Higher Education In The News

BOSTON -- Outraged by the cost of textbooks, college students from across the state banded together yesterday to push for legislation to lower the cost of college books.

Stephanie Legenza, a sophomore at Middlesex Community College, spent nearly $600 on her textbooks this semester. She said the printing of new editions is the problem.

"The books are the exact same, they just switch up some examples and charge more," she said.

Members of the Massachusetts Student Public Interest Research Group (MassPIRG) told the Joint Committee on Higher Education that publishers' practices of bundling books -- shrink-wrapping textbooks with additional materials such as CDs, pass-codes, or workbooks -- unfairly drives up the cost of college textbooks.

Rep. Kevin Murphy, co-chair of the committee on higher education, agrees.

"This bill is one more way to make college affordable for students who can't go right now," Murphy said. "I'm 100 percent in favor of it and I'm prepared to do whatever is necessary to have it passed."

The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported in 2005 that the average college student spends about $900 a year on textbooks, about 20 percent of tuition and fees at four-year public universities. Textbook prices are rising at about four times the rate of inflation.

More than 40 students, wearing their college T-shirts attended the hearing to support the bill.

The committee is considering the College Textbook Affordability Act, a bill filed by Rep. Steven Walsh, D-Lynn, after college students from North Shore Community College brought the issue to his attention three years ago.

The bill would require publishers to provide a product list, wholesale prices, and estimate the time that each product will remain on the market. It also requires that bundled components be made available for individual sale.

Sandi Kirshner, a chief marketing officer of Pearson Education publishing company, said after the meeting that she disagrees with the blanket statement that publishers don't change material from edition to edition.

"We do carefully revise the books. We have a commitment to make sure that students are using the most up-to-date materials in the classroom," Kirshner said. "It is an unfair characterization of what we do as publishers."

Kirshner said much of what's being called for in this legislation are areas that publishers are already working on. She hopes that during this debate people don't lose sight of the quality of education products.

Erin Hearn, a MassPIRG organizer, says publishers are to blame for the increased cost.

"Publishers really hold the power and hold up the textbook cost. They're the people we need to target. And throughout our research we decided that the best way to do this is through political action," Hearn said.