In an opinion piece earlier this month in Inside Higher
Ed, a University of North Dakota professor claimed that rental textbooks limited
student access to course materials and stifled critical thinking and
conversation. Jason Katzman, CCR, assistant director for academic resource
support, CU Book Store, University of Colorado Boulder, says he understands the
prof’s points but argues rentals are a symptom rather than a cause.
“Twenty years ago, a student bought a book, sold it back at
the end of the semester, and maybe received something close to half (although
probably not) of what they had paid if the book was being used again the next
semester,” Katzman wrote in his Inside Higher Ed rebuttal. “Of course,
professors complained then that the buyback process devalued the educational
experience by encouraging students to part with important materials they might
need for another class or later in life as a reference. Then, along came the Internet
and Amazon, and the model that traditional collegiate textbook retailers had
been using for years was upended. For many stores, renting textbooks is a way
to compete while remaining financially viable.”
Market forces determine where students decide to get
their course materials. Selling a textbook for $400 has become unthinkable, so rental
has become a way for bookstores to remain relevant and viable. The current
trend of providing students low-cost digital course materials as part of
tuition or course fees is another solution that helps publishers and bookstores
stay in business while driving prices down for students.
“If
the higher-education community wants to spend large amounts of energy working
on the high cost of course materials, they should. It’s important,” Katzman
wrote. “However, we’re being shortsighted. In addition to course materials
delivery, another model that’s broken is higher education itself. What happens
when Amazon or somebody else finds a way to offer a bachelor’s degree for 75%
of its current cost?”
