A third of Pa. college students sometimes go without textbooks because of cost, survey shows

The cost of textbooks and other course materials continues to weigh heavy on many college students’ budgets and minds. They can’t afford them.

“These costs have just been getting crazy,” said Molly Kennelly, a senior biology major at Temple University who is director of academic affairs for the student government. “They have been increasing every year.”

» READ MORE: Classes without textbooks? More colleges are giving it a try

Kennelly said she is fortunate to have parents who help her, but many students at Temple are struggling to cover the costs of materials they need for their courses every semester.

And they’re not alone.

A new study — the first of its kind focusing just on Pennsylvania — shows that of nearly 5,000 students surveyed at 14 colleges, nearly half reported “moderate” or “extreme” worry about textbook costs. The average cost per course, the study found, is $90, with more than half of students paying well over $200 a semester for materials that include primarily textbooks, but also literature, art supplies, lab coats, and equipment and other items. Those with a full course load of four credits reported costs of about $360.

About a third of students who responded to the survey this year said they sometimes go without course materials because of costs, according to the survey results report compiled by the California-based Bay View Analytics and released Wednesday.

In a signal of the financial trend’s impact, 38% of students said they earned poor grades because of lack of access to required materials, while 15% said it caused them to fail a course. About a third said they didn’t register for a course because of the cost of materials. The study also found that students reporting higher level of concern about costs were: Black, Hispanic, female, those receiving federal Pell grants targeted to lower- income families, and those who had a full-time job off campus.

Students in Pennsylvania worry more about course material costs than their counterparts nationally and are less likely to be able to cover the tab with their financial aid, the report said, citing the results of a comparison survey of 500 students nationally.

The report was prepared at the request of About Affordable Learning, a statewide initiative led by libraries aimed at helping to reduce the cost of educational materials, and Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation, a nonprofit with more than 70 academic and research libraries among its members.

» READ MORE: Temple raises tuition more than 4% for Pennsylvania and out-of-state residents

Besides Temple, other local colleges where students were surveyed include Community College of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania State University, and Widener University. Several colleges in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education also had student participants as well as some private colleges outside the region.

“We wanted to do something that we thought would have major impact across the state to bring attention to students and the cost of course materials,” said Steven J. Bell, associate university librarian at Temple University Libraries. “We think this is something that can be tackled without a huge investment of state funds.”

More professors need support in developing and using open educational resources as their required course materials, he said. Students can access those for free.

» READ MORE: Penn raises tuition, other costs 4%, while expanding full financial aid to more families

An effort has been underway at Temple since 2011 to move away from the use of traditional — and often expensive print textbooks — in favor of openly licensed and vetted materials that are free to students. The effort as of 2019, had gotten buy-in from nearly 90 of the university’s then 3,850 full- and part-time professors and saved students $1 million.

Nationally, as more students, faculty and universities focus on course material costs and major textbook companies face competition, costs have gotten slightly cheaper, said Julia Seaman, who coauthored the report with her father, Jeff.

“Just because it’s slightly cheaper, doesn’t mean it’s affordable,” she said.

Temple Student Government this fall passed a resolution calling on the university administration “to support the expansion of funding and infrastructure for the promotion of the use of open and affordable learning materials.”

The measure also calls on faculty to use open educational resources, library-licensed materials or free, low-cost internet resources whenever possible.

Temple said in a statement that it was ready to work with student government on improving access to course materials for students.

“We know that one barrier for students is the increasing costs of higher education, which include course materials like textbooks,” the school said. “These costs continue to adversely impact Temple students and families, and in recent years, the university has taken steps to assist students with rising textbook costs.”

The school in 2019 established a task force, which continues its work today, to provide guidance to faculty on how to better use open course materials when they are available. The school also has launched the Textbook Affordability Project, which provides grants to faculty ranging from $500 to $1,500 to encourage their use of open textbooks, the use of free materials available through the library system, or the creation of their own materials.

Kennelly, the Temple student, has watched classmates struggle.

“It hits a lot of STEM students very hard,” she said. “We have textbooks. Then we have lab materials. We need our lab coats. We need our goggles. We need to buy manuals every year. It’s a lot.”

But it’s not just STEM students, she said. One of her friends, who is a marketing major, actually pays more than she does, she said.

The majority of students surveyed statewide were full-time undergraduates, taking at least four courses per semester. Among their majors were: health, business, education, psychology, and STEM fields.

While most students got financial aid, only 13% said the aid covered more than half of their course materials, the report said.

Almost all students surveyed reported they tried ways to reduce costs, including buying a used copy, finding a free version online, sharing materials with a classmate, renting a copy, buying only chapters needed or using earlier editions.