College Student: Knowledge for Rent
13 Comments Published by clay October 14th, 2007 in State and Local Politics.I like what Cal State Fullerton is doing with the textbook rental plan. I can’t think of one book that I needed to keep for my future. Much of the information is available online or when you start working. I also like the move to the digital age. Over the past few years, I have become more and more comfortable reading longer text from the Internet. I am one step away from buying the e-reader, where I can put thousands of books on it, rather than buying a hardback book every so often. The problem with storing books alone makes me want to read online more.
College students have been hammered in recent years by soaring costs for everything from tuition to rent to gasoline to the coffee-house java that fuels all-night study sessions.
One of the most frequent complaints has always been about textbook prices, now averaging $900 per year, according to a 2004 study by the California Public Interest Research Group. That’s more than many community college students spend on a year’s tuition.
This weekend, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has two competing bills on his desk, both seeking to make textbooks more affordable, that he must sign or veto by today, or they’ll expire.
“Books are generally really expensive and getting higher,” Mohamed Eldessouky, the student body president of UC Irvine, said Wednesday, adding he hopes the governor will sign one of the bills, SB832. “My buddy just bought an economics book yesterday for $163.”
SB832 would, among other things, require publishers to tell faculty in advance about the entire range of books available in their subject matter and how much they cost.
That bill is opposed by the Association of American Publishers, saying it creates onerous and unnecessary new disclosure rules for textbook publishers, while not fixing other links in the textbook supply chain.
“We have 240 introductory algebra books available every day in the bookstores,” said Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the Association of American Publishers. “Which ones are you talking about? Some cost $20 and some cost $120.”
Hildebrand said the country’s 4,500 textbook publishers should not be told how to publicize their books, and that the burden of textbook price reform should not fall entirely on publishers.
Meanwhile, college officials around the country are moving forward with other ways to save students money, including rental programs, e-books, custom printed books and free course materials that are increasingly available online.
And some schools like
Books rent for about one-third of the cost of a new book. Titan Shops manager Chuck Kissel said he invites faculty to sign up, and asks them to guarantee that the books they assign through the rental program will be used for at least two years, to make the program financially viable.
“We are making a little less (profit) but we are finding more students are shopping with us,” Kissel said, adding that he expects to continue to grow the rental business. It helps students financially not only because they pay less, but because they don’t have to shell out hundreds of dollars in advance, with the hope that they can later get some of it back by reselling the book.
For example, the bookstore rented 516 copies of the “Nature of Mathematics” this term for $44.95 per semester, less than half the $130 it cost to buy the book new or the $97.50 cost of the used edition.
I think the idea for a text book rental is great! Cheaper and easier to get. I know a lot who try to find the cheapest books looking at amazon or even books coming out of India, people will go to such lengths just to try and save money even if that means buying a book that is an old edition or waiting a month just to get it. I think that should tell us something. We need a new way to get more affordable books for college students and I think that book rentals would really work. I also like the idea of the 2 year guarentee but I think it might be hard since I know more than a few teachers make students buy books knowing that they wont use them especially if it’s their own book but nontheless I think its a good option for college students.
As the prices for college, and everything that goes with it (rent, food, supplies, etc.), continue to increase the prices somewhere need to drop. Being able to rent books for cheaper than you would buy them is a great tool for students. In most cases, students spend a great sum of money on books that they will never look at when their classes are finished. Even with the “buy back” programs students are still losing a great deal of valuable finances.
I think that by using a rental system students will save much needed money, there will be a greater supply of books (since they will be returned in the end), and they will learn how to better take care of those books since they will be expected to return them in the end.
I think the idea of renting text books is a great idea. From experience of taking college classes at Cal Poly, I can relate to this blog because I have to buy books for my classes. The most expensive book that I’ve bought so far for a class is my History of Western Art class, which was about $85 and it was used. The History of Western Art book was unnecessary to keep a hold of for the future, so I sold back the book to Cal Poly and only got less than half what I originally paid for back. Take note that the $85 book was a used book, so purchasing a used book only saves you a couple of dollars. Right now, I’m using my friend’s history books for my US History class, so I didn’t have to buy the books this semester. However, you can’t depend on your friends all the time to have the books you need because all teachers require different books. Therefore, a renting book program would definitely help out students like me.
