вторник, 13 марта 2012 г.

Soaring textbook costs at issue

The state Higher Education Policy Commission is giving collegestudents - and their parents - a chance to talk about the risingcost of textbooks.

The average American college student pays almost $1,000 a yearjust for books.

The cost of those books has risen much faster than most otherschool expenses - almost 110 percent between 1987 and 2004,according to a congressional advisory report issued last year.

A hearing on the matter is set for 10 a.m. Oct. 10 at the WilsonUniversity Union at West Virginia State University in Institute.

Last year, the Higher Education Policy Commission formed ataskforce to study textbook affordability, said higher educationChancellor Brian Noland. Members of the taskforce have beenresearching the issue and plan to issue a report by January.

West Virginia law requires colleges and universities to adoptpolicies that ensure school bookstores do what they can to keepcosts down, said HEPC commissioner and taskforce co-chairman NelsonRobinson.

However, the taskforce discovered that several schools -Glenville State College, West Liberty State College, and WestVirginia State University - did not have such policies, Robinsonsaid.

"It's my understanding that they're in the process of adoptingrules now," Robinson said.

Many factors play into the rising cost of textbooks, but onereason is that publishers issue new editions more frequently, Nolandsaid.

"The days of having a used textbook are still with us," he said,"but those textbooks and the revisions are turned around on a muchmore rapid basis than in the past."

Publishing companies also add pricey extras, such as CD-ROMs andother supplemental materials.

"You're no longer just buying a textbook," he said.

Robinson said he's heard "horrendous" stories about the costs oftextbooks - such as students paying up to $1,500 for books, orunfair return policies at campus bookstores.

"I think many of our institutions use the bookstores as a revenueproducer," Robinson said, "and that should not be the case."

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