College textbook prices have increased at nearly four times the rate of inflation for all finished goods since 1994 and textbook publishers engage in practices that artificially inflate textbook costs, according to a new study by the Student PIRGs. According to the study, students pay an average of $900 dollars a year on textbooks.
Here is what the study found on "new edition textbooks":
* The most widely purchased textbooks on college campuses have new editions published every three years, on average.
* New editions of the textbooks surveyed cost, on average, 45 percent more than used copies of the previous edition.
* When issuing new editions, most publishers raise the prices of their books. Of the textbooks surveyed, new textbook prices jumped 12 percent on average between the previous and current edition, almost twice the rate of inflation between 2000 and 2003 (6.8 percent).
* Three-fourths (76 percent) of the faculty surveyed in our 2004 report said that they found new editions justified only "half the time" or less.
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This system is clearly flawed and those who suffer under it are the students left with the burden of the cost and universities whose credibility is put in question when the quality of its educational supplies are undermined by publishers trying to make larger profits. Jim Doti, as president of Chapman University, an institution which am proud to call my own, be a leader and change this deeply flawed system; bring e-books to Chapman University.
I agree with you on this one, Austin. Let's look at Principles of Advertising. New editions present a paradox. On the one-hand, rarely is the primary content...the principles...changed. Rather, the book is updated with new examples and case studies. SInce I have been teaching Principles of Advertising, I've worked with (I think) 4 editions. In 7 years. The content I use is the same. One year the chapters were re-ordered. This is a very expensive text book. Still, I love the book. It is thorough, illustrative, and photogenic. I have no problem if a student uses the paperback International edition, or even an older edition as long as the student accepts responsibility for "doing the right chapters."
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