When I was growing up, getting supplies was one of the best parts of going back to school. I could pick out the best Crayola markers, wonder at all of the different spiral choices, find the coolest art box; it was a mini-Christmas. While that feeling faded in high school, college actively antagonizes the beginning of each term because of one dreaded word: textbooks. For people in most majors, textbook prices are obscene. Almost 10 years ago, The Dartmouth reported that on average students spent $900 annually on textbooks, up from about $650 in 1997. According to the financial aid office, new books now cost roughly $1,101 per student each year at Dartmouth. Though students can buy used textbooks or rent them, these more affordable options are not available for all classes. Market research firm Student Monitor found that over 40 percent of college students do not even buy all of their required textbooks because they cannot afford them, leading to an overall poorer education.
We have all come to Dartmouth to receive a high-quality education. Regardless of other desires, academics are the primary reason why every student here is attending college. First and foremost, we pay tuition and fees so we can take classes and get a degree. Why then, with tuition and fees at $46,752 (not including room and board), are students additionally obligated to pay over $1000 in required materials? Only in college does this seem logical. You do not buy a pair of pants and then pay extra to wear them outside of the store. Likewise, students should not have to pay thousands of dollars for classes only to pay hundreds more each term in order to actually utilize them. Surely, there is room in those $46,752 to alleviate these unnecessary financial burdens. The administration should reallocate funds to subsidize textbook prices through updated online accessibility of materials, while professors should utilize free, open-source alternatives whenever possible.
Most students own some kind of computer or tablet. For those who do not, public computers can be found around campus in areas such as Baker-Berry Library. Keeping this in mind, professors should use as many online materials as possible to cut down on student cost. They can do so by utilizing materials that are already online or by scanning and uploading the required reading to the library reserves. To aid in this effort, the administration should reallocate funds to cover any copyright licenses that impede online accessibility. Professors can also choose to use textbook companies that offer cheaper e-book versions of their material, such as Pearson Education. Rice University, similar in size to Dartmouth, has already begun providing free online textbook materials that can potentially save students across the country $90 million over the next five years. Professors could also use open-source or alternative textbook sites such as Boundless for their curriculum, instead of relying on needlessly expensive physical textbooks.
There are problems with the textbook industry at large that Dartmouth cannot single-handedly fix. Professors, however, can and should find educational resources that are both high quality and affordable. Moreover, by switching to alternative textbook sources, professors can incentivize the traditional textbook industry to enact desperately needed reform. Education needs to be accessible and affordable for everyone for society to flourish.
Dartmouth, with its nearly $1 billion operating budget, should be a leader in making education more affordable by reallocating funds to an endeavor that directly benefits the students. Whether it is by reevaluating superfluous building projects or by downsizing the administrative staff, funds should be primarily focused on providing the best and most affordable education for students. Furthermore, professors should be acutely aware of students' finances and try to find the most affordable books possible for their curriculum. As students, we should not have to pay hundreds of dollars extra in order to take the classes our tuition nominally guarantees us. Classes should fill our minds, not empty our bank accounts. Whether it is through online textbooks or open-source alternatives, Dartmouth should use its massive budget to rethink how students view buying textbooks.
