The syllabus placed in front of me read “Spanish 102” across the top. Flipping through the pages, I quickly found the underlined sentence every college student dreads reading: Textbook with access code required.
The professor soon asked who had already purchased the textbook, making most of my classmates' hands shoot up in the air. Half of them dropped, however, when the professor asked who had the access code. The access code, required to pass the class, could only be found in the newest version of the textbook, which cost more than $300.
Semester after semester, professors require students to buy textbooks, sometimes with access codes, for their courses. Access codes, which allow students to obtain online resources, have recently begun to empty college student’s wallets. Textbook companies implemented these codes, personalized to each individual textbook, to shift the textbook market from mostly used books to newer, more expensive books. By requiring these codes, professors eliminate the student options of buying used books or sharing with a friend.
According to the most recent survey data, the College Board estimated that the average full-time, on-campus undergraduate at a four-year school spent $1,240 on books and supplies during the 2019-2020 academic year. After four years, students will have spent almost $5,000 on textbooks and supplies alone.
But what happens when students can’t afford these unreasonably high expenses? At upwards of $200 per book, per course, some students choose to cut their losses. Some students, including myself, choose to search for free text online or phone a friend to split the bill.
When this plan doesn’t work, students resort to their only option, going without a textbook. But without a textbook, course material becomes hard to follow and homework becomes impossible to complete, resulting in lower grades. These textbooks act as a learning tool in college-level courses, so when students don’t purchase the book or access code, their grades suffer the consequences.
If universities held at least one copy of the textbook in the library, students could follow along with course material and complete homework assignments by simply using the reserved textbook. This would give students the option to decide if they want to purchase the textbook or use the copy in the library. Grading penalties would be avoided, and the university would be aiding students in their success in courses.
I walked out of my first day of Spanish knowing I wouldn’t be coming back. To graduate, I needed to complete this course. But for me, spending more than $300 on a textbook wasn’t an option.
If the university funded the option to use textbooks in the library, students, like myself, could receive their degree without worrying about excessive textbook costs.
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