Miami Student

Issue date: 2/12/08 Section: Community

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Feb. 7 attempting to make college textbooks more affordable for university students.

In an effort to assist college students with the high costs of education, Congress has recently made the next step in passing a bill to help students cope with the price of textbooks.

The House of Representatives voted Feb. 7 to require tighter regulations for colleges and publishers in the College Opportunity and Affordability Act. If the bill becomes law, it would reinstall portions of the Higher Education Act-which is the law that governs federal student aid.

The College Opportunity and Affordability Act would require publishers to promote custom textbooks for the purpose of eliminating the high expenses of packaged books.

Under the bill, textbook prices could be cheaper because they would be sold individually rather than packaged with other publications.

By informing bookstores of what books they will use, instructors can increase the buyback price to students and increase the number of used books available for them to buy, according to Charles Schmidt, spokesperson for the National Association of College Stores (NACS), the professional trade association, which represents the collegiate retail industry.

Additionally, publishers would be required to show a disclosure. In all promotional materials publishers would need to note their textbooks' wholesale prices, the copyright dates of previous editions, summaries of substantial content revisions and whether the book is currently available in paperback.

In addition, the bill would require universities to list the course material that would be required within the course catalog, which is the directory of classes that students may register for in the following semester.

Schmidt said the bill would increase industry transparency, mandating textbook requirements to be listed along with class registration lists. This would allow students to be aware of additional finances prior to the beginning of a class.

While Schmidt said NACS is supportive of the bill, he said he is concerned with some components of it.

Because many universities are unaware what books teachers will require, Schmidt said incorrect pricing in the course catalog that universities give to students each semester could occur.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools