Editor,
My brother is a new freshman at UNM and is taking Psychology 105. The use of WebCT - or "Vista," as it is now called - is a requirement for this course in order to take online quizzes, which are part of the students' grades. The professor has made it mandatory that all students either purchase an access code at the UNM Bookstore - which costs about $60 - and buy the required book elsewhere or from the Bookstore, which costs about $111 after including the price of the access code.
I have taken this class before, and I was not required to purchase this access code. I was able to take the online quizzes with no penalty. I am concerned that this $60 access code for supplemental online material is unnecessary. Squeezing more money out of the pockets of incoming students is ludicrous and should not be allowed by any department on this campus.
It seems to me like the UNM Bookstore has monopolized the material for this class. Students have to go through the UNM Bookstore for either the book or the code. Students cannot go elsewhere to get the proper materials essential to the course.
I would expect that this matter of ridiculous requests to pay for access codes is either eliminated or dealt with in an ethical way for the benefit of the students and their pocketbooks.
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Emily Luna
UNM student
