Textbook prices leave students with empty pockets

Never does a semester go by without students dealing with the inevitable hardship of textbook prices. While many students attempt to circumvent retail prices by borrowing, exchanging, or purchasing at a discount through online vendors such as Amazon.com, one practice in particular is making that more difficult: customized textbooks. Students taking freshman composition for the first time this fall were required to purchase a package from the university bookstore for $246.25 plus tax. The package includes The Mercury Reader, a collection of selected works by noted authors, The Curious Writer, which serves as the course composition text, the LB Brief, a grammar and usage handbook, and a collection of model essays written by TAMIU students. Also included in the package is one year of access to supplementary material on MyCompLab, a website provided by Pearson Longman, the publisher of the textbook package. Because the same texts and materials are used for the first and second parts of freshman composition (ENGL 1301 and 1302), the cost essentially covers two courses. Some students, however, still might end up paying more than they should. The bookstore does not sell the constituent texts and materials separately. Because the Department of Language and Literature decided to update the customized Mercury Reader, its current edition contains an almost entirely different selection of works from that used as recently as the second summer session of this year. The Curious Writer also changed, but material was expurgated, not added. Consequently, if a student manages to get older editions of the other texts, but lacks only the new Mercury Reader, the student still has to purchase the entire $246.25 package from the bookstore, leaving some to wonder if customized texts are actually helpful at all. “The intent of customizing the texts was to tailor them to meet the needs of our students,” said Dr. Ellen Barker, TAMIU’s former Writing Program Administrator. Barker, who now teaches at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana, served as TAMIU’s first Writing Program Administrator, and it was she who brought customized texts to ENGL 1301 and 1302 beginning in 2004.While acknowledging that custom texts restrict students from seeking alternatives to the bookstore, BarkerSee TEXTBOOKS, page 11stands by the practice, claiming it allows an institution to better meet the needs of its unique population. Nonetheless, she calls the cost of the current package sold at the bookstore “ridiculous.” Barker may not be the only one alarmed by the price.A faculty member within the department’s First Year Writing Program, speaking under anonymity, says that representatives from Pearson Longman visited the university last month and were surprised to find that the package they sold to the bookstore for $173.30 was sold for $246.25. Representatives from Pearson Longman declined to comment on the specifics of any conversations with the TAMIU bookstore. Whereas a typical markup for college texts falls at 20 percent, the increase in the composition package represents a 30 percent margin. “It’s a high markup,” said Language and Literature Chair Dr. Sean Chadwell, adding he does not begrudge the bookstore for the markup. “They’re tailor-made for our campus. There’s no other audience for those books. And it’s sold as a package, which means students can’t get anything used.”Representatives from Follett, which runs the TAMIU bookstore, confirmed that the customization necessitates a higher markup because the books have no return privileges to the publisher. Follett added that a 30 percent margin is typical for customized texts. Recognizing that the package also rules out sellback options for students, Chadwell added that the department should “think about designing the course so that students can sell back books.”As for future semesters, Chadwell emphasizes nothing is set in stone until the First Year Writing Program meets at the end of the fall semester, but he suggests that custom texts may not be in the department’s future.”We have to make them cost less. Moving away from customization is a way to do that,” said Chadwell.For some, the frequency of changes to The Mercury Reader only exacerbated the problem. There are those who suggest administrators may be motivated to repeatedly update custom readers because they may then be credited as editors and add more publications to their vitas. Barker considers this idea “silly.””I asked [Language and Literature] faculty’s suggestions in putting the reader together. Everyone has something they want students exposed to,” added Barker. Reiterating that The Mercury Reader changed only twice during her time at the university (2004-2008), Barker says nobody would change a reader to add them as publications to a vita because they would not be taken seriously. “I put those on my vita to show that I did them, but I don’t expect them to be counted as actual publications. I know that, as publications, they won’t help me get a job,” said Barker.Outside of freshman composition, textbooks for any course remain a drain on the bank account of most college students. Follett explains that certain factors drive the prices of college texts higher than those of general reading books. These include limited demand for the books, production costs for quality paper in durable binding, and keeping up with current scholarship and meticulous editing. Follett also cited The National Association of College Stores, which reports that over the last six years, nationwide college text prices have risen 6 percent every year.In light of industry standards and pricing trends, Student Government (SG) has been researching textbook options for students since the beginning of this fall. SG President James Cortez says that he and Vice President Eliezar Castañeda held “productive” meetings with university administrators earlier this semester. Responding via e-mail, Juan J. Castillo, Vice President for Finance and Administration, explained his research of the issue in response to SG’s inquiries. He says one option being looked into is e-books, which are usually cheaper than hard copies. The downside, he says, are that publishers decide which titles are available electronically, and e-books cannot be sold back. In some cases, this results in higher net costs for students. “Given this, we will certainly continue to work with Follett in an effort to make various options available to our students,” wrote Castillo. At various meetings over the semester, SG representatives toyed with the idea of an incentive program whereby students earning a 3.5 grade point average or higher would qualify for a discount on textbooks. “The bookstore supports programs that will help students save money on their textbooks. We believe that the best way for students to save is through the buying and selling of used textbooks, which are 25 percent less than the new book price,” said Follett.