- By New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
- Around Town
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Most families know how daunting the cost of college is. But every year around this time, college students face another sticker shock: the cost of college textbooks. New York college students in the state university (SUNY) and city university (CUNY) systems can expect to pay as much as $4,000 or more for textbooks over the course of a four-year degree program. That’s enough to price some students right out of a college education.Last year I released a report on text book pricing that highlighted the savings students could realize through alternative methods for purchasing college textbooks. The report found that at a sample of SUNY and CUNY campuses, students could save an average of $245 a semester by buying books on-line. A first semester 2009 freshman sociology major at SUNY Binghamton would have spent $690.65 on textbooks at the campus bookstore, but only $413.85 online. Other academic majors could save even more.
Of course, many students can’t shop online for books because of late posting of course listings and the lack of accurate book identification information. Many courses require the newest editions of textbooks, even if only minor revisions were made to the book.
College students need a break. No one should ever have to delay or drop out of college because textbooks cost too much, especially when there are ways to cut those costs.
Here are some small steps to help save college students big bucks:
- colleges should post a full course listing with required textbooks on their Web sites at least six weeks before classes start;
- posted textbook lists should include the specific ISBN of each textbook, along with the title, author edition and publisher and the campus bookstore price;
- colleges should provide the same information for acceptable alternatives to the required textbook version; and
- professors should limit textbook edition changes to allow for the purchase of used books.
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