Issues & FAQ
Issues
Publishers understand the challenges that exist for both students and educators in the postsecondary world, and that’s why they are focusing on:
Improving student completion rates
Harnessing the power of new technologies, publishers are creating innovative instructional tools to help college students complete their degree and do so more quickly. When coupled with course redesigns, these technologies have resulted in an average 30%-40% decrease in student dropout rates, according to the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT).
These new teaching systems are adaptive to a student population with diverse learning needs: from advanced to developmental. They challenge and maintain the interest of the highest achievers and meet the needs of those less prepared for college courses.
Lowering the cost of course materials for students
The costs of tuition, fees, room and board, and other out of pocket costs continue to climb, but according statistics from Student Monitor’s Lifestyle & Media Report – Spring 2011, students report that their spending for printed textbooks dropped 10% from the Fall 2009 academic year and is down 20% from the Fall 2008 academic year. Another report, the College Board’s 2010 Trends in College Pricing, found that “books and supplies” are the lowest expense for off-campus students and tied with “transportation” as the lowest expense for on-campus students.
This is due in part to publishers’ efforts to offer cost-conscious alternatives such as custom editions; e-textbooks; unbound, three-hole punched binder editions; black and white; paperback; and books online one chapter at a time.
Lowering the cost of instruction per pupil for colleges and universities
To help lower the cost to universities and colleges, publishers have developed a series of business models that enable individual institutions to pick the approach that best meets the needs of their faculty and students. To read more about these business models and how your institution can save 40-65% for course materials while improving student success rates, click here. Institutions are also cutting costs by coupling new course material technologies with course redesigns, leading to an average 30%-40% reduction in the cost per pupil for instruction, according to NCAT.
Offering state-of-the-art technology options
Educators are using publisher-developed technology, such as software that gauges a student’s knowledge base and then customizes their study tracks, enabling faculty to more efficiently focus on areas where students are falling behind. And new classroom management systems are providing faculty with improved grading systems, student performance tracking, curriculum customization, and file sharing capability, making administrative tasks quicker and easier. Online quizzes and tutorials enable students to assess and measure their own progress anywhere, anytime. Other tools digitally capture class lectures and enable searches for keywords and specific content. And now these tools are also changing the way students and faculty interact in the classroom, as handheld clickers add interactivity and response tracking to class discussions and lectures. These are only a few of the resources developed by publishers that are transforming the landscape of learning for students.
FAQs
How much do college students spend on textbooks?
- According to Student Monitor’s Lifestyle & Media Report – Spring 2011, students said their spending for printed textbooks is down 10% from the Fall 2009 academic year and down 20% from the Fall 2008 academic year. (See “Per Capital Spending for Textbooks” graph and data chart below)
- The average retail price of a new textbook is about $62. (Source: National Association of College Stores)
- Adjusted for inflation, the average student spent 8% less for course materials in 2009 than in 2001.
- “Books and supplies” are the lowest expense for off-campus students and tied with “transportation” as the lowest expense for on-campus students, according to The College Board’s 2010 Trends in College Pricing.
- “Books and supplies” are only 3.5% of the overall cost for an average, on-campus, out-of-state student at a public college or university.
- “Books and supplies” are only 5.5% of the overall cost for an average, on-campus, in-state student at a public college or university.
What affects a textbook’s price?
Textbooks are designed to be effective learning tools. Between their covers are years of exhaustive research, precise thought, and contributions from dozens of experts. To improve student success, many of today’s textbooks are integrated with sophisticated, supplemental learning and instructional materials that could not have been envisioned by prior generations.
The cost of developing a new textbook and the accompanying materials often exceeds $1 million. Most of this cost is attributable to paying for the work and original ideas of authors, experts, editors, researchers, reviewers and designers.
The development of a textbook includes: (Example: Campbell Reece, Biology, 7 th edition)
- More than 7,000 hours of researching and writing by authors and contributors
- More than 1,000 hours of reviewing final pages
- 245 biologists who reviewed 55 chapters for accuracy and currency
- More than 8,800 hours spent by developmental editors reading multiple drafts of revised chapters, querying authors, synthesizing faculty feedback and crafting the layout of each page
- More than 2,630 hours spent by developmental artists evaluating every figure in the text and creating sketches for new and improved figures
- More than 3,300 hours by production editors to typeset, create page layout, check and proofread pages, revise pages and create final files for the printer.
- Overall, more than 13.8 person years of work went into the development of this one, new edition.
- Investments in technology include both digital platforms and integrated curriculum technology development.
