Recently, this page has raised questions about the rising costs of textbooks for students, the practices of the SUPeStore, and the ethics of textbook publishing companies. While these concerns are understandable, I am not an economist or a SUPeStore employee, and can’t propose solutions to pricing; however, I am a student and I can address an issue that exacerbates the already difficult situation for students: when the required textbooks for a course are posted.
Over the past seven semesters, I have registered for dozens of courses. For some, I knew what books to buy in late spring. For others, it was the middle of summer. Regardless of when I found out what books were required, all courses posted the books long after registration had filled up for most classes, forcing me to register without knowing what books were required.
As such, I was completely incapable of factoring cost into my course decisions. Even if the book list came out in the late spring, it was often too late to switch into a different class. For me, this was highly inconvenient, particularly when I was be surprised by multiple three-figure textbooks in a non-required course; however, for other students, such as a peer of mine who is working through college and whose teacher added eight additional books a week before school started, it is just plain wrong.
Fortunately, Jake Eigner, an SGA senator and member of the Delta Chi fraternity, has given The University of Alabama an opportunity to rectify this situation. His proposal, which will be voted on in Senate this week, is simple: require the University to post textbook prices alongside course listings when students register.
Obviously, this plan would not stem rising textbook costs, nor would it be a silver bullet for the funding woes of college students, but it would be a fantastic step in the right direction. It would enable students to financially plan for the next year through course selection and reduce the number of sticker-shocked students who come to class without textbooks. Also, Eigner expressed hope that this policy would make faculty more sensitive to the cost of textbooks. As someone who has had to buy textbooks for a course only to find that they were never even used by the professor, I am in wholehearted agreement.
This new policy could not be entirely rigid. Exceptions would have to be made for last-minute changes in instructors and other extenuating circumstances. It would also require some adaptation from faculty. However, these issues pale in comparison to the greater good that could be done in enacting Eigner’s policy as the rule and making anything else the exception.
Textbooks are expensive tools to be wisely used to further education, not a whimsical decision that can be made on the fly. On that merit alone, deciding which textbooks to use after registration is, with a few exceptions, unreasonable. Furthermore, with students taking on mountains of loans, working full-time, and patching together savings and scholarships to pay for rapidly increasing higher education costs, the University should take every opportunity it can to let students control their expenses.
Eigner’s proposal clearly has merit and holds the potential to help nearly every student on this campus. The SGA Student Senate and the UA administration would do well to seriously consider its implementation on campus.
John Brinkerhoff is the opinion editor of The Crimson White. His column runs weekly.
