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New Law May Save You Bundles
House Passes Textbook Cost Act, Senate To Consider
Ryan Levinsohn
Issue date: 2/15/08 Section: News
"One of the objectives of the act is to increase transparency in the higher education textbook market - a goal we share and support as well," Stanton said. "The prices of our products are available to all prospective buyers. In fact, anyone wishing to compare the prices of new and used textbooks from all publishers need only type the ISBN number [the barcode on the book] or title of any book into a web search engine."
Robert Day, an assistant professor of operations and information management, supports the legislation but does not look at price when selecting materials for his courses.
"I don't think price is a heavy determinant in my selection, it's really based on what's the best book for the course," Day said. "The cost of textbooks, although a significant cost, are low compared to the price of tuition. I think it's in the student's best interest to suck it up and buy the textbook and invest in themselves and their education because it is such a small percentage compared to their tuition."
When it comes to bundling, Day says that he never uses all of the supplemental materials but that it's a valuable asset to have.
"Even if I don't use it for the course the students are welcome to use the supplemental material," Day said. "I do find there are more supplemental material then you can ever use so I do accept books with way too much supplemental material but I use a fair amount of it."
Wilhelm however believes that the new requirements would be welcomed by most professors.
"Obviously to an extent they have to pick the book that they think is best for the class but at the end of the day when you look at a little CD that they could cut to help their students save money the professor would pick that option," Wilhelm said.
The legislation would also require that colleges and universities provide the textbook required for each course with ISBN number, author, title, publisher, and copyright date along with the course schedule.
Robert Day, an assistant professor of operations and information management, supports the legislation but does not look at price when selecting materials for his courses.
"I don't think price is a heavy determinant in my selection, it's really based on what's the best book for the course," Day said. "The cost of textbooks, although a significant cost, are low compared to the price of tuition. I think it's in the student's best interest to suck it up and buy the textbook and invest in themselves and their education because it is such a small percentage compared to their tuition."
When it comes to bundling, Day says that he never uses all of the supplemental materials but that it's a valuable asset to have.
"Even if I don't use it for the course the students are welcome to use the supplemental material," Day said. "I do find there are more supplemental material then you can ever use so I do accept books with way too much supplemental material but I use a fair amount of it."
Wilhelm however believes that the new requirements would be welcomed by most professors.
"Obviously to an extent they have to pick the book that they think is best for the class but at the end of the day when you look at a little CD that they could cut to help their students save money the professor would pick that option," Wilhelm said.
The legislation would also require that colleges and universities provide the textbook required for each course with ISBN number, author, title, publisher, and copyright date along with the course schedule.
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