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Some Students Do Not Purchase Textbooks Due to High Cost
By Catherine Groux
Posted October 03, 2012 11:00 AM
Many students do not purchase textbooks due to high cost.Today's college students can expect to spend about $655 on required course materials, including textbooks, each year, according to a July survey by OnCampus Research. While this price has decreased slightly in recent years, a new survey by Bookboon - a website that publishes free academic books - shows that 99.6% of college students still consider textbooks too expensive.
For this reason, many degree seekers are searching for ways to purchase textbooks at lower rates. The survey shows that almost 60% of students buy used course materials, while only 25% purchase new versions, which tend to be much more expensive.
Additionally, many individuals are turning to e-books to slash textbook costs. Almost 60% of students said they prefer digital textbooks to print materials, while 16% said this is because they are often more affordable.
Still, while some students are turning to used and electronic textbooks to save money, others are opting to avoid purchasing course materials all together. According to the survey, 76% of students said they do not always buy required textbooks.
A 2011 survey by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) showed similar results, stating that seven out of 10 college students did not purchase a required book at least once due to the high cost. About 78% of these degree seekers said they expected to do worse in class as a result of not buying the book; however, they knew that given the skyrocketing cost of tuition, they simply could not afford to spend hundreds of dollars on books as well.
"I wasn't sure until a few days before the term started whether I could afford going to school," a University of Southern California sophomore who was unable to buy several required books, told PIRG. "This was very stressful, as I often fell behind in the readings."
For higher education professionals like Rich Williams, an advocate with the PIRG, these reports only highlight the need to give students more affordable options for purchasing textbooks.
"Students recognize that textbooks are essential to their education but have been pushed to the breaking point by skyrocketing costs," Williams told The Chronicle of Higher Education. "The alarming result of this survey underscores the urgent need for affordable solutions."
