COLLEGE TEXTBOOKS HAVE BECOME BIG TICKET FOR STUDENTS

(10/13/2008)

While the cost of college textbooks should be dropping with high-tech print on demand publishing, they are not. West Virginia College students say textbook costs are eating away at their ability to attend college, speaking out at a public hearing at WV State University. One student testified she paid $1,200 for her textbooks this semester, while another told the taskforce textbook costs are nearly half of what she pays for tuition. The hearing is part of a study being done by the state Higher Education Policy Commission. HEPC Commissioner Nelson Robinson says the hidden costs are hurting students. "I don't think a lot of people, the governing boards and bodies around the state representing institutions, I don't think they understand the overall cost the students are having to pay." Robinson says the colleges and universities won't admit it, but more expensive textbooks are a revenue producer for the school.

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