While we may not be able to control the cost of gas, rent, and food, we can make a difference in how much students pay for textbooks. College textbook prices have risen more than the average rate of inflation and have increased by 178% since 2000. Approaches such as “bundling” that require students to purchase new editions of textbooks in order to obtain access codes for digital resources, market consolidation that removes competition as a means of controlling prices, and a lack of price transparency in terms of which option is truly the least expensive have all contributed to this increase.
