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WVU’s Independent Student Newspaper
MONDAY JANUARY 29, 2018
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New study reveals way to save billions on textbooks
A LOOK INSIDE
Textbooks costs have risen by 1,041 percent in forty years. U.S. student loan debt has exceeded $1.31 trillion, according to a study by U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG). BY DOUGLAS SOULE ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR In a time of access codes and increased textbook costs, a new study points to “open educational resources” as a way to save students billions. Open educational resources, or OER, are “freely accessible online and extremely affordable in price,” said Kaitlyn Vitez, a higher education advocate for the U.S. PIRG, the nonprofit advocacy organization which published the study called ‘OPEN 101: an Action Plan for Affordable Textbooks’ on Friday. U.S. PIRG did this study in collaboration with Student PIRGs, a group of students on campus who aim to solve public interest problems. OER provide not just open textbooks to students, but also “full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge,” according to the Hewlett Foundation. U.S. PIRG researched 40 schools across the United States, and the study found that students spent an average of $153 per course. Textbook and supply costs have risen by 1,041 percent in 40 years, according to the study’s analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. “Previous research has shown that 65 percent of students have skipped buying the book at some point because of cost,” Vitez said during a phone conference on Friday. If these 40 colleges used OER in 10 core courses, students would save $13 million in a single semester, according to the study. If every college in the United States switched 10 classes to OER, students would save $1.5 billion annually. The study also mentions how access
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Student perspectives on textbook prices
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY RYAN ALEXANDER
Tom Willis discusses campaign at WVU U.S. Senate Republican candidate, veteran speaks to college Republicans about campaign page 3
Charles Harrison, a senior physical education student from Columbia, Maryland, said he has paid nothing for textbooks during his college years, since the classes in his major did not require any.
Two students make a transaction for college textbooks. codes make courses more expensive. Connor Kirk, a sophomore engineering student from Loudoun County, VA said he pays around $500 a semester for books due to 4 out of his 5 classes requiring access codes. “It’s pretty hard to get $500 for your books,” Kirk said. According to the study, 38 percent of the courses researched “used access codes, and ninety-four percent of the time these access codes were sold in a bundle.” Vitez said since students are required to buy assigned material, traditional publishers are taking advantage of them. Vitez said access codes, when bundled with other course material, can “push students into paying top dollar at the bookstore.” For example, the study showed how a college algebra course would charge $147 for a book bundled with an access code. A used textbook for the class would only cost $46. Yet, according to the study, 78 percent of schools in the study used the access codes for
this course, meaning even if a student purchased the used textbook, he or she would still have to dish out money for the code. According to College Board, a nonprofit higher education organization, undergraduate students at a four-year public college like WVU spend an average of $1,250 every year on books and supplies. “We need to find new ways to make sure students who have worked hard to get into college don’t encounter barriers to success while they’re there,” Vitez said. In November, the WVU Student Government Association passed a resolution in support of open textbooks and OER. “OER make sense,” said WVU Student Government President Blake Humphrey during the Friday phone conference. “They support student success by alleviating financial constraints and increasing the quality of learning.” For more information on the study, visit www.studentpirgs.org/textbooks.
“A lot of my friends put in a $1,000 or more a year [for textbooks],” Harrison said. Harrison said if he had to pay this much for textbooks, he would need to get a job.
Mountaineers introduced to caving Student Grotto gives Mountaineers the opportunity to adventure by caving. page 4
Tommy Gigioli, a junior hospitality management student from Columbia, Maryland, said he paid close to $800 on textbooks this semester. Gigioli said he was fortunate to have the funds to pay for the textbooks, but said some of his textbook purchases were unnecessary, since some professors didn’t event teach from the book.
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