A Report on the Feasibility of Textbook Rental - IBHE

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January 12, 2007Office of 1600 East Golf Roadthe President Des Plaines, IL 60016847.635.1801Fax 847.635.1992Dr. Karen Hunter AndersonSenior Director, Student and Instructional ServicesIllinois Community College Board401 East Capitol AvenueSpringfield, IL 62701Dear Dr. Anderson:Prompted by the release of the Board’s <strong>Report</strong>/Study of the Feasibility of Textbook RentalPrograms for Illinois colleges and universities, I am providing feedback for you. You may recallthat Oakton Community College responded to your survey earlier this year, and the Collegeshares the concern about the rapidly rising cost of textbook materials for students.Oakton must respect a faculty member’s choice of textbooks and instructional materials as setforth in the contract between the Oakton Community College Board of Trustees and the OaktonCommunity College Faculty Association. As adjunct faculty teach approximately 50 percent ofthe College’s courses, it is important that this group – sometimes hired with little preparationtime – have the option of choosing materials that will enrich our students’ learning experience.Shifting to a textbook rental program presents a thorny and complex situation that might evenimpair the College’s ability to deliver the best possible teaching in the classroom.Moreover, some 80 percent of Oakton students pay for the cost of education “out of pocket.”Requiring these students to share in the burden of funding the start-up costs associated with arental program would be inappropriate.In addition, the notion that the Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant will support financiallyneedy students does not seem feasible, for two reasons. First, given the draconian cuts to MAP inrecent years, it seems highly unlikely that sufficient funding could be found to support thetextbook rental start-up costs. Second, not all financially needy students qualify for a MAP grant.In short, should the state legislature find a textbook rental program a viable option, legislatorswill need to find the funding for start-up costs from a source other than students.However, several options come to mind that would enhance a faculty member’s ability to choosequality materials at a more reasonable cost to students. Some of these include:• Requiring publishers to disclose the price of course materials to faculty and the amountthat will be reimbursed to students at book buy-back. Clearly this type of information-114-
supports informed decision making. Without strong disclosure laws, publishers are notunder any obligation to provide practical information.• Requiring publishers to print revision history inserts for new editions.• Requiring publishers to offer unbundled materials (pertinent legislation that our statelegislature can help support) and include student access codes for electronic instructionalmaterials.• Requiring publishers to offer black and white printed versions of textbooks.• Requiring publishers to provide copies of textbooks for institutions to place on reserve inthe library.Helping faculty better understand their options is vital. Currently the College is experimentingwith small incentives to encourage faculty to order materials on time, if not early, to make bookbuy-back more attractive for students. Student government leaders also speak at Faculty Senatemeetings to extol faculty who make thoughtful textbook decisions. In addition, the OaktonTextbook Committee explores options to reduce textbook costs; encourages faculty to putmaterials on reserve in the library; and supports a textbook grant program initiated by the studentgovernment.As an institution, Oakton Community College remains committed to helping students andworking together as a community to find solutions, rather than being mandated by the statelegislature to create a model that would pose even more problems for our financially challengedstudents. We encourage the legislature to find other ways to mitigate the spiraling costs oftextbooks.Sincerely,/s/ Margaret B. LeeMargaret B. Lee, Ph.D.PresidentMBL:cw-115-
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A Report on the Fe
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................
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Estimated Textbook Rental Cost Per
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARYGrowing apprehensi
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• Faculty members, administrators
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ConclusionTextbook rental programs
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INTRODUCTIONAcross the nation, the
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increase in tuition and fees (7 per
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Source: Government Accountability O
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The IBHE’s 2006 survey found that
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ookstores, 17 percent to friends/re
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1. provide the option of purchasing
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Student fees are collected:• as p
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CURRENT ILLINOIS TEXTBOOK RENTAL PR
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MethodologyCOSTS AND FEASIBILITY OF
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Submitted cost data are presented b
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PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES - TEXTBOOK RENT
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Under a textbook rental program, ea
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FundingSR 692 directs the IBHE and
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have a separate series so that if a
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Impact on Tax Revenue.Property Tax.
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Textbook Selection. While acknowled
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According to the Student Monitor, i
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of the exact custom book. This alte
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Current Status of Voluntary Faculty
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APPENDICES-51-
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09400SR0692 Enrolled - 2 - LRB094 2
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APPENDIX BTextbook Study Timeline -
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Funding:1. Please provide an itemiz
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Textbook Survey - Third Party Books
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Estimated Annual Cost - Community C
Page 63 and 64: Estimated Annual Costs - Public Uni
Page 65 and 66: Estimated Textbook Rental Cost Per
Page 67 and 68: Kentucky. House Resolution 9 would
Page 69 and 70: Washington. House Bill 3034 would p
Page 71 and 72: materials to bookstores at wholesal
Page 73 and 74: ook wholesalers, stands this issue
Page 75 and 76: items sold in a package and 2) facu
Page 77 and 78: different printed text, an e-book o
Page 79 and 80: • Page 20, #5 - Education of stud
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Page 103 and 104: Attn: Nicole Krneta Rogers-103-
Page 105 and 106: Spring 2007: ISBN 0-618-75386-9 Rai
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Page 109 and 110: universities and the largest univer
Page 111 and 112: separately and be stuck with any co
Page 113: From: Wilcockson, Mark [mailto:M-Wi
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Page 119 and 120: From: Brad O'Brien [mailto:bobrien@
Page 121 and 122: more used books benefits both the b
Page 123 and 124: From: Devi Prasad V.Potluri [mailto
Page 125 and 126: Comments submitted on IBHE website:
Page 127 and 128: REFERENCE LISTAssociation of Americ
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