Deputy Assistant Secretary for .
Policy, Planning, and Innovation
Office of Postsecondary Education
Dear Vincent Sampson:
Thank you, for the invitation to contact the Policy, Planning, and Innovation Office of Postsecondary Education, regarding the open opportunity to cooperate as you work on implementation of the changes of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (the HEA)with the Higher Education Opportunity Act (Public Law 110-315) (HEOA) enacted on August 14, 2008. My question on the matter’s issues discussed in the letter is: What are the factors that are preventing the implementation of electronic textbooks(Sampson 1)?
The purpose of my letter is to provide an overview of the aggravated situation regarding the unrealistically high price of college textbooks, and to clarify and suggest the changes that must be made to the policies of the HEOA in order to comprehensively resolve this problem. A new amendment to the HEOA must authorize a new program for implementing electronic textbooks with the cooperation and the funding of Copyrights Monopolies, Universities, US Government and Venture Capitals. The new program must be financed and subsidized as have other programs, such as,“ (1) Promoting Post baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans; (2) Master’s Degree Programs at Historically Black Colleges and Universities; and (3) Master’s Degree Programs at Predominantly Black Institutions” (O'Donnell 1).
When the HEOA was enacted, the public expected that the college students might get break on textbook expenses (O'Donnell 1). In the same article, Christine Frietchen, the editor in chief of Consumer Search.com, acknowledges that renting or buying the cheaper electronic versions is more attractive. The public expected that the new effective law would be able to satisfy college students’ needs. However, the hope for a break on textbook expenses and expectations for cheaper electronic versions remain unfulfilled to this day. Changes must to be made to the policies in HEOA that are aimed at accomplishing the expected effects.
Nationwide, college students are faced with a very frustrating problem: the enormous financial cost of required college and university textbooks. I am a Mom of four children that is, and I am returning back to school. My incomes are limited because I am putting fewer hours to work, and thus I am experiencing the hardship in affording textbooks. Even though, this is a direct consequence of the United States depending on copyright monopolies to finance the manufacture of textbooks, it is a substantial expense that is entirely avoidable. The sturdy demand for books is supplied by handful publishers that are not interested of the books electronic implementation. The Big Four competitors, dominating on the market are: Thomson, McGraw-Hill, Prentice Hall, and Houghton-Mifflin.
The old style, still current system of financing the production of textbooks needs to be changed because it is in disharmony with students’ needs for inexpensive, electronic version of textbooks. The new system for financing textbook production would take full advantage of the potentials created by the digital technologies and Internet. The format of college topic textbooks should be transformed from hardcopy to e-book, because the students are overcharged, some are not able to afford to buy them, and consequently, these students are failing to continue their education(Baker 1). In the current situation, the professors have no freedom to customize their study material, and to select texts, or to assign chapters from various sources that will benefit the students.
The support of the alternative electronic system for production textbooks will cost only small fraction of a percent of the public funds, or more respectfully of any other venture capital that could supply the funds. In 2004th, Baker Dean, the Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, in his article Are Copyrights a Textbook Scam?, acknowledges that it will cost, “0.01 percent of the federal budget to largely replace the revenue generated for textbook production through the copyright system…appropriation of $300 million would be sufficient to finance the production of 5,000 textbook titles a year, if the cost of writing, editing, and illustrating a textbook averages $60,000” (Baker 1).
The new system of financing textbook production will replace part of the production of the copyright monopolies, allowing for relative effectiveness of both systems. And if the alternative system is too threatening to the old copyright system, now is the time for the monopolies to take the necessity actions to innovate and develop their strategies according to the needs of the market). If the monopolies don’t start making changes now, it is inevitable that, at some point, they will find it necessary to reconsider their methods in largely the same way as some land line telephone companies became wireless. If AT&T had recognized earlier, the essential need for modernization, it could have escaped its downfall in revenue in late 1990s(Times 1).
Any delay of the reorganization of the copyright monopolies system is working against them. There are universities that are starting programs of electronic distribution of textbooks and already are trimming chunks from the old-fashioned system revenue. The former vice-president at Boston University, Robert Ronstadt, published his own book and maintains a website that provides it at an affordable price (CS 1). Nature Publishing has a digital textbook model that could topple the multibillion-dollar educational publishing market. The lifetime access is only $49 for to a regularly updated biology textbook that is allowed to be printed out (Gelles 1).Pearson Corporation is expanding its own digital learning strategy too.(The finacial 1). Connexions company( http://cnx.org/) founded in 1999 at Rice University, the Connexions provides a complete publishing platform for open textbook projects like The Community College Open Textbook Project (Baker, Judy 1).
Given the appalling textbook situation, most college students would be more than happy to have most of their textbooks available on Internet as soon as possible. Digital versions of textbooks already exist, and nothing more than the good will of the monopolies is needed in order for these books to be made available to universities and students for reasonable fees. The swift change will be advantageous to the monopolies, and they will not lose their business as a result of the aggressive actions by the new ventures that are already changing the situation of the market. However, the process will take a long time because the positions of the copyright monopolies are still very strong. We have to admit that the monopolies deserve credit for the decades of diligent service and helpful information they have provided the public and academic society with.
