By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Even before politicians in Columbus opened the book on textbook costs, Bowling Green State University was taking action to control that expense.
David Levey, who chairs the university’s Board of Trustees, said that at a recent conference for trustees from around the state system a presentation on textbook costs was made. He said he was “shocked” at where other institutions in their efforts.
“We’re so far ahead on this curve,” he said at Friday’s trustees meeting. “Many of the state institutions are just catching on with this.”
The presentation that followed explained what BGSU has done and made clear there’s more work to do.
Michelle Simmons, assistant vice president for academic operations told the trustees that as a percentage of the cost of going to college, textbooks is not great. The trouble is that the expense hits at a point that students and families have already paid large sums for tuition and housing.
Rachelle Hippler, who chairs the Faculty Senate, said the faculty and staff at BGSU have been taking action before there was any talk of a state mandate.
“It’s really important for students to have a lot of options when they go to purchase their textbooks,” said Library Dean Sara Bushong. She catalogued some of those options.
Last year the library spent $5,000 to buy textbooks for 42 courses that have high enrollments and high textbook costs. Those are placed on reserve and can be used in the library for up to two hours. Those books were used more than 1,500 times.
Faculty also has the option of placing a copy of the text for their class on reserve, she said.
That initiative got a thumbs up from undergraduate student trustee Meg Burrell. She used reserved texts for three of her six courses. “I spent more time in the library … but it’s a great place to be. … I can’t plug it enough. It’s just a very comfortable place”
Burrell said she rented texts for two of her courses, and purchased books for her sixth course.
Burrell said she got “smarter” about buying texts as her academic career progressed.
Simmons said that the working group on textbooks is trying to target first year students to make sure they know about their options earlier.
Burrell said over time she has made more use of BG Choose, the price comparison tool developed by the bookstore.
BG Choose, Bushong said, spells out the various ways of acquiring a textbook—buying new, used or renting it.
“We’re unique among state schools” in offering a price comparison tool, she said. BG Choose was established in 2011.
Also, the bookstore is one of only 10 in the country to offer discounts for students purchasing textbooks in electronic format, she said.
Students also can avail themselves of OhioLINK services. The state library consortium allows students and faculty to borrow materials from public and private institutions throughout the state.
Also, the BGSU library publishes guides both for faculty and students on the textbook adoption and purchase process.
The earlier faculty members decide what text they will use, the more options students will have, Bushong said.
Faculty can also make sure students know if an older edition of the text is acceptable.
This spring there will be more direct communication to faculty encouraging them to make the decision as soon as possible, Bushong said.
Open access textbooks offer a long-term solution to the problem. These textbooks circumvent the publishers. Created by faculty members and offered for free.
BGSU is just starting to explore the possibilities, Bushong said. Faculty are being asked to look at and evaluate what’s available. The university is also putting the infrastructure in place so texts to be created at BGSU.
Simmons said that the General Studies Writing faculty is working to develop common open source materials for those courses.
Open source material must be evaluated to see how well it works, Simmons said.
“Cheap doesn’t always mean it’s the best thing for students,” Bushong said.
“Can any pressure be brought to bear?” Trustee Betty Montgomery asked of the presenters. “Some faculty may be oblivious to the issue.”
Bushong said the working group has made a number of presentations to faculty including to Faculty Senate.
Faculty Senate discussed the issue earlier this month and in November when members of the working group made a presentation. Though there was debate about how to proceed, no one questioned the need to address the issue. A senate ad hoc committee will look into the matter, and issue a report by May.
