On Tuesday, the state Joint Committee on Higher Education received testimony from college students, faculty and interest groups regarding a new bill that would lower textbook prices.
The bill, House Bill 1200, seems poised for success, with many leaders in the statehouse standing behind it.
"When we talk about affordable higher education, we tend to lose ourselves in discussions about escalating tuition and fees," said Representative Kevin J. Murphy of Lowell, House Chairman of the joint committee. "We also have to work to ensure that we're keeping textbooks affordable and that students are not charged by publishers for extra materials that they don't need."
The bill comes after the public interest group MASSPIRG released a report earlier this year critical of the textbook publishing industry's business practices, which include bundling additional materials like CD-ROMs or practice books with textbooks, raising the price. Many of these extra materials go unused by students and are ignored by professors.
"All I can think of is words like 'travesty,'" said professor Brent Beebe of the University of Massachusetts English Department. "I think professors in general need to be more aware of how much [textbooks] are costing their students."
A Government Accountability Office report last year found that over the past 20 years, college textbook prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation, and now account for nearly 26 percent of the cost of tuition and fees.
It is not uncommon for a single book to cost over $100. Old editions of textbooks typically sell for 45 percent less than their newer counterparts, but are not always available to cash-strapped students. Web sites such as campusbookswap.com and bestbookbuys.com offer students the opportunity to get better deals online, but may also include costly shipping fees.
Many state legislatures across the country have taken steps to combat excessive textbook prices. Connecticut now requires publishers to alert professors of textbook prices before orders are placed, giving them a better idea of what the cost will be for their students.
"Students today are investing so much in their education," said Bliss Requa-Trautz, campaign coordinator for the MASSPIRG Affordable Textbook Campaign at UMass Amherst. "We are hoping that the Committee will take action soon to pass this bill…[This] will stop textbook publishers from taking advantage of students, and make college that much more affordable."
Nick Bush can be reached at nbush@student.umass.edu.
Be the first to comment on this article!