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Re: Costs of textbooks



Somebody asked how we can get students to read the books we make them buy.
I have a question that comes before that... how can we get them to buy the
books?

I told the bookstore manager that my calculus-physics class didn't have a
book order for spring term because they already have the book from fall term
and we use that book all year. He said, "No they don't. You have 24
students in your class. For fall term I ordered 24 books and I still have
15 left."

Our bookstore sells books for less than Amazon or Barnes and Noble, so
students are not saving money and buying books someplace else. My text was
a new edition, so there aren't any used books available. I think over half
the class just didn't buy the book. The bookstore manager says this is
rampant. Lots of students never buy the "required text" for the course. In
general, he sells less than half the books for the enrollment in the course.

We also have students sharing books. Once a student didn't hand in a
problem set. When I asked why, he said, "It was Steve's night to have the
book and I couldn't find anyone else to loan me one."

Here's another trick the students do. Mom and dad pay for the books, then
during the drop-add period the student returns the books to the bookstore,
gets a refund, and pockets the money. If you don't care about getting an
education, it's a fast way to get an extra $400 spending money each term
from mom and dad. The bookstore manager advises parents to purchase books
with a credit card. When a credit card is used, he won't pay cash for
returns, rather, he credits the return to the credit card.

I agree that books are expensive, but not compared to tuition. Students
spend a couple thousand dollars tuition for a course, then balk at buying a
$75 text. It doesn't make sense.


Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D. Phone/voice-mail: 419-358-3270
Professor of Chemistry & Physics FAX: 419-358-3323
Chairman, Science Department E-Mail edmiston@bluffton.edu
Bluffton College
280 West College Avenue
Bluffton, OH 45817