WTVO/WQRF – With the cost of a college education increasing, students say textbooks are too much to handle.
65% of students say they don’t buy textbooks because of their high price, according to a survey conducted by the Illinois PIRG Education Fund. The group says students on average will pay $1,200 per year for books.
“Students can’t afford to let the publishers call the shots on textbook prices anymore” says Dev Gowda of the Illinois PIRG Education Fund.
Researchers say students also avoided taking a class because they didn’t want to pay for the textbook associated with that class. Researchers also determined students would prefer their books become available online.
“Free, open and online textbooks are a great resource for students and professors” says Dr. Jonathan Tomkin, a Research Associate Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “For many college subjects there is no need to compel students to buy expensive textbooks when excellent open resources are available.”
Open textbooks can save students on average $100 per class.