The Plan

The answer is not a simple one; the best to improve the situation of unaffordable textbook prices is to have multiple steps and ideas from multiple angles and industries. It is a complex problem to solve that relies on more than one entity working as a cohesive unit.  In his proposal, Dr. Koch brought up many good points in what could work, including introducing better negotiation with publishers, negotiating better contracts with the bookstores themselves, establishing rental systems, professors allowing multiple book editions for their classes, and, our personal favorite, having the universities include textbook costs as part of tuition.  These all sound like promising ideas, but if we look at history and the rapid rise of textbook prices, with that 82% statistic in the last decade especially, no one idea will make a huge difference.  That is why, to make a real change, there must be multiple solutions formed into one cohesive process, creating a much higher chance of success than those in the past. 

As a group, we used our own opinions, our research of past solutions, the history of textbooks at university, and the outlook on the future to determine a multi-step plan to help reduce the cost of college textbooks and KEEP them down.  The crucial aspect is the cooperation by three different entities, the Universities, the Professors, and the Students themselves. We need what I will call UPS collaboration. First the Universities (the U), need to be more conscious about the situation, and become better negotiators when it comes to contracts with bookstores, publishers, and what type of book they will use.  How often will the more expensive edition result in a better learning experience?  Based on preliminary surveys results, the answer to that question is “not consistently enough to matter” (Figueroa).  And then students refuse to pay those prices, seeking other options like the used book market or even illegally downloading books and pdf versions, which hurts the market no matter how you look at it.  We also stand by the idea that universities should consider including these books, or at least the ones for “core” classes, in tuition itself.  High schools do this, and it helps avoid things like buying the wrong book and keeping kids from stressing out about having to buy new books with their own money on top of the cost of tuition and all the other college expenses. 

The second part needs to come from the Professors (the P); they need to make more students aware of the multiple ways to obtain their textbooks, ways that go far beyond the campus bookstore.  If kids can be convinced to not use bookstores at all, that may persuade the universities to change their selling tactics, reducing markups, and allowing for the revenue to come back to the school and not stay with common outside providers like Chegg and Amazon. Allowing older editions in the classroom is also a must; Esposito’s research uncovered that the key to publishers releasing new editions is to change the cover or other small details, but keep the page numbers and all content the same.  This allows for professors to continue using the same notes and teaching styles for years, perhaps without even knowing that there are new editions, more expensive editions.  Once professors realize that textbook prices are becoming a major problem, many should be willing to be a part of the solution.  The best (and easiest) things for them to contribute are to make extra copies available in the classroom or library, even going so far as to offer their self-authored books for free.  Making something like this mandatory would benefit the university, making them look good morally as well as potentially increasing student applications. 

The third and final part is the student (the S).  First, students must not be willing to simply accept paying for these books at such ridiculous prices.  Only be refusing to pay so much can the “inelastic” market be broken, so that when prices raise, people stop buying.  We have demonstrated that there are other ways of obtaining the book and voicing opinions, ways that go beyond complaining and then just paying whatever is asked year after year, as the prices continue to climb.  Instead, students should put their money (or lack thereof) where their mouth is, by using open sources, buying textbooks together, scanning the books that professors make available…  The biggest change that students must adopt is to become knowledgeable about the options they have, and not just accept status quo.  That is the only way things will change, because everyone in the UPS needs to care a whole lot in order to effect a change and make a difference this big.