Local bookstores and Ohio University students and administrators could be affected by Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s proposal to include textbook costs in tuition.
In the fiscal year 2018-19 budget proposal, Kasich said the average student spends $600 per year on textbooks and starting in fall 2018, he wants colleges and universities to pick up half of those costs.
John Carey, chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, said that could require colleges and universities to charge a $300 increase in tuition to cover textbooks.
“The idea is not to decrease the costs of universities and community colleges, but to drive down the costs of textbooks by having the universities and community colleges having some involvement in that cost,” Carey said.
Carey said having that partnership will be good in the long run for universities and for students.
Jeff Robinson, spokesman for the Ohio Board of Higher Education, said some students’ textbooks may cost less than $300, which may affect the proposal when it comes to charging students.
“The budget language will be available once the bill is introduced in the House. At this point, I don’t know how that will be addressed, though I do know that schools are encouraged to seek creative ways to keep textbook costs down (sharing textbooks, using online textbooks, etc.),” Robinson said in an email. “So keeping that total cost to less than $300 would be a win-win for the student and the school.”
Robinson said that colleges and universities will be able to charge up to $300 per student and will have to cover the rest of a student’s textbook costs. That cost may vary, depending on the student.
Rich Purdy, one of the owners of Little Professor Book Center, said the proposal could be a “nightmare” for universities and students.
“Some students are fortunate and have a class with a textbook for only $40 or a class that just has something online,” Purdy said.
Depending on what year a student is, textbooks could be more expensive or less expensive.
“Textbooks are only expensive for first-year classes where they have 200 students and they have to buy a $200 textbook,” Purdy said. “As you go on down the line, being more and more in college, you kind of learn whether ‘I really need that book or I don't need that book’ and that kind of stuff.”
Some students find ways to share, get their books online, buy them used or take advantage of their campus library, Purdy said.
Purdy thinks that Kasich needs to go another route when it comes to the lowering the cost of college.
“I’m thinking that if he really wants to lower the cost of college for students, he’s got to look at the college themselves and all the fees that are charged,” Purdy said. “I think if the government really wants to look into it, they ought to look into what colleges are charging for fees for different things.”
Purdy said books can be a small amount of the total costs, and Kasich should look at the overall cost of college to help lower student costs.
Isabella Green, a freshman studying political science pre-law, thinks Kasich’s proposal on textbook costs is a good idea.
“It’s nice because textbook prices are outrageous and tuition is pretty expensive as it is,” Green said.
OU Spokeswoman Carly Leatherwood said the university is looking into the specifics of the proposal to see how it will affect both students and the university’s budget.
“We are currently assessing potential impact that items within the Executive Budget, as proposed, would impart upon the University internally, as well as local businesses in our community,” Leatherwood said.
