SR (Resolution # Here)                                                   11/07/2005

             

 

 

 


In the Senate of the Student Government Association (SGA)

East Carolina University, Greenville, NC

 

 

 


A Resolution to

 

make textbooks more Affordable to students

 

 


WHEREAS, according to the investigation by the Government Accountability Office of Congress and a survey by the Student Public Interest Research Group (Student PIRGs), students spend an average of $898 per year on textbooks, or 44 percent of the cost of tuition at an average University of North Carolina System School and 71 percent of tuition at the average NC community college, and;

WHEREAS, textbook prices have increased at four times the rate of inflation between 1994 and 2004, and;

WHEREAS, textbook publishers add extra items to textbooks - such as CD-ROMs and workbooks - that drive up average prices by 10-40% and that over 65% of faculty surveyed say they "rarely" or "never" use, and;

WHEREAS, textbook publishers put new editions on the market frequently - often with few content changes - making the less expensive used editions obsolete and difficult to find, even though 76% of faculty surveyed said they thought new editions were justified "half the time" or less, and;

WHEREAS, over 700 math and physics professors from 150 universities have called on Thomson Learning to stop issuing unnecessary new editions of it's introductory math and physics books, and;

WHEREAS, access to education is so important to society that the education market must be held to a higher standard.

 

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Student Senate of East Carolina University declares that any commercial practices that serve to drive up educational costs while providing little to no additional educational value are unacceptable.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Student Senate of East Carolina University calls upon college textbook publishers to adopt the following practices:

  • Keep the cost of producing textbooks as low as possible and keep textbook editions on the market for as long as possible without sacrificing educational content;
  • Give faculty and students the option of buying textbooks "unbundled";
  • Give preference to current editions over producing entirely new editions;
  • Pass on cost-savings to students once purely online textbooks are on the market;
  • Disclose to faculty member all of the different products they sell - including both bundled and unbundled options, list how much each of those products cost, and the length of time they intend to produce the current edition;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Student Senate of East Carolina University encourages individual faculty and departments to give preference to publishers and textbooks that incorporate the above practices when the educational value is comparable.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Student Senate of East Carolina University also encourages individual faculty and departments to submit textbook orders in as early as possible so that students and Dowdy Student Store have as much time as possible to search for low-cost textbooks.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Student Senate of East Carolina University calls upon Dowdy Student Store to make available to students as many used books as possible.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Student Senate of East Carolina University will forward a copy of this resolution to the following parties: Chancellor Steve Ballard, The East Carolinian, The Association of American Publishers and the Student Campaign For Affordable Textbooks.

 

Respectfully introduced this 11/07/2005

 

____________________________________________

Abey T. Dessie

Senator

 

 

 

WITNESSED:  _____________________________________________

                         Benjamin Wyche

                         Speaker, SGA Senate

 

APPROVED:  ______________________________________________

                        M. Cole Jones

                        Student Body President