Also, you are not always guaranteed to get your money back when you sell back the book to a school, like Cal Poly. I remember for my Human Geography class they were only accepting 30 books back to give back money for. Unfortunately, I was the 31st person, so I was told that they were not accepting any more books to pay you back some money because they were getting a new edition of the book in stock.
College is already expensive as it is, so I say yes to rental programs for college textbooks because they would help out students a lot.
I think it’s a good idea. As it already is, college, rent, gas, etc, is already expensive. We dont need to go and pay more than a hundred bucks on a book that we are only going to use for a quarter or for a semester. and after you are done using itand when you return it, you might get around half the price of what you had paid. some people might even get the books online, but their might also be people waiting to get the same book. it would actually be better to rent then to buy. that way you wont have to spend money on the book and then having to return them and getting only a little bit of money back. it would also help the students finacially..
WTF? this pisses me off! why are textbooks so expensive anyway? its because the F___ing professors who write them and require them for their classes are greedy SOBs and are in it only for the money. im glad that universities are starting a “book rental” program to help reduce the costs of the books. I’m also glad that my professor isn’t like that. the classes are expensive enough, considering tuition, the fees associated the classes, potential lab fees, and the expenses of day to day living. the textbooks should actually be the cheapest expense that students have to pay and unfortunately they aren’t. I believe that the book rentals will not only make higher education more affordable, but it will make the students take better care of their books and allow them to have the latest version of the books for the class. oh, and sorry for the ranting and raving earlier……. but if anyone has a different answer to why text books are so expensive, please tell me!
Why are textbooks so expensive?
(1) the root cause is a feature of the marketplace that has changed greatly over the years and fundamentally reshaped the textbook market: sale of used books.
(2) frequent revision schedule of basic textbooks. Most introductory psychology textbooks are revised every three years, some every two years
(3) many formerly independent textbook companies are being bought up and merged under the same corporate umbrella could also be partly responsible, if this process reduces competition through having fewer companies
(4) Others point their fingers at the bright colors in many books (relative to older black and white models) and argue that production costs are needlessly pushed up by color
(5) What reasons are given for the high price of textbooks? Of course, there’s general inflation, but evidence points to textbook prices outpacing inflation
(6) Publishers make their money on new textbooks (professors make near nothing)
(7) Dean Barker argues: “The reason that textbooks are costly is that the government grants textbook publishers copyright monopolies. Copyright monopolies allow the publishers to prevent anyone from competing with them in the market. They are the only ones that can sell a copyrighted textbook in whole or in part. This prevents individuals from freely reproducing a textbook or making it available over the Internet.”
I am all for this. This seems like a great idea that can help college students a lot. Now that I’m starting to apply for colleges i’m looking at the price of tuition and it’s ridiculous! It’s like they don’t want us to go to college at all. By cutting down the price of at least one area of the college tuition it gives the students a feeling that they can go to college. Some students don’t buy books because they can’t afford it. Renting out books is a good idea because it not only cuts down the cost of books by 1/3 of its original price, but it gives them a sense of responsibility because the students need to take care of their books in order to return them.
I’m glad that colleges are starting to do this and even though the bookstores are saying that they are making less profit, it pays off in the long run. College can be afforable and it should be affordable.
Attending I-Poly has given me the chance to experience what college would life be like a little earlier. Since the past year I have taken four college classes so far and I am in the process of taking my fifth. The prices of my books have ranged from $100 for just one book to having to pay about $70 dollars for two books. So I have already had to experience how expensive a book for college can be and that is why I support this bill.
In college there are many pricey expenses that need to be paid like college tuition, room and board if living on campus, a meal plan if a person is receiving one, and various other expenses. So the fact that we also have to add expensive books to our list of expenses does not help. Especially since for the most part when students buy books they never use it again for another class. There are some teachers who are kind enough to think of the students and try not to make the students buy expensive books if it can be helped. However there are many teachers who really do not think it matters to them and that is usually the class, which a person buys the most expensive books from. So the fact that a college like Fullerton is experimenting with allowing the students to rent books is a great alternative to having to buy books. Since many students hardly ever use the book ever again. Also this is a good way of saving a little money and in college and money you save counts in the end.
I think the renting of books is a great idea anything that will be able to change the cost so that is it lower is a great idea. I hope the governor takes this into consideration when deciding whether to sign the bill.
