Spending on Higher Education Course Materials Declines Significantly

Pennsylvania Advisory Committee Cites Innovations & Solutions in Reducing Costs

OBERLIN, OH (Oct. 11, 2018) – Average annual spending on higher education course materials has decreased significantly in recent years, and higher education institutions, bookstores and publishers are successfully addressing costs through a variety of innovations, according to a report recently released by Pennsylvania’s College Textbook Policies Advisory Committee and submitted to the legislature.

The committee, which was established by the College Textbook Affordability, Accountability and Accessibility Act of 2010 (Article XX-F of Act 104), is composed of state legislators, faculty, students, bookstore representatives and publishers.

According to the committee, “recent reports indicate a significant decrease in prices and the average annual spending on required course materials. The higher education community, publishers, and bookstores appear to be making progress in addressing high costs through a variety of innovations and strategies.”

The committee report follows the recent release of NACS’ Student Watch™ biannual survey, which shows a decrease in student spending on course materials. During the 2017-18 academic year, college students spent an average of $484 on nine required course materials. That’s down from $579 on 10 units the previous academic year, and a decrease from $701 in the past decade, according to the NACS survey.

“Pennsylvania has one of the most comprehensive textbook affordability laws in the nation combined with a highly popular sales tax exemption for course materials,” said Richard Hershman, NACS vice president of government relations. “Over the past decade, bookstores have successfully worked to make course materials more affordable for students.”

“Stores have developed an array of innovations such as rental programs, digital delivery, online price comparison marketplaces, price match guarantees, discovery and selection tools to find lower cost options, and support for low- or no-cost alternatives such as open education resources (OERs). However, work remains in enhancing the perceived value and use of the course materials and addressing underlying financial pressures on students,” Hershman added.

As part of the advisory committee’s effort to ascertain the progress made at higher education institutions, it surveyed schools to identify best and emerging practices for reducing textbook costs. Among the findings:

• Some bookstores have implemented price comparison marketplace shopping. Students can shop from various online vendors and compare prices with the college’s or university’s price and/or price-matching guarantees to match the lowest price available elsewhere for the latest edition of a text.

• Several bookstores have implemented efficient used-text buyback and rental programs.

• Faculty are encouraged, and in some cases rewarded, to move from print versions of textbooks to OERs.

• Textbook titles and ISBNs are provided to students at least two months before the start of the semester.

• Students are encouraged to find used versions of texts on Amazon, take advantage of bookstore rental program, or use e-books.

• Faculty are advised to adopt their textbooks early and communicate the information to their departmental secretary, who then relays it to the bookstore.

• If feasible, university departments use the same textbooks across multiple sections of the same course and even for multiple courses.

• In lieu of textbooks, faculty members may create customized reading packets, which are compilations of various open and closed source materials.

About The National Association of College Stores

The National Association of College Stores (NACS), headquartered in Oberlin, Ohio, is the professional trade association of the campus store industry. NACS provides education and other resources that help its member stores support student success, the campus experience, and the academic missions of higher education institutions. The association represents all campus stores, which include nearly 4,000 campuses in the U.S. and Canada, and approximately 1,000 industry-related companies that supply course materials and other merchandise and services to campus stores.