2011-02-24 Making Textbooks Affordable (Eastern Sociological Society Conference)

transcript

Issue Background

Textbooks cost

$900per year for the

average student

Issue Background

Prices rising

4 times the rate of inflation

1989 1994 1999 2004 2009

Textbook Prices

Textbooks

Inflation

Issue Background

26% of tuition @ public 4-year

72% of tuition @ comm. college

Textbooks cost HOWmuch???

Issue Background

Campaign started by students at UCI in 2003

Our report Rip-Off 101 exposed the problem.

Issue Background

6th Edition

Outrageous

Prices

$238.95only

Issue Background

used 5th edition

$81.78

6th Edition

$224.95

Unnecessary

New Editions

Issue Background

$213.95

with CengageNOW Personal Tutor CD, Student Study Guide, InfoTrac 2-Semester Printed Access Card

StatisticsCostly

Bundles

Issue Background

•Withholding price info from professors

•Charging far lower prices overseas

•Custom and loose leaf editions sabotage resale

•“Cheaper” e-books end up costing more

Issue Background

“Market Failure”

Issue Background

Producer

Consumer

Normal Market

Issue Background

Publisher

ProfessorStudent

Textbooks Market

Issue Background

Rx Drug Company

DoctorPatient

Similar to...

Issue Background

New Federal Law:

• Part of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (“HEOA”) of 2008

• Went into effect on July 1, 2010

Issue Background

New Federal Law:1. Publishers must disclose prices and

revision histories – proactively.

2. Publishers must offer the option to purchase supplements separately.

3. Colleges must list book assignments during registration.

Issue Background

Requirements for a Solution:

1. High Quality

2. Sustainable

3. Affordable

4. For All Students

Solutions

“Students have more options than ever before”

• 75% the new cost in the bookstore

• 60% of the new cost online

• Buy from from friends, classmates

Used Books

Solutions

• 40% of the new cost

• Online companies – rent by mail

• Many bookstores have started to rent

Renting

Solutions

• 50% of the new cost

• Usually like a180-day rental.

• Available for many different devices.

E-Books

Solutions

Used Books

New editions

Bundles

Custom editions

Perpetuating the problem

RentalsPrices based on new books – will rise just as fast

Not everyone wants to rent

E-BooksNo resale value, but cost more than renting

Limitations on access, printing

Most students prefer print

Solutions

66%Keep Some

34%RentAll

Student Preferences

75%Prefer print

25%Prefe

r digita

Solutions

Maximum savings of all three options

combined is 34%

Solutions

1. High Quality

2. Sustainable

3. Affordable

4. For All Students

Solutions

Models for Affordability

Open Textbooks

1. Like regular texts:• Table of contents,

chapters, exercises

• Written by experts

• Edited and reviewed

Open Textbook

Online: FreePrint:

$26.98

Open Textbooks

Open Textbooks2. Except affordable:• Free online to everyone

• Downloadable, printable at no additional cost

• Hard copies for $20-30

Open Textbook

Online: FreePrint:

$19.95

Open Textbooks

Open Textbooks3. And flexible:• Instructors can

customize by adding, editing, combining

• New editions are optional

Open Textbook

Online: FreePrint:

$29.95

Open Textbooks

Benefits of open textbooks:

• All students have access online

• Print copies and other formats are optional and affordably priced

• Empower students as consumers

Open Textbooks

• Make copies and change formats

• Distribute copies

• Create customized versions

“Open” = Open License

Benefits for faculty:• All students have

access

• New editions are optional

• Ability to customize

Open Textbooks

Benefits for students:

• Online access is free

• Other formats are fairly priced (PDF, print, etc.)

• Flexibility to use their preferred format

Open Textbooks

How does it work?

Open Textbooks

1. Individual authors• Personal motivations

• Sabbatical time/grant funding

• Count open textbooks toward tenure?

Open Textbooks

2. Institutional projects• A consortium of 80+ community

colleges is pooling resources to write and review texts

• Rice University founded CNX.org, a platform that hosts numerous open textbooks

Open Textbooks

3. Government funding• The WA community college

system received state funding for the 80 highest enrollment courses

• The Department of Labor recently announced a $2 billion grant program to create open course materials

Open Textbooks

4. Commercial publishers

Open Textbooks

Publisher

ProfessorStudents

Textbooks Market

Open Textbooks

Publisher

ProfessorStudents

Open Textbooks

1. High Quality

2. Sustainable

3. Affordable

4. For All Students

What You Can Do

Open Textbooks:

1. Consider adopting

2. Spread the word to others

3. Seek support from your institution

4. Sign the Statement

What You Can Do

Reduce Costs for Students:

1. Use previous editions

2. Avoid bundles, custom

3. Turn book orders in on time

4. Sign the Statement

Nicole AllenTextbook AdvocateThe Student PIRGs

401-484-8104nicole@studentpirgs.org

www.studentpirgs.org/open-textbooks