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I bought my books today! The five books that it will take me to complete the first semester of midwifery school cost a whopping $218.14. That is easily the amount I would have spent on a single class book list from USF. My books for Anatomy I at USF cost $279.10 and that was for the book and the student guide that went with the book!
Seriously, there is a problem when it cost more to buy the books for a course than it does to pay for the course! Some people would argue that it's a racket when the professor writes the books and then makes the student purchase the books they authored. I can say sometimes I can see the controvery in that, however, two of the best classes I had ever taken were taught by the author of our textbook. Dr. Durand taught abnormal psychology using the book he authored and I honestly think that was the best book for the course. The problem is not professors authoring textbooks on the reading list, the problem is the exorbitant cost of textbooks, the constant publication of new editions, and the assigning of multiple books for a single class. There is also a problem with buy back when the semester is over. I paid over $100.00 for this book and I'm getting $30.00 back so you can re-sell it used for $75.00- FANTASTIC, sign me up!
The latest textbook hubbub is electronic books. For electronic copies of textbooks you pay about half the price of the physical book for the digital copy but when the semester is over your access code to the digital copy is expired and you make no money for a "sell back."
The US government published a report on the cost of textbooks and how to assist in making them affordable to students. Their conculsion for long term change: "a supply-driven, producer-centric market must be transformed into a demand-driven, college- and student-centric market." Hopefully, by the time future generations make to college, it won't cost a semesters worth of tuition to buy a classes worth of textbooks.