Of all the scams college students face on their journey toward that coveted degree, none can match the tangled web of deceit textbook publishers spin.
Churning out unnecessary new editions lacking significant changes, publishers have in recent years taken their scandalous ways one step further by introducing supplements to the textbook market.
So now students pay a considerable amount more for a CD-ROM included with the book that is neither integrated into the course's curriculum nor used by the professor.
On Friday, the California Student Public Interest Research Group released the results of a four-month study on the textbook industry that found students are being ripped off at a record rate.
Through interviews with students nationwide, the group found students spend an average of more than $800 per year on textbooks. This compared to students just five years ago spending less than $600.
The group also researched several leading publishers' tendencies and found the average shelf life of a textbook to be 3.5 years, making it difficult for students to find cheaper used books.
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And CD-ROMs are just one method used to inflate textbook prices. Study guides and textbook packages are becoming more popular on university bookstore shelves across the country, yet they serve little purpose in the average college course.
Trina Rashing, a spokeswoman for Prentice Hall, one of the nation's leading producers of college textbooks, said she realizes costs for books are increasing with the implementation of new educational tools, "but it is going to benefit the education of tomorrow's leaders."
The best way to benefit a student's education is to keep textbooks as affordable as possible. It is much more beneficial to actually be able to afford the books than have an overpriced study guide lying uselessly in the bottom of a backpack.
