passed, could make textbooks more affordable for college students.
H.R. 3512, the “College Textbook Affordability and Transparency Act of 2007,” was presented to the House of Representatives on Sept. 10. It would allow for students to see projected textbook costs based on their course schedule and would also require that educators and publishers work together to lower course material costs.
The bill also pushes publishers to disclose prospective costs of and changes included in upcoming editions of textbooks.
The bill was cosponsored by representatives from five states and has been endorsed by the American Association of University Professors.
A proposed California bill, Senate Bill 832, would make textbooks more affordable to students by requiring publishers to fully disclose the cost price of textbooks to faculty.
USC’s chapter of CALPIRG, a student lobbying group, encouraged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to sign the similarly named College Textbook Affordability Act in a Sept. 20 press conference.
CALPIRG surveyed 287 university professors and found that 77 percent of professors said textbook marketing representatives rarely disclose the list price of textbooks and only 38 percent of professors were told the price when they asked the publishers.
“Through the study, we found professors said textbook companies don’t reveal their prices,” said Jennifer Kim, a campus organizer with CALPIRG. “This means professors don’t get good information to make informed choices concerning affordable textbooks.”
Members of Congress that back their bill said they hope it will curb overall yearly costs for students.
“We hope that through this legislation, we should see some relief for students,” said Jillian Schoene, a spokeswoman for Rep. David Wu, D-Ore.
Rep. Julia Carson, D-Ind., said that textbook costs are yet another burden on collegians.
“Students are suffering from sticker shock after going through their college’s bookstores,” Carson said in a statement.
The Government Accountability Office released a study in 2005 that indicated that textbook costs have been rising at twice the rate of inflation. In that same report, the GAO found that the cost of textbooks and other course materials can cause a student’s overall college costs to jump by over 72 percent in some public institutions and community colleges.
Oiyan Poon, president of the UC Students Association, said book costs have increased significantly.
“I was an (undergraduate) 10 years ago. Now I’m a grad student, and my book costs have definitely skyrocketed,” Poon said.
She said grants and scholarships usually barely cover tuition, and the high cost of books puts students in a position where they will have to find additional money to purchase textbooks.
“Financial aid is just not keeping up. They don’t always take into consideration the cost of books,” she said.
With reports from Bruin wire services.