Spring Break
ASUM fights rising costs of textbooks
Angie Spencer
Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: News
Every semester, students dread walking into the bookstore because they know they are going to come out with wallets and purses a few hundred dollars lighter
Chuck Shufeldt, senior, communication, is one of those students.
"I spent a little over $1,000 on books. The problem is that I have to pay out of pocket instead of having my financial aid cover it since the cost was more than my student charge limit," Shufeldt said.
"But what really pisses me off is that they [publishers] keep coming up with new additions so frequently that it's hard to go to outside sources for my books because the old books are out of date," he said.
One student lobbying group is trying to change that.
Associated Students of the University of Missouri has teamed up with State Rep. Jake Zimmerman, D-Olivette, to introduce HB2048, or the Textbook Transparency Act.
The bill has three parts to it, said Craig Stevenson, a student at UM-Columbia and the legislative director for ASUM, in an e-mail interview.
"First, [the bill will] require publishing companies to disclose the pricing of a textbook when requested by a professor. Second, the bill would require books that are 'supplemental bundles' to be offered unbundled as well as bundled. The third thing it would do is require universities, when feasible, to create a policy that would allow students to use previously unused financial aid to purchase textbooks from the campus bookstore," he said.
The first part of the bill, as stated, requires publishers to let professors know the price of textbooks. According to ASUM, "over 75 percent of textbook publishers rarely or never volunteer the price of textbooks, and only 38 percent of publishers would give the price when asked."
Stevenson said the transparency portion to be introduced next week would require the release of the "suggested retail price, estimated wholesale price or the price that the publisher makes the product available to public."
Chuck Shufeldt, senior, communication, is one of those students.
"I spent a little over $1,000 on books. The problem is that I have to pay out of pocket instead of having my financial aid cover it since the cost was more than my student charge limit," Shufeldt said.
"But what really pisses me off is that they [publishers] keep coming up with new additions so frequently that it's hard to go to outside sources for my books because the old books are out of date," he said.
One student lobbying group is trying to change that.
Associated Students of the University of Missouri has teamed up with State Rep. Jake Zimmerman, D-Olivette, to introduce HB2048, or the Textbook Transparency Act.
The bill has three parts to it, said Craig Stevenson, a student at UM-Columbia and the legislative director for ASUM, in an e-mail interview.
"First, [the bill will] require publishing companies to disclose the pricing of a textbook when requested by a professor. Second, the bill would require books that are 'supplemental bundles' to be offered unbundled as well as bundled. The third thing it would do is require universities, when feasible, to create a policy that would allow students to use previously unused financial aid to purchase textbooks from the campus bookstore," he said.
The first part of the bill, as stated, requires publishers to let professors know the price of textbooks. According to ASUM, "over 75 percent of textbook publishers rarely or never volunteer the price of textbooks, and only 38 percent of publishers would give the price when asked."
Stevenson said the transparency portion to be introduced next week would require the release of the "suggested retail price, estimated wholesale price or the price that the publisher makes the product available to public."
Click here for info on movie passes!
Be the first to comment on this story