Opinion In Brief
Have you bought all of your textbooks yet? If you haven’t and you don’t plan to, you’re not alone. In fact, a survey by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia found that more than 40 percent of students in this state don’t always buy the texts they need for classes.
Have you bought all of your textbooks yet? If you haven’t and you don’t plan to, you’re not alone. In fact, a survey by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia found that more than 40 percent of students in this state don’t always buy the texts they need for classes.
It’s not exactly a mystery. Books sure as hell aren’t getting cheaper. Actually, prices for textbooks have been rising at double the inflation rate, according to a study by the Government Accountability Office.
What really adds insult to injury is that – at least in some instances – your professor gets a cut of every sale. While you are watching the bookstore take all of your money, your professor could very well be garnishing a small fortune.
Students in one 100-level course not too long ago learned that their professor was making $5 for every book sale. Multiply that $5 by the 300 kids crammed into that lecture, and then consider the fact that there was more than one section. The professor probably made enough to buy a summer home. OK, maybe not that much, but it’s the principle.
At least students have one thought to comfort them: Professors can’t sell books back for beer money at the end of the semester.
