Testimony Archive

Dear Chairman and Members of the Committee:

The average student pays around $900 per year for their textbooks, which is about a fifth of tuition at a public university and nearly half of tuition at a community college.

Textbook costs have become a major affordability issue for low and middle-income students, adding to the potential that these students will either drop out, take on additional loan debt to pay for textbooks, or undercut their own learning by forgoing the purchase of textbooks

Why do textbooks cost so much?

Recent research from both student advocacy groups (like The Student PIRGs) and government reports confirms that the central issue that causes high textbook prices is a flawed marketplace, in which publishers have disproportionate power to drive up prices.  In the textbook market, the person who orders the book (faculty) is not the same person who buys the book (students).  Therefore, the cost of a textbook is not the primary factor during the purchasing process.  Publishers take advantage of this situation by engaging in practices that inflate costs:

 “Bundling” useless CDs or workbooks

• 65% of professors said they “rarely” or “never” use bundled items in their courses, only 24% say they “always” do
• Common bundled textbooks cost 10% - 50% more than the textbook alone

Issuing unnecessary new editions that eliminate cheaper used books,

• Average time between editions is 3.8 years, even in subjects like calculus that haven’t really changed in centuries.
• New editions cost 12% more than the previous edition on average, and 58% more than a used copy of the previous edition,
• 76% of faculty said new editions were justified “half of the time or less” and 40% said they were justified “rarely” or “never”

And withholding information from faculty so they cannot consider price in the decision to use a textbook.

• 77% of faculty said publisher sales reps rarely or never volunteer the price of books
• only 38% of faculty said publisher sales reps would always give the price when directly asked 
• 23% of faculty rated publisher websites as “informative and easy to use” and less than half said they typically listed the price

What the legislature can do:

The best legislation will address the fundamental flaw in the textbook market that allows publishers to get away with practices that inflate prices.  The policy we recommend requires publishers to inform faculty of pricing information during sales interactions.  This information includes: the price, the revision history and the existence of low-cost formats.   By putting price on the table for faculty to consider, they can easily determine the best book for the best price.

Most professors do care about affordability, so they will tend to choose less expensive books when they have several options that meet the needs of a class.  This policy gives them the information they need.

Another good policy is to require textbook publishers to offer all of the components of their bundled textbooks for sale separately.  This would ensure faculty can adopt textbooks without forcing their students to purchase unnecessary materials.

Finally, the best way to reduce the burden of textbook costs immediately is through institution-based rental programs.  The legislature can authorize and encourage institutions to establish rental programs, and provide guidelines and resources to set them up.

What the legislature should remember:

Focus on the publishers.  Our research has shown that publisher practices are the primary factor driving textbook prices.  Therefore, anything that shines the public spotlight on their practices and gives faculty more tools to exert their economic pressure on publishers is the best way to go.

Many policies that could reduce costs should be implemented at the institutional level rather than the legislative. Because of the complicated nature of this issue – concerns with faculty academic freedom and publisher 1st Amendment rights – we believe legislation should be reserved for policies that cannot be effectively implemented at the institutional level.  An example of a policy that we would prefer to see implemented through school policy is how to handle the royalties earned by professors that adopt their own books.

Finally, there is no silver bullet.  It is important to take action through legislation, but no single piece of legislation alone will solve the problem permanently.  Students, faculty, and institutions – and bookstores and publishers – will have to work together to each do their part to lower costs

What other legislatures have done:

Five states have enacted legislation requiring publishers to disclose their prices – CT in 2006 and WA, OR, MN, OK in 2007.  Similar legislation is currently being considered in OH, MO, CO, AZ and MA.

The U.S. House is also considering price disclosure legislation in its Higher Ed. Act reauth. Bill (HR 4137).

Several states have enacted unbundling legislation, but most require the bookstore to physically unbundle the textbooks, rather than the publishers offering them unbundled.  Oregon is the only state that currently requires publishers to offer materials unbundled.

Many states, most notably TN last year, ask institutions to develop cost reducing policies, such as encouraging faculty to use adoption guidelines and policies that prohibit aggressive publisher marketing.

Other states have sought to prohibit faculty from accepting inducements from publishers in exchange for adopting textbooks – CA, VA, WV, AR.

Finally, around 20 states have some variation of a sales tax exemption.

Additional Resources:

www.maketextbooksaffordable.com