By Melissa Moody
Students attending a four-year public college spend on average one-fifth of the amount of their tuition on textbooks each year, according to a national survey conducted in January 2004 by the State Public Interest Research Groups.
At the University of Louisville, officials estimate that students spend $800 per year on textbooks and supplies, which is slightly less than one-fifth of the cost of tuition, not including room, board and other fees. All told, textbooks constitute a large part of the cost of attending college; however, there’s a lot that professors can do to unload some of the financial burden.
Every semester before finals, the U of L Bookstore sends out notices to professors reminding them to place their book orders for the upcoming semester. When professors place orders before the completion of finals, bookstores can purchase textbooks from students for as much as 50 percent of the original cost, according to Sonya White, manager of the College Book Warehouse. “We can’t give students as much money for textbooks until we know if the same books will be used again next semester,” she said. White said that two weeks before the start of the fall 2005 semester, she was still waiting to receive textbook orders from some professors.
Scott Schuknecht, manager of the University of Louisville Bookstore, also had problems with late orders. “It requires professors to plan more in advance for the coming semester,” he said.
Textbook orders placed on time also allow the bookstore to stock more used copies of books, which cost on average 25 percent less than new textbooks, Schuknecht said. Early textbook orders save students money at both ends.
Planning in advance, however, places a heavy burden on professors who are teaching classes during the time they would need to order next semester’s textbooks. Many professors use the summer to plan for the upcoming semester. For professors who need to keep up with ever-changing information and research in their field, as well as prepare for new courses, the planning required is substantial.
Law student James Dearing has spent hundreds of dollars purchasing new textbooks for his classes.
“The laws are constantly changing, so the courses have to change as well, which means I have to buy new editions of textbooks every semester,” he said.
But some classes do not change textbooks every semester. In those classes, professors could significantly relieve the increasing cost of textbooks for students by placing their orders on time so that students can purchase used books at the start of the semester.
Students can also help lower the cost of books by asking professors if they will be using the same textbooks again the following semester and by reminding them to place their orders on time.
Inflation of the price of college textbooks is four times that of the inflation for all finished goods, according to the State PIRG study. If the cost of new textbooks was not so expensive, the necessity for used textbooks would not be as great. Professors and students alike could benefit from a decrease in the wholesale cost of new textbooks.
