The Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group along with 19 other student PIRGs nationwide announced survey findings Thursday showing publishing companies are the source of needless university textbook price inflation, a business costing the average university student approximately $900 annually.
\The report is the most comprehensive study of its kind to survey the individuals who deal the most with college textbooks,"" WisPIRG intern Travis Bird said.
The CalPIRG-based survey called ""Rip-off 101: How the Current Practices of the Publishing Industry Drive up the Cost of College Textbooks,"" found publishing companies at fault in three basic areas: They overcharge for books; they include seldom-used products, such as CD-Roms, with textbooks and require students to buy them with books; and they create new editions of textbooks with few changes from previous books, the report said.
The survey was based upon responses from 521 students at various University of California schools, 156 faculty members from University of California and Oregon schools, comparisons of different editions of the five most assigned textbooks and comparisons of editions of 33 other textbooks, according to the report.
""We think [it applies to universities nationwide] mostly because, from our conversations with faculty in other states, it all rings true with them,"" said Merriah Fairchild, CalPIRG higher education advocate and author of the report.
According to the report, an average textbook is updated every three to four years. Yet, 76 percent of faculty surveyed said such updates were not justified or barely justified.
""Book publishers offer new editions primarily to cut into the used-book market,"" UW-Madison mathematics Professor Joel Robbin said in a statement.
And Robbin is not alone in his belief.
According to the survey, 87 percent of faculty said supplement material is a better alternative to updating textbooks so frequently.
Additionally, the survey showed the average amount a student spends annually on textbooks has inflated from $642 in the 1996-97 academic year to nearly $900.
To curb such costs, student PIRGs support online textbooks, which eliminate the cost of printing, Bird said.
At UW-Madison, WisPIRG hosts a book swap each semester to cut out book stores' buy and sell-back processes, and other students have started book trading Web sites such as http://www.Madbook.com.
Patrick McGowan, spokesperson for the University Book Store, said he agrees publishing companies take advantage of students.
""We support WisPIRG's efforts to lower costs to students. We want to work with WisPIRG and publishers to implement whatever policies would keep student costs the lowest. We are definitely with students on this issue,"" McGowan said in a statement.
