When textbook costs hit, they can hit “really hard,” reflected Clara Gilles, a student at the University of Pittsburgh.
Ms. Gilles paid $300 for a single textbook this semester. She is one of thousands of Pitt students who shill out hundreds of dollars for the books required to complete their classes.
The sophomore would like to see increased affordability and transparency surrounding textbook costs at Pitt.
That’s why she and about 15 other students in Pitt’s Student Public Interest Research Groups chapter launched a textbook affordability campaign this semester. It’s a cause that impacts every student at Pitt, said Ms. Gilles, the president of Student PIRGs at Pitt.
“I think students will be more passionate and more willing to learn if it’s easier for them to access information,” Ms. Gilles said.
The average college textbook costs around $105, though hardcover book prices can be as high as $400.
On average, materials for four classes cost $360 in Pennsylvania, according to a fall survey of over 4,300 college students in the state by Affordable Learning PA.
At Pitt, students like Ms. Gilles hope those costs can be alleviated through numerous solutions.
First, they are pushing Pitt to indicate course costs when students sign up for classes. That way, students would start their classes knowing each class’s approximate price tag.
Schools like Penn State already offer course markers — a simple addition that makes selection “easier” for students, according to Julia Trachtman, a Pitt sophomore and Student PIRGs intern.
These students also want professors to offer less expensive textbook options to their students, when possible. Pitt junior Sydney Greenway would like to see more professors use open educational resources — materials available to students free of charge.
Finally, they want change on a state and national level. In the upcoming weeks, these students plan on pushing Pennsylvania legislators to adopt textbook cost transparency legislation similar to laws in Texas and California.
And this April, they will travel to Washington, D.C., to lobby for more open educational resources options for professors.
“A lot of times when we're talking to professors… [open educational resources] are one of their biggest concerns,” said Ms. Greenway, who organized a textbook affordability campaign as a student at Wayne State University in Detroit before she transferred to Pitt. “They don't feel like they have a good, solid option to choose from … We want to advocate for that funding so that more professors can [use] OER.”
Textbook costs don’t only impact students’ bank accounts. The Affordable Learning PA survey found that two-fifths of respondents attributed course costs to earning a poor grade at some point. Costs prevented a third from registering for a course.
And the survey reported that four out of five Pennsylvania college students worry about meeting course material costs to some extent. Over half of the surveyed students said their worry is “moderate” or “extreme.” Pell Grant recipients and those with full-time, off-campus jobs were among those particularly impacted.
Pennsylvania students’ worry levels are higher than the national average, noted Julia Seaman, the co-lead researcher behind the survey.
“Students are worried about their course material costs everywhere, but we found Pennsylvania students are more worried and have a lower proportion of their costs covered by financial aid,” Ms. Seaman said in a news release. “These differences highlight the importance of research at the state and even individual institutional level.”
Ms. Greenway is confident that initiatives like course markers and affordable materials will improve Pitt students’ educational experiences.
Student PIRGs would like the university to adopt some sort of textbook affordability policy by the end of this year. Right now, the students are gathering petitions and spreading awareness before they intend to share the campaign with Pitt’s registrar.
“I know that textbook affordability is affecting students, their performance in the classrooms and their financial security,” Ms. Greenway said. “Once we are able to bring this to fruition, [it’s going to] benefit students.”
First Published: January 29, 2024, 10:30 a.m.
Updated: January 29, 2024, 8:05 p.m.