The Government Accountability Office calculated that textbook prices have about 6 percent annual growth when the rate of inflation is only 3 percent, since the 1987-1988 academic years. An average first-year student at a four-year public university spent $898 on textbooks and supplies in the 2003-2004 academic year. A student working at a minimum wage job was required to spend almost a month wage, just to pay for the textbooks that year (GAO 1). A working student at a minimum wage job was required to spend almost a month wage, just to pay the textbooks that year. ). At times, this burden is unbearable and is a reason why some college students drop their classes (Erskine 1). One of my professors was concerned about the fact that the average graduation rate of the students in our university, UH-Hilo is only 30%. Due to the unrealistically high cost of textbooks, many of the students are unable to take an advantage of their right to a higher education and the society is losing, the chance to have many new specialists in all spheres of life.
I am only a year away from my graduation, and I thought that nothing could stop me from my successful pursuit of higher education. However, the other day, I went in the college bookstore to look for textbooks, and I was pleasantly surprised to find all of them that are needed for the second part of the semester. Spontaneously, I gladly bought the books because they were good-looking from the outside and inside, and were promising useful knowledge. However, when I checked my account, I understood that I had made a mistake. The price of the books was between $140 and $170, and the purchase almost overdrew my account. I have other payments coming, and I need to return the books on Monday. Now, I am not so sure about my success during this semester, if I have to depend only on the books in reserve available in the university library, and if there are any. This weekend, I will try to read the first chapters of the books, or as many as I can. At least in the beginning, I could escape the complications of my trouble. Now, I am really appreciating the one-week policy for returning books, and I believe that this practice will not be blocked, but will still exist as a buffer zone between the struggling students and the overcharging monopolies, preventing the stronger growing tensions from exploding.
It is ridiculous that, in this day and Age, with the existence of the Internet and rapidly growing digital technologies and cost-free, digital technology-sharing information, students are prevented from most convenient way of accessing their necessary academic texts. The copyrights on textbooks prevent people from volunteering and creating copies transmitted over the Internet. Although this copyright structure maximizes monopolies’ profit, it has a detrimental effect on the students and the country. The monopolies are publishing pointless new additions, hiding, from many students, the possibility of using copies of earlier editions. Copyrights’ monopolistic domination mechanisms lead to market deformation and economic wastefulness, and they need to adopt more environmental-friendly methods of supporting textbook publishing.
One of the reasons why the books are so expensive is the high price of paper due to tree shortage. The wasteful use of trees for unnecessary new editions is disturbing and is harming our environment. Trees are the main producers of oxygen, reducing carbon dioxide through the process of photosynthesis, and deforestation for industrial needs is one of the causes of global warming. I looked for more support for this well-known fact in my brand new fifth edition Biology textbook, by David Krogh. In his essay Using Photosynthesis to fight Global Warming, he acknowledges, “One way to reduce global warming is, of course, to reduce global deforestation(1). The overuse of the trees and the damage of the environment should end, and instead the green technology should be established! Most of the trends of our economy are doing it!
We are living in a capitalistic society with arguably the best-known way of life. As Americans, most of us are enjoying the advantages of the compassionate conservative views of the higher class and we do not benefit when the big businesses take advantage of the little guy. The government can take over the production of the textbooks, but much can be done by the publishers themselves, and at a much greater speed. The student can shop around, look on the Web, buy used textbooks, drop courses, but if he/she has required class with required textbook, there is not much he/she can do to avoid this textbook conundrum. The power to speed up the change the textbook’s format depends on the intelligence and sound judgment of people in their respective fields of production, as well as the universities and students to stand up for their rights. We are free people, after all, and it is time to act for systematic change!
A system that will offer large savings to students, more flexibility to professors, and efficiency gains to the economy as a whole, will prosper. In order to have a successful future, the new system of financing textbook production must take complete advantage of the potentials created by the Internet and digital technology. Copyright monopolies must realize that gradually digitalizing their production and prioritizing the needs of the market are the most effective paths to successful development. They could reaffirm their triumph in dominating the market, and it is the time when great men shall rise to the challenge of the moment, accelerating the academic thought, and truly becoming extraordinary leaders. A new amendment to HEOA must authorize new programs that will implement the usage of electronic textbooks with the cooperation of the Copyrights Monopolies, Universities, US Government, and Venture Capitals. The format of college textbooks must change for a better future for our nation!
Sincerely,
Lilia Baker-Misheva
Works sited
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Baker, Judy. Collaborative Statistics: Adoption and Usage. http://cnx.org/content/m18261/latest/. 9 Jun. 2011 Web. 11 June 2011.
Erskine, Lynn. The Debt Burden of New College Graduates, Center for Economic and Policy Research.http:/.www.cepr.net/ publications/ student_debt_ 2005_09.pdf. 2005. Web.8 June 2011.
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G AO. College Textbooks: Enhanced Offerings Appear to Drive Recent Price Increases.http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05806.pdf. 2005. Web.11 June 2011.
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Krogh, David. Biology. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0321616553/ref =s9_simh_gw_p14_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0R71HD2WW278V0JMJCXP&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846. Web.12 June 2011.
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