Textbook prices continue to skyrocket. Can digital textbooks stop the madness?

An average college student spends about $700 - $1000 per year on the cost of textbooks alone, estimates a recent report from the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance.1 The price, says the committee, is too high for low and middle income families.

As opposed to the mainstream publishing market, the textbook market is driven by supply, not demand. That translates into exorbitant costs for students and families, who are at the mercy of professors' choices and publishers' prices.

Cutting Costs

Some colleges are attempting to foot the bill by offering well-intentioned, short-term solutions. Many instructors are making an effort to use no-cost course content whenever possible. Textbook rental programs, more library resources, and financial aid programs for students in need are also being implemented. But these attempts fail to address the source of the problem, say legislatures.

Textbooks Go Digital

Instead, the May, 2007 report encourages the creation of a national electronic clearinghouse for course materials. The proposed system would allow students to purchase both print and digital textbooks, depending on their preference. At the same time, the copyrights of publishers would still be protected.

Many universities and colleges are already making use of digital textbooks. The University of Phoenix not only provides completely digital textbooks, but also offers access to a digital library of over 21,000 periodicals, 20 million full-text articles, encyclopedias, directories, and the financial records of more than 10,000 public worldwide companies.2

An Eye to the Future

Experts warn that while a national electronic clearinghouse sounds good in theory, it may be difficult to implement in reality.3 But students and lawmakers remain optimistic about efforts to spread the use of digital textbooks.

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