[Ecommerce] Update from GAO Textbook Price Report Release

[Manon Ress]

Subject:     Update from GAO Textbook Price Report Release
Date:     Tue, 16 Aug 2005 15:32:37 -0700
From:     Dave Rosenfeld <daver@pirg.org>
Reply-To:     <daver@pirg.org>
To:     <daver@pirg.org>



Friends,

As you know, students with the PIRG campus chapters have been
working hard to lower the cost of textbooks for the last two years and
have made encouraging progress in documenting and publicizing the
problem.

Today, Oregon PIRG Student Board Member Courtney Morse of Portland State
University joined Congressman David Wu from Oregon to release the
results of a Congressional investigation into skyrocketing textbook
prices.

I am happy to say that the report (officially done by the General
Accounting Office of Congress) reinforces what our research has found:
that textbook costs are skyrocketing, publisher gimmicks drive up the
cost of textbooks, and students are suffering as a result.  You can view
the report and our statement at our website,
www.MakeTextbooksAffordable.org <http://
www.MakeTextbooksAffordable.org>.

I also wanted to share with you my favorite news story from this event,
the story from the Associated Press that I think best captures the
situation.  Overall, the GAO=92s report has been covered in at least 25
states and news outlets such as USA Today and the Wall Street Journal.
You can check back to our website to view links to many of these other
stories.

You can learn more about the issue and the growing national student
campaign to lower textbooks prices at www.MakeTextbooksAffordable.org
<http://www.maketextbooksaffordable.org/>.  Feel free to forward this to
your friends and colleagues!

As always, contact me if you have questions.  I am traveling at the
moment, and you can reach me by cellphone at 310-210-8410.  Have a great
day!

Best,

Dave Rosenfeld

******************
David Rosenfeld
Program Director
Student PIRGs
1536 SE 11th Ave.
Portland, OR 97214
w. 503.231.4181
daver@pirg.org
www.StudentPIRGs.org <http://www.StudentPIRGs.org>

*******************************************************

Oregonian:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/
112418687513091.xml&coll=3D7
<http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/
112418687513091.xml&coll=3D7>

Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-
textbooks16aug16,1,1833081.story?coll=3Dla-headlines-nation

*THE NATION*


   *Study Cites Soaring Costs for Textbooks*


     *Software supplements have pushed up prices at more than twice the
     rate of inflation, a federal report says. Some call them unneeded
     extras.*

 From Associated Press

August 16, 2005

WASHINGTON =97 Once just a weighty tome, the college textbook has evolved
into a package including text, colorful supplements and computer
software. But those bells and whistles =97 which critics and many students
call unnecessary =97 are the main reason textbook prices are rising at
more than twice the rate of inflation, according to a new government
report.

The Government Accountability Office, in a study officially being
released today, finds the average college student spends almost $900 on
textbooks and supplies.

The report finds textbook prices have increased 186% since 1986, or
about 6% per year. By comparison, consumer prices rose 72% over that
period, and college tuition and fees rose 240%.

The GAO report says publishers are investing heavily to expand the scope
of their products, offering expensive supplements such as online
courseware. The report does not attempt, however, to answer whether
these developments are good or bad for students.

A publishers trade group quickly criticized the GAO, saying the report
used misleading data.

Publishers contend their new products aid learning and help overworked
teachers instruct and evaluate.

But critics say publishers are gouging students, "bundling" their
products with unnecessary add-ons and undermining the market for used
textbooks with new editions =97 even in subjects that evolve little if at
all, such as Latin.

The report confirms "one, that textbook prices are a significant college
cost; two, that textbook prices are skyrocketing; and three, that
publishers' practices contribute to the high costs of textbooks," said
Merriah Fairchild of the California Public Interest Research Group.

Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.) said he asked the GAO to study textbook prices
because there was little unbiased data for policy makers on how much
textbooks cost and why prices were rising.

But the Assn. of American Publishers attacked the report. The trade
group agreed that development costs for new technology were a major
factor in price increases but said some of the data the GAO relied upon
factored in costs for school supplies such as computers and lab
equipment that have nothing to do with textbooks.

Bruce Hildebrand, the trade group's executive director for higher
education, said his organization believed the average student at a
four-year college spent about $600 on all books and materials. He cited
figures from the College Board concluding books account for about 6% of
students' full college costs.

Hildebrand also said the report failed to consider that students learned
more from improved textbooks.

"The entire focus of what publishers do is to improve student success
and none of the focus that I'm hearing from critics deals with student
success," he said.







************************************************
Manon Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org
www.cptech.org

Consumer Project on Technology in Washington, DC PO Box 19367,
Washington, DC 20036, USA Tel.:  +1.202.387.8030, fax: +1.202.234.5176

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