Be Booksmart! - Instructors

 

Considering the costs of textbooks are increasing at a rapid rate in excess of inflation, this percentage is likely to increase even more and place even more financial pressure on already over-burdened students.

Many instructors remember when textbooks were much more affordable and are already doing their best to help keep costs down for students. And students fully support our instructors’ right to choose their teaching materials. But by working together we can do more to ensure that academic materials remain of a high-quality and affordable!

Please read on below to see how you can help students!

 

Tricks and Tips: Publishers’ Tricks and the Ways Around Them

1. Constant edition changes — Drives up prices and removes access to used books, often without adding any real value.


2. Bundling — The cost of developing bundles is absorbed into the book so that publishers can claim the bundles are free.


3. Failure to provide the price — The price may not be given, or may not reflect the actual cost to students.


4. Price hikes — When a textbook becomes better established, prices are raised to take advantage of this status. This often causes the instructor to drop the text, or students must buy a significantly more expensive textbook.


5. Aesthetics — Textbooks are often loaded with glossy, full-colour pages and hard covers to make them more aesthetically pleasing. Naturally, this drives up the price — without adding any academic value.


6. Unsolicited desk copies — Publishers sometimes send “free” copies to market their textbooks, but the cost ultimately goes to students.

More Cost-Saving Tips: Questions to Consider When Selecting Course Materials

1. Am I making publishers compete?
2. Do I really need the textbook?
3. Do I need a new edition?
4. Is there someone in the department teaching a different level of the subject that can use information in the same text?
5. Would a Coursepack work?
6. Is there an alternative to an expensive lab manual?
7. Would a class website work?
8. Have I reserved the course material in the library?

Trick: Constant edition changes — Drives up prices and removes access to used books, often without adding any real value.

Tip: Ask yourself if an edition change really necessary, or if the old edition work just as well. You can also try to negotiate an edition freeze, which will allow you to keep the same book for multiple years, even if a newer one becomes available.

Trick: Bundling — The cost of developing bundles is absorbed into the book so that publishers can claim the bundles are free.

Tip: If the bundle is of little value, or you won’t be using it, request to purchase only the textbook (unbundled) at a lower cost

Trick: Failure to provide the price — The price may not be given, or may not reflect the actual cost to students.

Tip: Ask what the price is before you adopt a textbook. When discussing pricing with the publisher’s rep, ask what the actual cost will be to the students. Request the price that the bookstore will be receiving the textbook at.

Trick: Price hikes — When a textbook becomes better established, prices are raised to take advantage of this status. This often causes the instructor to drop the text, or students must buy a significantly more expensive textbook.

Tip: If you plan to teach a course for a few years and to use the same text throughout, negotiate a deal that will put a price freeze on the book.

Trick: Aesthetics — Textbooks are often loaded with glossy, full-colour pages and hard covers to make them more aesthetically pleasing. Naturally, this drives up the price — without adding any academic value.

Tip: Ask if black and white or one-colour editions are available, in soft cover and standard paper where possible. Where full-colour images are needed, consider posting them on the internet as a supplementary source.

Trick: Unsolicited desk copies — Publishers sometimes send “free” copies to market their textbooks, but the cost ultimately goes to students.

Tip: If you receive a textbook that you did not request and have no intention of using, simply refuse to accept it. You can enlist the help of your departmental support staff to refuse or return unsolicited texts that arrive by mail.

Am I making publishers compete?

If a few textbooks are all the same quality, consider selecting the least expensive, even if there is a marginal difference. Also, be sure to ask the sales reps if they are willing to reduce the list price if you adopt their text. This will make cost the distinguishing factor, and publishers will have to compete for your selection.

Do I really need the textbook?

If most material can be made available online or through Coursepacks, photocopies or lecture notes, consider making the text a recommended reading and having your lectures reference these other materials.

Do I need a new edition?

If there have been no substantial changes in creating a new edition, consider suggesting to students that the previous edition is still acceptable. If you used the old edition in the past, hold on to the references and page numbers to make both editions viable options for students.

Is there someone in the department teaching a different level of the subject that can use information in the same text?

Many textbooks are designed to cover a full year of study (based on US curricula), and you may only require a part of an edition. Other instructors may be able to use other sections for their classes.

Is there an alternative to an expensive lab manual?

Several departments have created their own lab manuals at a fraction of the cost.

Would a class website work?

This is a great way to make supplemental materials available to students. Consider putting as much material online as possible, whether directly or through links and references.

Have I reserved the course material in the library?

Let students know that there are reserved copies in the library, and that they can use these instead of purchasing their own.