Spring Break
Drexel's textbook problem
By: Editorial Board
Issue date: 6/8/07 Section: Ed-Op
Originally published: 6/8/07 at 3:52 AM EST
Last update: 6/8/07 at 3:52 AM EST
Originally published: 6/8/07 at 3:52 AM EST
Last update: 6/8/07 at 3:52 AM EST
Textbook prices are on the rise, and for a University that sells itself as a pioneer in technology, we're paradoxically behind the times. As more students across the country utilize competitive prices and the Internet to purchase course textbooks, especially used textbooks, Drexel locks us into a last-minute bind. We can register for classes online, but we don't have the privilege of knowing our textbooks in advance of the quarter.
Not knowing what textbooks we'll need for class makes online purchasing tedious, when it takes a good couple weeks for students to receive their orders. Textbooks are one of the most unpredictable costs students incur. Some classes require several, very technical textbooks that are not generally available, while others do not. Some classes require multiple readings that students can be purchase elsewhere, others do not. Either way, students need to know in advance what textbooks are required for their courses so they can financially prepare for the cost, as well as search for cheaper alternatives.
But administrators don't give students that option. Professors don't even know what they'll include for their class. They often change their minds at the last minute, adding books and dropping others, placing students who ordered them online and elsewhere in a problematic situation. Before this term started, one member of The Triangle's editorial board sent an e-mail to his five professors and politely requested a list of the course readings. Two professors didn't know yet what they would include and three professors changed the list during the first week of class.
Students should not be forced to purchase exorbitantly priced textbooks at the last minute. There's a real solution to this problem and an Administration that genuinely puts students first can show their true colors. It goes like this: plan ahead, give professors ample time to develop their syllabi and readings, and post them on Bannerweb so students can see them when they register for classes. It's a simple concept, but requires real work and tooling to implement, but not beyond this University's ability.
Not knowing what textbooks we'll need for class makes online purchasing tedious, when it takes a good couple weeks for students to receive their orders. Textbooks are one of the most unpredictable costs students incur. Some classes require several, very technical textbooks that are not generally available, while others do not. Some classes require multiple readings that students can be purchase elsewhere, others do not. Either way, students need to know in advance what textbooks are required for their courses so they can financially prepare for the cost, as well as search for cheaper alternatives.
But administrators don't give students that option. Professors don't even know what they'll include for their class. They often change their minds at the last minute, adding books and dropping others, placing students who ordered them online and elsewhere in a problematic situation. Before this term started, one member of The Triangle's editorial board sent an e-mail to his five professors and politely requested a list of the course readings. Two professors didn't know yet what they would include and three professors changed the list during the first week of class.
Students should not be forced to purchase exorbitantly priced textbooks at the last minute. There's a real solution to this problem and an Administration that genuinely puts students first can show their true colors. It goes like this: plan ahead, give professors ample time to develop their syllabi and readings, and post them on Bannerweb so students can see them when they register for classes. It's a simple concept, but requires real work and tooling to implement, but not beyond this University's ability.
Patrick Friend
posted 6/13/07 @ 10:12 AM EST
Getting more than five dollars back for a seventy dollar textbook would be nice, too.