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."
