See / Judge / Act Catholic Social Teaching Deepa Patel Deann Nargentino Albert Wingfai Wong Sal Candela Roman Povcher Eric (Man) Wong

SEE

Overpriced Textbook Worst element of being a college student

Average college student will register for at least 5 classes/semester State Public Interest Research Groups: Spend almost $900/year on college textbooks Average textbook cost: $100 per textbook

College Textbooks Wholesale price of textbooks: jumped 62% over the last decade Used Textbook are difficult to find Publishers issue a new edition for each textbook each year Additional materials are not used

Overpriced Textbook has made its way to the government Offer a tax break up to $1000 Overpriced Textbook has become a national problems for college students

JUDGE

Decision Makers Publishers Textbook packages (Including Textbook, CD-ROM, work book, etc.) Determine the price New textbook prices jumped 12 percent on average between the previous and current edition Professors Many require expensive books without researching alternative texts Newer editions are required without significant changes in the editions Three-fourths (76 percent) of the faculty surveyed in a 2004 report said that they found new editions justified only “half the time” or less Book Stores Prices at which books are bought back are extremely low Used books are sold at very high prices

Who gets left out? Students and Parents Do not control textbook prices Do not control the required textbooks

Roman Catholic Social Teaching “Special Claim of Poor and Vulnerable People - Those with greatest need require greatest response; this builds a just society” “Promotion of Common Good – Freedom of individuals in balance with good of society, domestically and globally. Structures created that give people opportunity to participate and to fulfill basic needs”

ACT

Solutions: Textbook Rental System Electronic Textbooks

Textbook Rental System Gives students the option to rent textbooks Approximately 20 colleges and universities use Textbook Rental Systems. Such programs are self-sufficient and fees are collected in either campus-based fees, program-based fees, or per-book fees.

Textbook Rental System Advantages Benefits all parties involved in textbook publishing. Renting is cheaper than purchasing for the students. Students are given the option to purchase the book at the end of the term. Still demonstrates to be profitable for Retailers & Academic Institutions. Disadvantages Rental services require more space than traditional bookstores. Faculty must commit to using a textbook for a set amount of time.* Requires heavy initial investment of funds. *Source: “Affordable Textbooks for the 21 st Century,” issue by the California Public Interest Research Group.

Electronic Textbook Bulk Purchasing of Electronic Textbooks Involves establishing a cooperative of colleges and universities that develops study materials for its member colleges and universities for distribution to their students. Membership in the program involves a fee, which, on a per-student basis, would be significantly low. UC Berkeley uses a similar program and is only costing the students $3.26. According to the NACS, 32.3% of a textbook’s prices covers publisher’s printing, paper, and editorial cost. Distributing textbooks electronically, online or on a CD-ROM, would significantly decrease this cost and in-turn reduce the prices of textbooks.

CONCLUSION

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