I think this rental program is wonderful and has many benifits. For one, I can relate to how expensive college textbooks are. Since enrolling in classes at Cal Poly i have had to shell out over $400 dollars in textbooks. Thats outrageous because im not even a full time student. The pricing ranging from $50 to well over $100. I can only imagine how much full time students pay for their book every quarter or semester. I’ve have a friend that recently bought books, hes taking 5 classes and spent $500 dollars on books. Its insane.
By establishing a program like this, students will be able to afford books. Im glad some colleges are leaning towards a textbook renting program even though they are receiving less money.
I think that the book rental business would help greatly with the college students, it’s a really great idea. For example, I know that I wouldn’t want to pay $500 dollars or more per year for books that I won’t use forever. It is just a big waste of money. But book rentals are a lot cheaper and a lot more resourceful then spending a paycheck or two on books. I also think that reading books online is a great idea too, if a professor assigns something and its online then the students can go home and read the assigned chapter or at the university’s computer lab. When people come up with ideas such as the book rental business, then it is making it a lot more easier on incoming freshman and the returning students so that they do not have to hassle their way through getting the assignments done.
The reason why I feel that this is a really great idea, is because students want to have a smooth transition from high school to college without the hassle of spending more money not only on the tuition, but books that you may not even use after you graduate. With the rental business it also gives you the liberty to keep the books for a certain amount of time so you don’t feel rushed in returning them. This new plan is changing the views of how students can look at college now, and give them a weight lifted off their shoulders, book rentals mean less money, and that much more less then what you have to pay to get into college.
I truly applaud Cal State Fullerton for implementing the innovative idea of renting textbooks, which is a great combatant for the high prices of bookstore textbooks, the hassle of receiving Amazon.com purchases before class and the sadly vetoed bill SB832 that would have forced publishers to inform professors on the prices of books before purchase, thus allowing the professor to choose a less expensive textbook rather than the pricey one the publishers send to them.
The idea that a student can pay 1/3 the price of a new book rather than the ten-dollars-less price of used books benefits the students because, duh they save money and the bookstores no longer have to run gimmicks like Cal Poly’s buy one get one free Cold Stone ice cream coupons. Because campus bookstores are easy to find and are a reliable source of course textbooks, students will shop there more, balancing the small profit loss due to renting cheap books. This fact alone can help other colleges jump onto the rent-a-book wagon.
Although the veto of SB832 by Governor Schwarzenegger was a set back, I do believe this idea along with the electronic textbooks and the passed bill AB1548, which requires publishers to disclose prices only when asked, are steps toward lightening the burden of an expensive, but overly beneficial college education.
i dont know either, why these books that you’ll be using for less than a year cost so much. its not like they’re not getting their moneys worth out of it, there are so many others that are going to use the book. even the books that you cant sell back (workbooks) are sooo expensive. in my lab class we needed our book and when i went to go look for it i saw that for one workbook that i wouldn’t even write in all the pages costed me $78 for a brand new one. and of course that someone who could afford the book wouldn’n be nice enough to sell it back because then they would have to pay for copies. another thing too, the other day we went through 12 pages out of the book and so i went to go make copies of the pages that we needed for the table and it was the worst $5 i ever spent.
this rental program is a good idea i think that alot more colleges should take this on. even jc’s should really consider this program. most of the people that go to a jc is because they couldn’t afford to get their aa or as is a uc or a csu because the tuition would be too much their first year out of high school.
also that when you go to sell back the book, that you could finally afford to buy because you found one of the cheapest prices, they buy it back from you for less that a 1/3 of the price. now thats outrageous.
In my personal opinion i think that the whole rental thing is really good. I think it was a good idea that they had books for rent instead of buying the book. It is much easier that way and many more students can actually get the books now and study. Before many students couldn’t afford the books, hence they would probably not get the grade they wanted because the majority of college classes require you to read the books. Meaning the books you bought in order to understand the subject even better. Everybody knows that college is really expensive,but it gets even more expesive when you have to pay for the tuition. That might get a little complicated for some students because they could just pay for college. Hence, after they dont know what to do with the purchases of books because college books can be really expensive. However, now that they made a new program by renting the books i think that a lot more people could actually afford the books and dont have to sturggle to find a way to buy a book. Now they dont have to buy the books because now instead of buying them they could just rent them. I think that that pregram just made the life easier for a lot of college students. It is also saving them a lot more money.