02/01/08
I agree that textbooks are overpriced, and that students need to shop around to get the best deal on their books. Quite often, some of my students are late purchasing their texts because they simply can’t afford them at the beginning of the semester.
This should never happen; perhaps the university could extend credit to those students who don’t have the resources to purchase their books so they won’t fall behind in their courses for financial reasons.
I do want to point out that at least in some instances, the cost of the textbook for a class is not as high as it may appear at first glance. For example, the illustration titled “Textbook Prices” on Page 6A of the Jan. 25 Orange shows the materials for SP 102 (the course I teach this term) to be the highest for Baker. However, the text/workbook combination is good for three semesters (SP 101, 102 and 203), so the per semester cost is significantly lower than what the graph suggests.
Still, the expense of buying textbooks is considerable. We must find ways to alleviate this burden on students. Publishers put out new editions unnecessarily often so that there’s no market for the previous editions.
But if students ask their professors, they may find out that they can indeed use an older edition for the class. It wouldn’t hurt to ask.
Pablo La Rosa
Assistant Professor of Spanish