Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
Join the Debate!
Textbooks: A Value Proposition
11/13/2007
see link).Has the market failed, and are there no alternatives to legislation to control the costs of texts? Maybe, and maybe not. The answers depend on whether faculty, publishers, bookstores, and others involved in the textbook delivery chain can establish new models of information distribution—with faculty changing instructional practices to take advantage of customizable, focused content and digital delivery of that content. Students too must change, opting in to scenarios that have them paying for use of (“renting”), rather than ownership of, instructional course content. Sound radical? Let’s add one additional constraint: new models of providing instructional materials should improve student learning outcomes, even as they reduce costs. Margaret Spellings and her Higher Education Action Agenda would have it no other way.
This focus on learning outcomes is the lever that can move the behaviors of all involved in the “content delivery chain” and, perhaps far more effectively than legislation, nurture a high value to price ratio for learning materials, the ultimate goal of publishers, bookstore operators, faculty, and students.
Textbooks: A Look at the Issues
Let’s put some propositions on the table and support and attack them:The high cost of textbooks is the sole responsibility of the publishers. Probably not: The bookstores, those faculty indifferent to costs (23 percent in Zogby International’s 2006 study, commissioned by the Association of American Publishers), and students who game the system all share responsibility, and together could forge attractive alternatives to the present model of textbook delivery and use. More accurately, it isn’t the agency of any of these players; it is the structure of the textbook industry. The root source of high textbook costs is the “annuity problem,” the fact that first offerings purchased by the first group of students must sustain ever-weakening revenue streams until the book’s “end of life.” Every quarter or semester after the initial release of a new edition, used text offerings cannibalize the publisher’s new book sales. Typically 70 percent of total publisher revenue is tied to the initial offering, and purchases by the first wave of students must cover the lion’s share of royalties, production costs, and profits for the creators of the content.
Used books are the ticket to textbook savings. Studies done by the Wisconsin State System, the Virginia Commonwealth, and others suggest that well-stocked and available used book selections offer the best relief against high textbook prices.
Recommended Reading
- College of Southern Nevada Implementing Angel To Run Online Courses
The College of Southern Nevada (CSN), a community college in Las Vegas with 41,000 students, has adopted the Angel Learning Management Suite (LMS) to support its online course offerings. In Spring 2008 CSN began evaluating alternatives to WebCT, which it currently runs, and made the decision to adopt Angel in the fall. In January 2009, CSN's 865 sections of online enrollment will be delivered using the Angel LMS.
- Toshiba Brings DisplayLink to Docking Station
Toshiba has introduced a new USB docking station that incorporates DisplayLink--a technology that allows computers to connect to projectors and other types of displays through USB 2.0.
- Mitsubishi Ships SXGA+ Projector with DICOM Simulation
Mitsubishi has begun shipping a new LCD-based SXGA+ projector aimed at higher education, specifically medical schools. The new MH2850U, according to Mitsubishi, is "specially engineered for projecting DICOM simulation images for use in medical education and training."
- First Look: Komodo IDE 5.0
Last month, ActiveState released Komodo IDE 5.0, the company's latest integrated development environment (IDE). Komodo supports multiple programming and markup languages, including HTML, JavaScript, PHP, Perl, Java, Python, C++ and more. It does not support some .NET languages at present, such as ASP/ASP.NET, C# and VB.NET.
- IBM Offers Cloud Computing Help
IBM last week announced consulting services specifically designed to help organizations assess their options in using cloud computing technology. "Cloud computing" is a much argued term, but it typically refers to solutions delivered over the Internet, rather than via customer premises-installed software.
- Hollins U Chooses Omnilert for Emergency Notification Ahead of VA Deadline
Hollins University, among other higher ed institutions in Virginia, has implemented Omnilert's e2Campus emergency notification system (ENS) just ahead of a state-mandated deadline requiring them at every public institution of higher education by Jan. 1. Hollins itself isn't a public campus, but wished to implement an ENS before the end of the year, the school said in a company statement.
