2008 Woodie Awards
New legislation
Proposed Bill sheds light on textbook industry, encourages lower prices
Katie Bradley
Issue date: 10/14/07 Section: College News
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On Sept. 10, Julia Carson, along with other members of The House of Representatives, proposed the "Textbook Affordability and Transparency Act" bill in Congress.
The bill will require publishers to make prices clear to the faculty choosing the materials.
It will also require that universities and colleges release ISBN information, a section that Saner said he is particularly happy about.
"The bill is a good thing because I can get the information (on required books) in a timely manner and order the books in time," he said.
"We're looking for greater transparency between the three (publishers, retailers, and instructors) groups," said Julia Carson's press secretary, Chad Chitwood. He said they hope the bill will open up communication so solutions can be found.
Carson, along with other bill sponsors, wants all groups involved to work together to lower prices.
The bill-H.R. 3512: Textbook Affordability and Transparency Act- is waiting to be assigned to a committee.
A 2005 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO, found that the price of college textbooks has nearly tripled since 1986.
The report said that the overall inflation increase for all goods for that period was 72 percent, but the price of textbooks grew by 186 percent.
Among the findings:
• Students and/or their parents spent $6 billion on textbooks in the 2003-2004 school year.
• The price of textbooks has risen at an average rate of six percent per year, twice the yearly inflation rate increase.
• Textbooks accounted for 26 percent of tuition and fees at four-year public institutions and 72 percent at two-year public institutions for first-year, full-time students.
While the findings in the report show a clear and substantial increase in the price of textbooks, the cause is not so easily determined.
According to the GAO, "The price of textbooks has increased in recent years, according to experts we spoke with, as a result of the increase in costs associated with new features, such as Web sites and other instructional supplements … The number and variety of supplements available for a given textbook have increased substantially in the last 10 years."
The bill will require publishers to make prices clear to the faculty choosing the materials.
It will also require that universities and colleges release ISBN information, a section that Saner said he is particularly happy about.
"The bill is a good thing because I can get the information (on required books) in a timely manner and order the books in time," he said.
"We're looking for greater transparency between the three (publishers, retailers, and instructors) groups," said Julia Carson's press secretary, Chad Chitwood. He said they hope the bill will open up communication so solutions can be found.
Carson, along with other bill sponsors, wants all groups involved to work together to lower prices.
The bill-H.R. 3512: Textbook Affordability and Transparency Act- is waiting to be assigned to a committee.
A 2005 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, GAO, found that the price of college textbooks has nearly tripled since 1986.
The report said that the overall inflation increase for all goods for that period was 72 percent, but the price of textbooks grew by 186 percent.
Among the findings:
• Students and/or their parents spent $6 billion on textbooks in the 2003-2004 school year.
• The price of textbooks has risen at an average rate of six percent per year, twice the yearly inflation rate increase.
• Textbooks accounted for 26 percent of tuition and fees at four-year public institutions and 72 percent at two-year public institutions for first-year, full-time students.
While the findings in the report show a clear and substantial increase in the price of textbooks, the cause is not so easily determined.
According to the GAO, "The price of textbooks has increased in recent years, according to experts we spoke with, as a result of the increase in costs associated with new features, such as Web sites and other instructional supplements … The number and variety of supplements available for a given textbook have increased substantially in the last 10 years."
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