Durbin Introduces Legislation to Help College Students Manage Textbook Costs

Press Release

DURBIN INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO HELP COLLEGE STUDENTS MANAGE TEXTBOOK COSTS

Monday, April 2, 2007

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) visited Illinois State University today to discuss legislation he recently introduced to ensure that college textbooks and supplemental materials are more available and affordable for college students. This bill, known as the College Textbook Affordability Act, would help students manage costs by requiring publishers and colleges receiving federal assistance to print the price of textbooks and supplemental materials in the course schedule so students could take that into account when selecting classes.

"The average college student spends nearly $900 on textbooks every year and the cost of textbooks is climbing at four times the rate of inflation," said Durbin. "We know these books cost significantly less for students overseas. What we don't know is why publishers and their cooperating faculty are penalizing American students."

Students face a number of challenges when trying to purchase required textbooks. New editions are expensive and often issued unnecessarily. This makes previous editions outdated and forces students to pay more for new books rather than being able to buy used books. Packaging supplemental materials such as CD-ROMs and workbooks, with textbooks is called book bundling. Faculty members who make decisions on which textbooks are used in their classes often do not have complete information on the relative prices of different texts. Furthermore, information like the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is often unavailable to students until just before a term commences, making it difficult for students to shop for the lowest priced book.

"Publishers use new editions and bundled material to drive up costs for students who are already having trouble paying for school," Durbin said. "It is time to give them the information and options they need to make educated decisions about managing their finances in school."

The College Textbook Affordability Act:

# Requires publishers to include the price of textbooks and supplemental material when providing information to faculty as well as the history of revisions and whether the textbook and supplemental material are available in a potentially lower-priced alternative format

# Requires publishers who bundle course material to offer the textbooks and supplemental material in unbundled versions

# Requires colleges receiving federal assistance to include the ISBN and retail price of textbooks and supplemental materials in the course schedule

# Requires schools, when asked, to provide bookstores with access to the course schedule, ISBN numbers of course material, and the maximum and current course enrollment numbers

Source