Cheaper
textbooks needed
By
Jeff Overley
On-line Forty-Niner
Associated
Students Senate. took its first steps toward
combating skyrocketing textbook prices at
Cal State Long Beach Wednesday.
At
their weekly meeting, A.S. Senate members
heard remarks from Simeon Crowther, an economics
professor at CSULB, asked questions and
offered various proposals for reducing the
cost of class books.
The
price of college books and supplies has
soared over the past two decades, jumping
238 percent compared to a 51 percent rise
in all other consumer goods, according to
the Consumer Price Index.
"The
big problem, from an economic standpoint,
is that students need these textbooks, "
Crowther said. "As a result, they have
very little market power. They can either
buy [the books] or not."
One
of the biggest factors in rising textbook
costs is that teachers of different sections
of the same course use books that they personally
favor, Crowther said. If all teachers agree
to "standardize" and employ a
single book, significant savings could be
derived from price breaks on large volume
purchases. These savings would then be passed
on to students since the University Bookstore
is a non-profit business.
"This
is not really a student issue, this is a
faculty issue," Senator-at-Large Brian
Roberts said.
"If we can talk to professors, we can
standardize; we can get economies of scale."
Harvey
Morley, faculty advisor to the A.S. Senate,
cautioned against such a move. "I think
we have to be careful about standardization
because of the potential for impinging on
academic freedom," he said.
College
of Engineering Sen. Matthew Bates noted
that teachers in his computer science class
are cooperating to use a common book.
Crowther
expounded on the problem of economies of
scale.
"If
the only automobile available in this country
was the Toyota Camry, it would probably
cost $4,000 or $5,000, because you don't
have the associated costs of research and
design and production that come with variety,"
he said. "The same is true of textbooks."
Crowther
said that it might be easier for teachers
to agree on a sole textbook by using the
Internet. If they used Beachboard, he said,
teachers could compensate for important
material in their previous textbook that
they lost by compromising and switching
to one book.
Morley
predicted that faculty might react unfavorably
to this idea because of the potential difficulty
of using the Internet and Beachboard.
Crowther
acknowledged that this was possible but
said that he was "more optimistic."
"I'm
one of the oldest dogs around this campus,
and I've managed to learn a few new tricks,"
he said.
Crowther
also said that collaboration between teachers
could lessen the financial hardships created
by new editions of books. When a publisher
releases an updated text, students cannot
buy cheaper used books, nor can they sell
back books once they have finished using
them.
The
discussion ended with Morley's suggestion
that a subcommittee of Senate members be
established to formulate a course of action.
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