2008 Woodie Awards
Cheaper texts now the focus
Kelsey Beltramea - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: Metro
|
Everyone has textbooks weighing on the mind.
And a bill introduced by Rep. Bill Schickel, R-Mason City, aims to make those textbooks a little lighter on the wallet by giving coin-conscious college students - who the UI projects will spend $1,040 on textbooks next academic year - a better chance to shop around.
Schickel's bill would require Iowa universities and community colleges to provide the international standard book numbers - or ISBNs - of course textbooks on the Internet and at campus bookstores at least 14 days before the start of a semester.
( Daily Iowan TV video feature )
Video in QuickTime format, click here for free player download
"If a university or college is doing great customer service and offering the lowest prices it can, this won't hurt [the school] at all," Schickel said. "But if it's using the campus bookstore to raise additional money to support the university, and it's charging exuberant prices to do so, then this bill will have a great effect."
Fortunately for UI students, ISBNs are already available on the University Book Store's website; the numbers have been online as long as the website has, said George Herbert, the bookstore's director. The professors are the ones who control their transmission.
"They come up as soon as order is up," Herbert said. "As soon as the professor gets us the order online - and some take longer than others - the ISBN goes up."
So the textbook-number bill, which passed the House unanimously on Feb. 21 and is in Senate committee, may not have that much of an effect on the UI - but it mirrors a nationwide trend of lawmakers targeting the escalating costs of education.
The U.S. Senate is now considering a bill that passed the House of Representatives in February to amend the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, pushing for cheaper textbooks, accessible financial aid, and protections for those who borrow money to go to school.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Jessie
posted 3/04/08 @ 7:32 AM CST
And this will affect me how...??? I'm more concerned with with the rising tuition costs...
Student
posted 3/04/08 @ 9:03 AM CST
Buy your books online. It's not that hard and you sell them back online. In most cases I get my money back or more and never spend a dime on books. Campusi. (Continued…)
cpd
posted 3/04/08 @ 12:30 PM CST
The problem is not the bookstore...the problem is the publishers. Do we really need an "updated" version of a Calculus textbook every two years? No. But they put one out anyway in order to squeeze out the used textbook market making professors feel that they "have" to require the latest edition for their classes. (Continued…)
Post a Comment