TOWSON – The University System of Maryland Board of Regents approved a textbook policy Friday designed to cut student costs by allowing them to shop around.
“From my personal experience as a student, textbooks are a big cost of the education,” said Bill Logan, chairman of the University System of Maryland Student Council.
The new policy requires the product code (ISBN number), title, author, publisher and edition of required course materials be posted online. For fall semester, the deadline for posting is May 1. Other changes — from notifying professors of the cost of the books they order to using older editions — also can save money.
Students annually spend $921-$988 on textbooks and supplies, according to the National Association of College Stores 2007-2008 estimates. The cost of textbooks has risen an average of 6 percent per year since 1987, twice the rate of inflation, according to a Government Accountability Office 2005 report.
Students struggle to meet these costs. In 2004, more than 70 percent of students used a credit card to pay for textbooks, general school supplies and food, said a 2005 study published by Nellie Mae, a student loan company. In that same year, the average student had more than $2,000 in credit card debt.
Chancellor William “Brit” Kirwan Friday listed affordability as one of the top three objectives of the board as part of his report.
Regent David Nevins said this textbook policy addresses that concern.
“This should result truly in a 20 to 30 percent savings to students, $100 to $200 savings a year,” said Nevins. “What this provision will do is create a competitive environment where students can go to the Internet or other stores to find the best price.”
This could mean a loss of revenue for university bookstores if students go elsewhere to buy their texts, said Patrick J. Hogan, associate vice chancellor for government relations. But the board unanimously approved the action.
“So yes, potentially there is a fiscal impact, but we feel it is in the best interest of the students,” Hogan said in support of the policy.
The policy includes additional strategies to lower costs. University bookstores must tell professors the cost of the books they require. Nevins said professors often experience “shock and awe” once they realize a book is not $50 but $150.
The policy also has bookstores offering unbundled versions of texts, as students rarely use the costly CD’s or supplemental materials in the bundle. The new policy strongly encourages faculty to avoid switching to a new edition of text, unless the older version does not offer “comparable” content.
Logan asked the board to change the strong encouragement to a requirement, but USM Faculty Council Chairman Bill Chapin said the faculty worked hard to make sure the wording of the new policy allowed the best balance of academic excellence with cost savings.
The rising cost of textbooks has come to the attention of the Maryland General Assembly as well, prompting two bills for consideration this year. But Hogan said those bills would create unintended consequences and hidden costs that would end up being passed on to students.
“I’d prefer the state let our textbook policy go into effect, and see if it works. Laws can’t be changed easily,” said Hogan, who served for 13 years as a state senator.
Past efforts to reduce textbook costs involved simply distributing letters to faculty with suggestions. These didn’t go far enough. In November the Education Policy Committee held a summit to hear students and faculty discuss new strategies. A February work session codified the “best practices” gleaned from faculty and students.
“This policy is really a result of great collaboration among all of us, the regents, faculty, provosts and students,” said Chairman Clifford Kendall.
The new policy on textbooks is forward looking. It encourages faculty to allow electronic or online resources, perhaps in place of textbooks.
“We are moving from the 20th to the 21st century,” Nevins said, “in the way we engage in textbook requirements for students.”