What is the solution to the never-ending increase in college textbook prices?
Recent articles discuss state legislation limiting textbook costs for students in Virginia , and another article focuses on scholarships directly applied to textbooks for students in Oregon . This second link, an article from Portland State U., points out between 1999 and 2004, the total cost of attending PSU (tuition, housing & board) increased 7.8 percent, but that during that same five year period, wholesale prices of college textbooks rose nearly 40 percent (information from the National Association of College Bookstores).
It seems incredible that a publisher needs to charge over $75 per single copy to recoup costs and make enough profit to stay in business.
Nasty evil publishers!
‘It seems incredible that a publisher needs to charge over $75 per single copy to recoup costs and make enough profit to stay in business’
Of course they don’t, charging $75 a copy gets you big profits. They’re not doing it for the good of the students, they’re a business. And a business with a captive market in some cases. Publish the set texts and you’re minted.