In the November 29th article by Campus Technology, University of California, Riverside’s recent annual survey, “Undergraduate Experience Survey,” finds that seven out 10 students do not buy textbooks, instead they prefer to rent them, rely on faculty provided materials, or do without them completely. According to the survey, 73% of students who respond to the survey postpone the purchase and 74% of students chose to skip buying them altogether. The university’s Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Steven Brint, commissioned a report on the survey in order to show faculty that “students’ behavior with respect to textbook purchasing may be different than they think.” “Ultimately, the survey results suggest that not all students are doing the required reading for their courses,” says Brint.
If this statistic is the same at other institutions, then perhaps the greatest competitor to textbook sales is actually the choice not to buy at all.