- New tools, such as software that gauges students’ knowledge base and then customizes their study tracks, are being used to enable faculty to more efficiently focus on areas where students are falling behind. And publisher-produced classroom management systems are providing faculty with improved grading systems, student performance tracking, curriculum customization, and file sharing capability, making administrative tasks quicker and easier. Online quizzes and tutorials enable students to assess and measure their own progress anywhere, anytime. Other tools digitally capture class lectures and enable students to search for keywords and specific content. Handheld response devices – better known as clickers – are adding interactivity and response tracking to class discussions and lectures.
- These publisher-provided faculty training and support service offerings are almost always provided at no cost to the faculty or institution
- The cost of these is included in the price of textbooks.
- Inflation accounts for the lion’s share of most years’ annual increases in textbook prices
- Freight and transportation are driven by rising fuel costs
- Bookstore mark-ups cover operational costs and financial obligations to the institution
What other cost saving alternatives do students have when buying course materials?
In addition to e-textbooks, publishers are also lowering the cost of course materials by offering cost-conscious alternatives such as black and white, paperback, unbound, three-hole punched binder and custom editions. Many publishers also offer books online by the chapter so students can purchase just the chapters they need.
Students can also find lower-cost options by renting textbooks online directly from publishers.
Where can students buy their textbooks online?
1. Textbooks can also be purchased and rented directly from publishers online. Visit Bedford St. Martin's, Cengage, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, W.H. Freeman, Wiley, Wolters Kluwer, Worth Publishers, and W.W. Norton to obtain your textbooks directly from the vendor.
2. E-textbooks can be rented at CourseSmart.com, a digital course materials provider, developed by publishers, that offers 90% of all core textbooks at up to a 60% discount on the list price. The current CourseSmart.com title catalog includes more than 20,000 titles and new titles are added almost daily. Other features provided by e-textbooks purchased at CourseSmart.com include:
- Pages look identical to print textbook with same pagination
- Easy navigation with linked Table of Contents
- Search for specific topics within the e-textbook, a chapter or a page
- Taking notes and highlighting text
- Copying and pasting text
- Printing pages and sharing information with classmates
3. Textbooks can also be purchased at other non-publisher sites, such as: college bookstores; Amazon.com; Half.com; Textbooks.com; BarnesandNoble.com; Efollett.com and many others.
What are the most expensive costs for students?
According to the Trends in College Pricing 2010 report by The College Board, the major expenses for students are:
Cost per Student – Public Four-Year, Out of State
- Tuition & Fees 60.6%
- Room & Board 26.4%
- Other 6.2%
- Books & Supplies 3.5%
- Transportation 3.3%
Cost per Student – Public Two-Year, Commuter
- Room & Board 49.6%
- Tuition & Fees 18.5%
- Other 13.9%
- Transportation 10.3%
- Books & Supplies 7.7%
According to Student Monitor’s Lifestyle & Media – Spring 2011 Report, for the Fall 2010 – Spring 2011 academic year, the average student spent $534 for printed textbooks. To put that figure into context, that number is:
- 50% less than the $1,068 students spent for their mobile phone
- 60% less than students spent on movie tickets
- 27% less than what students spent for gasoline
What benefits do e-textbooks offer?
E-textbook technology continues to evolve, adding new features at a rapid pace. Publisher-produced course materials and e-textbooks offered on CourseSmart.com, a digital course materials provider, offer several benefits, such as:
Students:
- Guaranteed savings - Saves money since CourseSmart e-textbooks cost an average of 60% less than a printed textbook.
- Digital convenience
- Page view is identical to print textbook with same pagination
- Text navigation is easy with linked Table of Contents
- Search for specific topics within an e-textbook, a chapter or a page
- Taking notes and highlighting text
- Copying and pasting text
- Printing pages and sharing information with classmates
- Confidence - Assures that you are purchasing the exact materials assigned by instructors for use in class.
- Instant Access - Allows for digital course materials to be accessed anytime, day or night.
- Choice - Multiple formats available that support anytime, anywhere access to course materials on a variety of computers and devices.
Why and how often are textbooks updated?
- The average length of time between editions is four years, an interval that has remained constant for decades.
- The market, events and new information – not publishers – determine when a new revision is necessary.
- 80 percent of college instructors say it is important that the material in texts used for their courses be as current as possible, according to a nationwide faculty study conducted by Zogby International. The same survey found that 62 percent of college faculty members prefer to order texts with the most recent copyright date.
