In a win for student choice and textbook affordability, we applaud University of Central Florida’s decision to maintain the opt-in structure for the “First Day” textbooks program through Barnes and Noble.
This national survey of more than 5,000 college students was taken in September 2020, and builds on similar surveys from 2013 and 2019. It offers a snapshot in time of student experiences, particularly those at four-year institutions, in the first full semester of the pandemic and points out more long-term problems that institutions and national leaders must work to solve.
Since the early 2000s, the Student PIRGs have centered on open textbooks as a key way to make college more affordable. Although textbooks continue to be one of the most expensive out of pocket costs for college students, textbook prices… Read more
As you work on providing economic relief and protecting public health in response to the COVID-19 crisis and move forward with the FY21 appropriations process, we, the undersigned student advocacy organizations, write to urge you to invest in America’s institutions of higher education, so that they can ensure student success and support during this crisis.
Despite publishers’ talking points that access codes and other digital materials have answered student’s cries for help over costs, there has been little measurable improvement in key textbook affordability measures over the last six years.
– For Immediate Release – WASHINGTON — One year after announcing their intent to merge, two of the largest college textbook publishers, Cengage and McGraw-Hill, ended their merger after failing to get approval from the U.S. Department of Justice. PIRG’s Higher Education Campaign… Read more
Publishers and education tech companies offering temporary free access codes, but using content with restrictive copyrights, has downsides. We want to make sure educators know about the high-quality resources that are permanently free to students, and ensure faculty independence and student data privacy.
We’re so proud of the amazing work our students have accomplished over the last year. But even as students are making progress at the local and statewide level, we wanted to highlight another unexpected source of progress: the federal level!
WASHINGTON — Today, congressional leaders from both parties introduced legislation that could save American college students nearly a billion dollars on textbooks.
We’re conducting a survey to get a better sense of the impacts of textbook costs on students. We’ll publish a report on our findings later this year.