Spring Break
Delays raise textbook prices
Lawrence Simmons
Issue date: 4/18/08 Section: News
According to statistics collected by Barnes & Noble, last year only 32 percent of faculty turned in their orders at this time.
Vice president for student affairs Bill Kibler said faculty need to know the importance of timely book orders.
"There are going to be some good reasons and some not so good reasons for not turning in book orders on time," he said. "The faculty needs to know the impact of getting its book orders on time and should know the impact of bundling."
University Provost Peter Rabideau said many factors exist that cause faculty to turn book orders in late.
"There are more issues than teachers turning book requests," he said. "Sometimes teachers may not know what subject they will teach."
If a faculty member was not assigned to teach a class, then the department should use its best judgment to determine which book the class would require, Kibler said.
"The greatest likelihood to create some accountability of this would rest with academic department heads," Kibler said.
Despite the complications associated with textbook prices, Kibler said rising textbook prices will always be on students' minds.
"Anything to stop the rising prices of textbooks is good for students," he said.
Another factor listed as a contributor to rising textbook prices in the task force's findings is the custom tailoring of texts for specific classes.
Rabideau said new books should be published based upon the changeable nature of the field.
"There is a concern in some cases where a new edition is published but not really needed," he said. "The frequency of books [being published] should be based upon the variation of the field."
Bookmart Corp. president Joseph Brown said customizing books was one of the trends he has noticed in textbook publication.
"Teachers are using customized books that are tailored for their class," he said. "If teachers change that book, then there is no marketability for that textbook," Brown said.
Vice president for student affairs Bill Kibler said faculty need to know the importance of timely book orders.
"There are going to be some good reasons and some not so good reasons for not turning in book orders on time," he said. "The faculty needs to know the impact of getting its book orders on time and should know the impact of bundling."
University Provost Peter Rabideau said many factors exist that cause faculty to turn book orders in late.
"There are more issues than teachers turning book requests," he said. "Sometimes teachers may not know what subject they will teach."
If a faculty member was not assigned to teach a class, then the department should use its best judgment to determine which book the class would require, Kibler said.
"The greatest likelihood to create some accountability of this would rest with academic department heads," Kibler said.
Despite the complications associated with textbook prices, Kibler said rising textbook prices will always be on students' minds.
"Anything to stop the rising prices of textbooks is good for students," he said.
Another factor listed as a contributor to rising textbook prices in the task force's findings is the custom tailoring of texts for specific classes.
Rabideau said new books should be published based upon the changeable nature of the field.
"There is a concern in some cases where a new edition is published but not really needed," he said. "The frequency of books [being published] should be based upon the variation of the field."
Bookmart Corp. president Joseph Brown said customizing books was one of the trends he has noticed in textbook publication.
"Teachers are using customized books that are tailored for their class," he said. "If teachers change that book, then there is no marketability for that textbook," Brown said.
Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 7
Ryan
posted 4/18/08 @ 10:20 AM CST
I have a solution to the text book issue. Why doesnt the University start renting text books to students? I know of several universities (some with higher student populatiopns than State) that rent text books to their students. (Continued…)
Linda Bright
posted 4/18/08 @ 11:55 AM CST
I seriously doubt the "bookstore's and student's goals are the same. The bookstore's goal is to make money. The student's goals, most of them, is to graduate from college without mega student debt. (Continued…)
Ryan2
posted 4/18/08 @ 11:56 AM CST
Ryan what you're not considering is that the university is not going to operate a textbook rental program at a loss. In order to implement a rental program it costs lots of money. (Continued…)
Chris
posted 4/18/08 @ 12:04 PM CST
The bookstore is not the reason for higher book prices. They charge the same margin they have for 50 years.
The GAO did in fact study this issue and found book prices climbing at twice the rate of inflation. (Continued…)
David Schweitzer
posted 4/18/08 @ 3:59 PM CST
I have a fancy idea:
Why don't we stop constantly trying to get the newest edition released? It's rare you see any significant changes between any two versions, and students and/or faculty can correct errors on their own in earlier versions (of course, we sometimes see MORE errors come up in newer additions). (Continued…)
Chris3
posted 4/18/08 @ 4:22 PM CST
Shhhhh.... I used Previous editions of books in several of my classes. Some wording would be different or chapters switched around to make the book "flow better" There was hardly any change! Anyways check with the Profs, Most of mine were very honest with me and would tell me weather the newest edition is what I needed or if last semesters would work just as well. (Continued…)
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