RIPOFF 101: How the current practices of the textbook industry drive up the cost of college textbooks

With student and faculty complaints about the price of college textbooks on the rise, the California Student Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) and the OSPIRG Foundation conducted a survey of the most widely assigned textbooks in the fall of 2003 at 10 public colleges and universities in California and Oregon. Key findings from this survey include: Textbooks are Expensive and Getting Even More Expensive Textbook Publishers Add Bells and Whistles that Drive Up the Price of Textbooks; Most Faculty Do Not Use These Materials Faculty and Students Support Alternatives That Lower Students’ Costs, Maintain Quality Online Textbooks Hold Promise for Dramatically Lowering the Cost of Textbooks