Hattiesburg American, Hattiesburg
The ever-escalating price of textbooks has been a sore — and expensive — spot for students and parents for more than a few years.
Students in Mississippi now pay an average of $800 a semester for textbooks. To put that in perspective, it’s one-third the cost of a semester’s tuition at the University of Southern Mississippi. That’s a big bite of any student’s budget, but especially in Mississippi, where per capita income is one of the lowest in the country.
A number of pernicious trends are at work to keep textbooks at almost ridiculous levels, and to keep students from ordering used books at much more reasonable costs.
A story in the Hattiesburg American illustrated several of them:
Constant new editions: Textbooks are updated frequently — and certainly the need for some of that is questionable. That means students are forced to buy new editions, or can’t sell their existing edition back.
Bundling: Textbooks come shrink-wrapped with CDs and workbooks, and that hikes the price. If the professor has chosen it for his or her curriculum, students are forced to buy it, and, in the same Catch-22, can’t sell the component parts back to the bookstore.
Customization: In this nifty scheme, professors get to “customize” the product — for example, with the university’s logo or the professor’s name and picture. Professors can add tailored chapters. Again, students cannot resell the customized package.
Why select a customized book? Well, in some cases, publishers offer a kickback to the professor or department that chooses this vanity scheme.
That is so clearly unethical we are astounded it goes on. Donna Davis, director of graduate students in the College of Business at USM, told reporter Valerie Wells of a pitch by textbook publisher Pearson Education for a customized book that would have returned 15 percent of the jacket price to the faculty. Her committee rejected the offer.
Bill Powell, USM’s interim assistant provost, said he had heard of such arrangements but did not know of any specific examples.
We are surprised that Powell could not answer definitively whether that practice went on at USM. We fear that in this day and age of making sure departments are “revenue generators,” the temptation to get textbooks kickbacks is probably too big to ignore for strapped academics.
It’s still unethical, and if it’s going on, the practice needs to be examined and called out.
What Powell did say is that most professors don’t truly consider the burden that the costs of these textbooks place on students. He said cost would not be the deciding factor when professors examine what book and bundle to choose.
Cost may not be the deciding factor, but it certainly should be part of the deliberation process.
It’s incumbent upon professors to take a hard look at their textbook-ordering practices and figure out if there is a better way to approach it.
Editorials
Reasons behind high book prices disturbing
- Editorials
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Escalating cost of higher ed a problem
By The Greenwood Commonwealth:
Here are some distressing figures for people paying for a college education at one of Mississippi’s public universities: Inflation has increased by 28 percent over the last decade. But the average full-time tuition at Mississippi’s universities is up by a whopping 65 percent over the same time period. -
Seat belt laws should be enforceable
By The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune:
The Legislature is close to fixing ambiguity in Louisiana’s seat belt laws that has prompted some judges to throw out tickets issued to SUV drivers or occupants. Lawmakers are close to fixing Louisiana seatbelt laws so tickets to SUV drivers are held up in court. -
Danger from disrespectful remarks depends on their source
By The (Jackson) Clarion-Ledger:
North Carolina’s governor took a shot at Mississippi recently on the heels of what she saw as an embarrassing victory at the polls of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman in her state. -
Life not same after Katrina
By The (Baton Rouge, La.) Advocate:
In the 200th anniversary year of Louisiana’s statehood, we are in a significant era of change for the Bayou State: the post-Katrina era. ... -
New laws affect everyday life
People in Mississippi will be able to buy stronger beer and get quicker access to marriage licenses. Residents might have to show a photo ID before voting. Students will pay more to earn a university degree.
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ATV regs needed to curb deaths
By The (Biloxi) Sun Herald: In March, a 13-year-old operating an ATV with three other children aboard drove it onto a road in Lee County where it collided with a truck. One of the four children on the all-terrain vehicle, a 2-year-old girl, was killed.
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How will Reeves use his power?
By The (McComb) Enterprise-Journal:
Mississippi Republicans spoke of how much they accomplished during the recent legislative session. For the most part, that’s true. But there’s one area where they’re far apart — $125 million, to be exact — and that is how much money the state should borrow during the coming year. -
Bill limiting AG’s power court bound
By The (Tupelo) Northeast Miss Daily Journal
Gov. Phil Bryant is almost certain to sign a bill intended to crimp the attorney general’s power to hire outside counsel — private-sector lawyers — to handle litigation on the state’s behalf on a fee contingency basis (a share of any money damages awarded the state). -
Youth too fat, too uneducated to serve nation
By The (Pascagoula) Mississippi Press: Most young people in Mississippi are too uneducated and/or too fat to serve their country in the armed forces, according to Mission: Readiness, a group of more than 300 retired generals and admirals.
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Profiting from good policy is still corruption
By The (Baton Rouge) Advocate: Although his lawyers are considering a long-shot appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, one of Louisiana’s most prominent former public officials is heading for prison. Former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, was ordered to begin serving a 13-year bribery sentence by a judge in Alexandria, Va.
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