2008 Woodie Awards
Solving the textbook problem
Andrew Friedson
Issue date: 3/6/07 Section: Opinion
It has been well-documented recently that the cost of textbooks has become alarmingly high for students. According to www.maketextbooksaffordable.com, the average student spends about $900 a year on textbooks, making up about a quarter of total academic costs at a four-year public institution and three-quarters at community colleges. There is no doubt that proactive steps must be taken in order to alleviate this growing concern. In Annapolis, the Textbook Fairness Act has been introduced in both the House and the Senate as HB1092 and SB166, respectively. The legislation would require the University Book Center to advertise ISBNs on Testudo immediately after it receives the booklist. While I applaud any and all efforts to make college more affordable, I have some concerns about unintended consequences of the bill.
My first concern is with the automatic disclosure of ISBNs. The book center is contractually obligated to make sure all ISBNs submitted to them by faculty are correct. Beyond that, every book must be guaranteed as the correct book for the stated course. This contractual obligation is set forth by the university to protect students. According to the book center, about 10 percent of the ISBNs are initially incorrect. I worry that because the bill requires immediate disclosure, it will not allow time for the book center to ensure the correctness of the ISBNs. This could result in many students purchasing the wrong textbooks off-campus, where there is no such guarantee.
I understand and advocate the use of lobbying efforts in Annapolis to protect students, but in cases such as this, it is not the best avenue. ISBN issues can be worked out on the university level through thoughtful and persistent pressure. Take what we have already done at the university to help alleviate the textbook problem. Thanks to our campaign to encourage professors to get their book lists in on time (95 percent were in on time for this semester as opposed to about 40 percent a couple semesters ago), students saved $2 million at the University Book center alone. Issues with our own institution and our own book center can be most effectively dealt with here. The time to fight this issue in Annapolis is with the publishers - the real culprit in the textbook problem. For example, students are better served to address issues through state legislation such as cost disclosure for professors.
Lastly, I want to make students aware of the importance of a successful campus bookstore. The book center is set to pay $2.6 million toward Stamp Student Union next year, not including utilities. This money is essential to the Student Union being able to put on the programs and have the resources available to students. This is not to mention all of their contractual obligations that protect students. In addition to the ISBN guarantee, the book center is required to carry every book for every course regardless of its profit margin. This is critical to students who would not be able to find less-mainstream books and would not be able to participate in their classes. A strong campus bookstore allows us to address problems here without needing state legislation to intervene.
No doubt, there is significant work to be done to solve the textbook problem. Students need to have the freedom of choice when choosing textbooks. Healthy competition in the textbook industry is essential. While the theory behind the Textbook Fairness Act is good, the unintended consequences it creates and the ways in which it is being addressed are not the most beneficial to students.
Andrew Friedson is director of governmental affairs for the SGA. He can be reached at friedson.andrew@gmail.com.
My first concern is with the automatic disclosure of ISBNs. The book center is contractually obligated to make sure all ISBNs submitted to them by faculty are correct. Beyond that, every book must be guaranteed as the correct book for the stated course. This contractual obligation is set forth by the university to protect students. According to the book center, about 10 percent of the ISBNs are initially incorrect. I worry that because the bill requires immediate disclosure, it will not allow time for the book center to ensure the correctness of the ISBNs. This could result in many students purchasing the wrong textbooks off-campus, where there is no such guarantee.
I understand and advocate the use of lobbying efforts in Annapolis to protect students, but in cases such as this, it is not the best avenue. ISBN issues can be worked out on the university level through thoughtful and persistent pressure. Take what we have already done at the university to help alleviate the textbook problem. Thanks to our campaign to encourage professors to get their book lists in on time (95 percent were in on time for this semester as opposed to about 40 percent a couple semesters ago), students saved $2 million at the University Book center alone. Issues with our own institution and our own book center can be most effectively dealt with here. The time to fight this issue in Annapolis is with the publishers - the real culprit in the textbook problem. For example, students are better served to address issues through state legislation such as cost disclosure for professors.
Lastly, I want to make students aware of the importance of a successful campus bookstore. The book center is set to pay $2.6 million toward Stamp Student Union next year, not including utilities. This money is essential to the Student Union being able to put on the programs and have the resources available to students. This is not to mention all of their contractual obligations that protect students. In addition to the ISBN guarantee, the book center is required to carry every book for every course regardless of its profit margin. This is critical to students who would not be able to find less-mainstream books and would not be able to participate in their classes. A strong campus bookstore allows us to address problems here without needing state legislation to intervene.
No doubt, there is significant work to be done to solve the textbook problem. Students need to have the freedom of choice when choosing textbooks. Healthy competition in the textbook industry is essential. While the theory behind the Textbook Fairness Act is good, the unintended consequences it creates and the ways in which it is being addressed are not the most beneficial to students.
Andrew Friedson is director of governmental affairs for the SGA. He can be reached at friedson.andrew@gmail.com.
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John Verde
posted 3/06/07 @ 1:33 PM EST
If you are a student or parent and want to support this bill, email your state representative at:
http://mdelect.net/electedofficials/
or Take Action at:
http://bookholders. (Continued…)
Louis
posted 3/06/07 @ 2:06 PM EST
Dear Andrew Friedson,
Do you work for Barnes and Nobles because you must be getting some type of kickback for working with them to try and defeat a bill that helps your fellow students. (Continued…)
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