Monday, September 14, 2015
Vol. 126, Issue 7 Thrisha Potluri and Mitchell Wellman Assistant Managing Editors
A single textbook at U.Va. could cost more than $300 Cavalier Daily review shows average textbook costs can range from $64 to $214
At the University, a class in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department of the Engineering School costs $214 on average in textbook fees, while a class in the Systems Engineering department costs an average $64, nearly a third of the cost. A Cavalier Daily review of average costs per University class shows a stark disparity between courses, affecting undergraduate students in all departments. The University’s textbook costs At the University, class textbook costs range from $12 to hundreds of dollars. Most courses average over $100 in textbook costs. Within the College of Arts and Sciences, the Economics department has the highest average cost of required textbooks per class at $181, closely followed by the Psychology department at $177. The data is based on prices found through the University Bookstore’s textbook database of courses taught in the fall 2015 semester. The average cost of a course in the Commerce School’s undergraduate department is $112. Similarly, a class in the Batten School’s undergraduate department costs an average $117. The most expensive book within the reviewed undergraduate departments in the College of Arts and Sciences is the “History of The American Economy” at $339, assigned in both History and Economics departments. Of the reviewed schools, the Commerce school has the next most expensive textbook: “Auditing and Assurance Services,” which costs $309. This data includes the prices of all required textbooks sold through the University Bookstore for courses taught in the fall 2015 semester. If the student is given the option between two of the same textbooks — an electronic book and a paper book — the cost of the more expensive book was used in order to show the full extent of possible costs per class. Not all courses within each department list textbooks through the University Bookstore. The departments selected represent the most popular undergraduate departments
within each school — the top five from the College, top three from the Engineering School and one from each other school. The five most popular departments within the College were calculated from the five departments with the most majors in 2013, while the top three from the Engineering School and the top department from the Curry School were determined from departments that had the highest amount of majors as of the fall 2015 semester. The market for textbooks College textbook prices have increased by 82 percent over the past decade, according to a report released by U.S. Public Interest Research Group, a broad-based public policy advocacy group. “According to the College Board, the average undergraduate student should budget between $1,200 and $1,300 for textbooks and supplies each year,” the report reads. For many college students, who on average graduate with debt of over $28,000, the national trend of increasing textbook prices has proved to be quite a burden. College textbook prices have increased 3.2 times the rate inflation in the past decade, said Ethan Senack, the report’s author. “It’s not just an expensive textbook anymore — it is a serious barrier for students and families that are already struggling to afford a college education,” he said. The textbook publishing industry operates within what economists call a “broken market.” This means the market lacks the two factors that control prices — market competition and consumer choice. A small number of publishers control a majority of the market, diminishing market competition. Since students must defer to professors’ choice in textbooks, there is no consumer choice. “When you eliminate consumer choice and market competition, that means publishers can raise prices year after year without fear or market kickback, and they’ve done so every year for more than 30 years,” Senack said. There have been a number of
see BOOKS, page 4
Porter Dickie | The Cavalier Daily
UJC DISSOLVES SEXUAL MISCONDUCT COMMITTEE PAGE 2
MEN’S SOCCER TIES DUKE IN TWO OVERTIMES PAGE 6
OPINION: BIG DATA CAN HELP STUDENTS PAGE 7
PREVENTION GROUPS START ‘DORM NORMS’ PAGE 12
LOVE CONNECTON: ROHAN AND KILEY PAGE 11