Colleges look for ways to cap book costs

ATLANTA – It’s one of the most common college complaints: expensive textbooks. Some of them cost hundreds of dollars, and with new required editions every few years, students have slim opportunities to buy used ones.

The state Board of Regents examined ways to curb rising textbook costs Wednesday, fearing that if they don’t do something to stop textbook inflation, the Legislature will force caps for them.

Last session three measures to cap textbook costs were considered, and even though none became law, college policy-makers say the complaints aren’t going away and they better stop runaway costs before they’re forced to stick with old books.

“The cost has become prohibitive to an awful lot of people,” warned Chancellor Tom Meredith.

Textbooks can now make up 20 percent of the cost of attending public college, said Bill Bowes, staff treasurer for the Regents’ vice chancellor of finance. College textbook editions are updated on average every 3.8 years, forcing many students to buy new books instead of saving about 25 percent by buying used books, he said.

Bowes set up a six-campus task force of campus bookstore administrators to examine how to keep costs down. The Board of Regents isn’t proposing any rules for professors and bookstores yet, but those could be on the way. College textbook complaints are getting big attention from lawmakers and college administrators nationwide.

Just three months ago, the California legislature passed a law requiring college presidents to work with faculty to find least-costly textbooks. The governor of Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich, ordered a state investigation into high textbook costs in May.

Even Congress is considering stepping in. The U.S. House has considered, though not approved, an investigation into possible textbook price gouging and whether books are sold cheaper overseas.

Meredith said Georgia colleges need a plan before politicians step in and require professors to keep the same textbooks for longer periods of time.

“We’re not saying anybody’s doing anything wrong,” he said. “We’re just looking at it closely.”

Among the explanations for the skyrocketing costs of college books: more add-ons like CDs and online study aides, more graphics in the texts and more frequent new editions, especially in science and technology fields.

Bowes defended college bookstores and professors and said they’re unlikely to blame for the fast growth of book costs. College bookstores make a higher profit margin on used books than new books, he said, so there’s little pressure by the stores to bring in new books. And many schools, including the University of Georgia, don’t allow professors to assign textbooks they wrote without higher approval, cutting the likelihood that professors order new editions just to line their own pockets.

Bowes’ recommendations included encouraging schools to adopt standard core curriculum books and asking professors to meet earlier deadlines for choosing new books, saving college bookstores from paying rush-shipment fees. Bowes also suggested that professors be more clear with students about which books are required, and which are only recommended.

Also, the Regents are considering asking the Legislature for a sales-tax exemption on college textbooks, which would save students a few pennies per dollar.

No decisions were made Wednesday by the Regents, but they expect to revisit the book question. A state lawmaker who proposed profit caps on textbooks last session, Democratic Rep. Barbara Massey Reece of Menlo, said she’d hold off on pushing another bill while college officials try to fix the problem themselves.

“We’ll probably wait and see what the Regents do,” she said.