It's a common complaint on college campuses across the country that textbook prices are out of control. At Tufts, paying hundreds of dollars for textbooks on top of a $50,000−per−year price−tag may seem like rubbing salt in an open wound.
For some Jumbos, the price of a textbook can be a deciding factor in their enrollment in specific classes.
"If I had other classes that were really textbook heavy, or it was a situation that the textbook was only available new and however expensive, I might consider the price of the book before taking the class," sophomore Jacob Passy said. "It would also depend on my level of interest in the class. If it was just to fulfill a requirement, I'd be less inclined to buy the textbook and take the class."
Tufts Bookstore Manager Carolyn LaQuaglia said that she has seen students leafing through textbooks before they sign up for a class, but those are few and far in between.
"I've noticed a couple of people browsing, just to see if they're going to take a class based on the books, but I've only heard of two or three people doing that," she said.
While not enrolling in a class due to the textbook cost may not be a widespread practice among students, it certainly remains a factor in a student's course selection.
"To me, it definitely makes a difference," sophomore Liza Bagley said. "I wouldn't necessarily not take a class because the textbooks are too expensive, but sometimes I try to find alternate ways to take the class, like taking the textbook out of the library or seeing which texts we actually use in class before buying the books."
Some professors take advantage of photocopying to create course packs and perhaps save their students some money, but course−pack costs can also add up.
"One thing I wish they would do is if a course does have a course pack, I wish they would have it in the library, or available for checkout," Passy said. "Oftentimes for my classes, the course packs are more expensive than the books I can buy on Amazon or something."
From used and rental books to digital textbooks, today's students have several options when it comes to finding a way around the hefty price of textbooks.
"In my Entrepreneurial Leadership class, the textbook is over $100, so I'm using my friend's old edition for free," Bagley said.
Creative solutions to the textbook problem are par for the course for students, and now booksellers are also beginning to think outside the box. This semester, the campus bookstore began a pilot program for yearlong textbook rentals that will allow students to rent books for entry−level courses at up to half the price of purchasing a new copy.
"We've always had new and used [textbooks], and digital the past few years, but now that the school approved the rental program, we did a pilot program with the rentals and offer that too," LaQuaglia said.
Professors, Passy said, should make more of an effort to use the resources Tufts already has, particularly Blackboard, rather than relying on copy shop Gnomon Copy to print course packs.
"When we have the option of getting the stuff for free, why make us pay for a course pack?" he said. "And another thing in general is they don't do a very good job of advertising when books are available online. Oftentimes, the electronic version will be cheaper."
LaQuaglia said that the changing makeup of the textbook industry may prove to be financially advantageous for students.
"The one thing I know is that as time goes on, more things will be released digitally," she said. "The companies are holding the cards right now. Technology is going to force the evolution of [textbooks], and we'll see where it goes."
While some students may nurse a deep−seated belief that the bookstore, which is owned by Barnes & Noble, exists for the sole purpose of ripping them off, LaQuaglia — who has been on both sides of the story — says that this is far from the truth: A portion of all bookstore sales goes back to the university.
"As a student, I thought, ‘Oh, the bookstore, corporate greed,'" she said. "But we don't determine the price of books. The publishers do. We're here to service the university. Yes, we happen to be for a company−for−profit, but the more the company can grow, the more we can service the students [and] then give back to the school. It's like a domino effect."
Ultimately, the textbook situation inevitably leaves some students with an empty wallet and the irritating sense that they could have gotten a better deal elsewhere. Bagley, for one, would like to see students take more control over this perpetual problem.
"I would love to see a more organized system for textbook exchange among students," she said. "I know there's one on TuftsLife, but I feel like it's often underused, and I think there are a lot of students who have texts they're never going to use again and can't sell back."
