The Student Government has launched a publicity campaign to encourage professors to get their textbook adoptions in on time. The deadline was Oct. 15. Only 20 percent of professors had their adoptions in on time. When this happens, students get 10 percent of the original value for their books instead of the 50 to 60 percent they could get if the bookstore was assured that professors would use those textbooks again.
Some professors claim that the early adoption limits the freedom they have to plan courses over breaks and toward the end of the semester. What they don't realize is how much this hurts students financially. Students pay up to several hundred dollars for textbooks each semester. In addition to limiting the amount students receive for buyback, the late adoption of textbooks cuts down on time students need to order their books from places like Half.com or Amazon.com, where books cost much less.
All professors, however, aren't insensitive to textbook costs. Some will put chapters of books on Blackboard or have the library keep several copies of expensive books on reserve. Others, like Dr. Jack Child, make their own inexpensive books to save students cash.
The entire textbook situation affects not only students' finances but their performance in the classroom as well. Students nowadays wait until they receive syllabi at the beginning of the semester and then weigh which textbooks they should buy and which just aren't worth the exorbitant cost. Additionally, students don't feel bad for not completing the reading when doing so would cost them, at times, almost $100.
Professors should, at minimum, make an effort to turn in textbook adoptions on time. Most students are poor enough already.
