Today, college students are spending more than ever, sometimes without really knowing why. According to the College Board, the average student spends about $1,200 on textbooks and supplies each year at public, four-year schools. Moreover, this means that students spend about 26 percent of four-year public university tuition and fees on textbooks and materials, according to a study done by the U.S Government Accountability Office.

Textbook prices have increased at four times the rate of inflation. On top of this, publishers use many other tactics to squeeze more money out of students. Publishers will often come out with a revised edition, only so the older editions cannot be sold back for much worth, which also insures sales. Even bundles, where books come with CDs, are found to just add an unreasonable price markup. With five major companies controlling 80 percent of the textbook market, cheaper solutions are becoming harder to reach.

Today the price of textbooks jeopardizes students’ education. Due to textbook costs, 70 percent of students reported not buying an assigned book. As a result, students lose value in classes that they already paid thousands for, all because books are too expensive.

This raises the question:  How many kids have dropped a class due to textbooks? How about the number of students who have gone as far as changing their majors? Through our petition collecting, MASSPIRG has become increasingly aware on how extensive these costs can go. Petitions for open-textbook advocacy show that many students claim that they spent $800 or more on textbooks last semester alone. Some students claim to have changed their courses because they could not afford a mandatory textbook for their class.

According to U.S. News, when a student purchases a textbook, about 77.4 cents to the dollar goes to the publisher. So for a $289 textbook, about $224 of it goes to the publisher. Not nearly as much money goes toward the authors or the bookstore. This means that of the $1,200 students spend on textbooks, $929 goes to one of the major publishers.

This leads one to realize the issue is the publishing companies, rather than just a price inflation that students should just deal with.  A way to get around such ridiculous inflation is by converting the campus to open textbooks. Open textbooks are free, easy to share textbooks that students can access online.  The books can be customized by professors, and would be free to all students.

Open textbooks can take some getting used to, but when all is said and done, it will be the most convenient technology for students and professors alike. They will cut the ridiculous costs spent toward textbooks, as well as allow students to choose classes without the stress of what kind of book they will have to buy. MASSPIRG urges students and professors to look and consider the benefits of cutting text book costs to zero.

Chance Viles is an intern for MASSPIRG and can be reached at [email protected].