Hi 61 / Lo 49
|
Hi 61 / Lo 49 |
Student Publications
©1991-2007
Last modified:
Contact:
|
Volume 72, Issue 80,
Monday, January 29, 2007
News Students contest rising textbook costs Despite progress in meeting deadlines, more work is needed to make books affordable for students by JENNIFER EARLY
Many students anticipate high textbook prices every semester, and when professors turn in textbook orders on time, it allows students to prepare their purchases in a timely manner and budget accordingly. University bookstore general manager Felix Robinson said all professors turned in their orders by the deadline, although 10 percent added courses later. A 25 percent markup is instituted by the bookstore. The bookstore takes about 12.5 percent, most of which goes to salaries and employee benefits, Robinson said. Nine percent of the markup is returned to the University and the textbook author, while 2.5 percent covers freight costs. Publishers collect 67 percent of all textbook sales. "We have the largest inventory of used textbooks on this campus. We pay back more money to our students than anyone else," Robinson said. Sam Dike, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences senator and speaker pro tem of the Student Government Association, said he is pleased with the progress UH has made on textbook deadlines but feels there is room for improvement. "I believe that we need to provide every option necessary for our students to buy cheaper textbooks or sell used textbooks to others," Dike said. "(The SGA) will continue to campaign to make textbooks more affordable, whether it be by advocating to professors, calling for tax-free textbooks or establishing book trades. We will make sure our fellow students save money." SGA Vice President David Rosen also said the campaign to lower textbook prices would continue. "I'm happy things are better than what they were, but the battle to bring textbook prices down to a reasonable level is far from over. I don't know if I'll ever be pleased with the prices of books, as long as they don't come down to levels where students can actually afford them. And it's hard to get to that level at a school like UH, where we are so ethnically and economically diverse," Rosen said. Members of the SGA and the Cougar Advocates for Texas--an alumni advocacy group--will travel to Austin in February to meet with legislators, in part to discuss lowering textbook prices. The cost of textbooks typically ranges from $65 to $140, depending on the course level. Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu |
To contact the
To contact other members
of
 |