Tuition at many schools across the country is increasing, but the hefty cost of books could be decreasing thanks to a new federal textbook price disclosure law that went into effect July 1.
The law requires publishers to clearly state their prices and the changes made to recent editions of textbooks. This will give professors the information needed to choose less expensive books for their courses.
Nicole Allen, textbook advocate for Student Public Interest Research Groups said the provision will hopefully lead to cheaper books.
“If professors tend to choose less expensive books publishers will have to lower their prices,” Allen said. “It’s basic economics.”
Faculty must give their lists of required books to the book stores sooner, allowing students to know exactly how much a course will cost before enrolling. Professors were required to submit their book lists by March 15 for the fall semester.
“The goal is to allow students the information up front so they know the true cost of the course including the course materials,” Estella McCollum, KU bookstore director, said.
As a part of HEOA, or the Higher Education Opportunity Act, the law was created to provide more information to both teachers and students in an attempt to help students save money.
Allen said their campaign to make textbooks more affordable aims to help students, who lack any control over prices.
“It limits the publishers’ ability to rip people off,” Allen said. “They’re able to take advantage of students because they don’t have a choice.”
Professors were not denied information like the prices of books before the law passed, but it was their responsibility to seek it. The details were not readily available or required.
Megan Greene, professor of Chinese history at U. Kansas, said that the problem of high-priced textbooks lies with the constant need to buy new editions of the same book. She said because the publishers make small changes to the books, the older editions are taken out of circulation, making it difficult to avoid the newest version.
“It’s hard to let your students use the older editions because then there’s not enough of them for all the students,” Greene said. “It’s kind of being forced to buy the newer edition.”
In attempts to end this cycle, the new law states that publishers must include the dates of the last three editions. Allen said she was confident the law would be enforced.
“Watchdog groups like ours will be watching but I don’t think it will come to that,” she said.
Faculty members must also abide by the law to their greatest ability. McCollum said that although there are some cases in which professors can’t list their books by the required date, those who do are helping students save money.
“The increased amount of time helps us gather more used books for the students and price shop,” McCollum said. “We know books are expensive and we try to do what we can to keep the costs down.”