2 top deans urge Harvard professors to reduce textbook costs

CAMBRIDGE — Two top deans have asked Harvard University professors to reduce student expenditures on textbooks and other course material by putting those items online or by deciding earlier if they plan to use the same textbook in subsequent semesters so the bookstore can buy back copies for resale.

Jeremy R. Knowles, dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, and Benedict H. Gross, dean of Harvard College, said the average amount Harvard students spend on textbooks, compact discs, course packets, and other related materials is pushing $1,300 a year.

"Many of our students either skimp on daily expenses to purchase course materials or skimp on their books to make ends meet," the deans wrote in an e-mail last week.

Many Harvard students interviewed Sunday applauded the effort and said they hope it leads to a universitywide initiative to reduce student spending on course materials.

"I personally don't buy all the texts because prices are absurd," said Roy Cohen, 22, of Israel who has not declared a major. "I feel if Harvard is trying to open its door more to people with diverse financial backgrounds, they could do more to help subsidize book costs."

The deans said they sent the e-mail this year because of concern over the growing cost of textbooks, as well as to remind faculty that more written material is available online and licensable for institutional use.

The deans estimate that students collectively spend $8.5 million a year on textbooks and other course materials.

The move by Harvard deans follows attempts in Congress and state legislatures in Maryland, New York, and elsewhere to rein in rising textbook spending.

A U.S. Government Accountability Office study two years ago found that textbook prices have been increasing about 6 percent a year since the 1987-88 school year because of the frequent updating of editions and bundling textbooks with materials such as CD-ROMs.

The study found students spend about $900 a year.

State Representative Steven M. Walsh, Democrat of Lynn, has filed a bill this year requiring publishers distributing textbooks in the Bay State to make them available for sale without forcing students to buy CD-ROMs, workbooks, and other materials.

But complaints about costs, particularly among students, go beyond materials sold by publishers. Students also are annoyed by the cost of course packets, which are compiled by professors and include photocopies of copyrighted materials, such as academic journal articles. The packets can run more than $100 at Harvard, students say.