Computer Science

The Effects of the Rise in College Textbooks

    In today’s society, where the economy has depleted and prices have inflated it has become harder and harder for the average adult to keep their head above water. The price tag on necessities from houses to education has emptied the pockets of the working class and college students. The cost of education and textbooks is making it a task for the already struggling college student to function in a society where the cost of living is spiraling out of control.   Many students are shocked that their textbooks cost as much as a thousand dollars a year. The textbook market is like the pharmaceutical market; the people who have the most influence over what is purchased (Doctors and Professors) don’t have to pay for their choices. The students do.

    The rise in the cost of textbooks combined with the seven percent annual increase in tuition and fees has caused the overall price of higher education to increase significantly.
This poses severe financial hardships for students and parents. This causes a decline in access to higher education and students are taking longer to complete their programs of study. “The rise in the cost of textbooks has placed an increasing demand on the resources of stock holders, the Federal Government, colleges and universities that provide need-based financial aid to students. Since the Federal Financial Aid formula include some measure of the cost of textbooks, the price increase has forced Congress to appropriate more money to Financial Aid and to ration scarcely available funds among an increasing large number of students.   Both things have occurred, but the end result still has been that need-based financial aid per eligible student has fallen far behind the rising cost of higher education” (Koch p.1).

    Students are under enough pressure to perform at a certain level of excellence.   The rising cost of tuition and textbooks only adds to that stress.   Prices have risen so much... [continues]

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