I haven’t been involved in my D’s book purchases other than sending her the allowed amount from her 529 account.
I recently found out that my D didn’t even buy the books for her freshman Bio or Chem classes spring semester. She did well in both classes. She mentioned that she barely used her book during the first semester of Bio and it wasn’t worth buying it used or renting. Not sure what she did with that money though!
My D could use all of her Bio, Chem and Ochem books for both semesters. The same with her German books.
Are you sure? I’ve bought used foreign language workbooks on Amazon and they were not even written in.
Our department chair chooses the text the adjuncts have to use. Last year I had sections of 70+ students. Grading all their assignments by hand was prohibitive, so I required them to use the online homework system with the access code. You have some other suggestion?
This year, the chair has chosen a text that is free online. I will have a smaller group, so am not using an online homework system (there isn’t one with the text). Unfortunately, I will be getting paid squat to deal with all the grading, on top of the first-time prep. Better me than them, eh? /sarcasm
@sylvan8798 honest question – how did professors grade work all those years ago before online access codes? What is different now?
^Probably a lot of things are different now, but one thing is that more and more classes are being taught by adjuncts, particularly intro courses, which are more heavily populated. As an adjunct I only once had a T.A. (and not where I teach now). Generally we’re expected to do all the work for our courses ourselves. Technology has made it possible to put more on the adjuncts without graders or teaching assistants, since we can use online systems. Many of the teachers I had as an undergrad had upper class students or grad students who worked for them as graders, lab assistants, and the like.
In the past, I have also had courses where the professor didn’t grade the homework, or only graded 1 or 2 problems in each set, but I don’t consider that to be enough feedback for my students, so that would be a last resort.
For larger classes, it was common that major assignments were graded by TAs (obviously more possible in research universities where there are lots of PhD students funded through TA work). They may have hired readers to grade minor assignments in some courses.
Like PP, my son was able to save on his math text/code by renting the book from Amazon and buying the access code from them as well. Total of $126 vs. the looseleaf version and access code the school was selling for $170. He could have apparently only bought the code since it includes the e-book, but thought it would be worth the extra $38 to have an actual textbook to use.
The unavoidable pricey purchase was the custom text and access code for a comp sci class sold only by the school.
Some students at Berkeley must like the textbook situation in their classes. The Berkeley special version of the Stewart calculus book costs less than the generic version, and the first CS courses (10 and 61A) use free online books and materials.
@toomanyteens - sorry, while I know there is a cost to technology, utilizing it can be a huge cost saver. For example, for education - online courses for free; for buying used books, rather than new (with widest selection); or for generally in life - I save a lot buying through Amazon, Ebay or many other sites. Competitive pricing is available online to help you buy at the best cost. Also, computing power is doubling every 12-18 months at the same or lower price.
I think these outrageously priced access codes and "custom editions " were created to thwart thrifty parents and students, who have been able to save a lot of $$ by renting or buying used books. I wonder who benefits? Universities? Publishers? Do professors get kickbacks?
I do find it interesting that the books for my youngest D, a business major who attends Temple, a public U, were mainly books with access codes or “custom editions” with access codes. We spent $1100 for her freshman year books, and the prices on amazon for the non custom books were no cheaper.
Her older sis attends U of Richmond, a private U, and only one class has required the access code/book so far. Most professors, especially science ones at UR, have made a point of specifying older editions so that students don’t have to spend so much on books. A typical semester’s books cost about $250 - $300, including a custom science lab notebook or two, but it may be that they will start using the access code format more, too.
Talk about creating additional barriers for lower income students, especially at a public U like Temple, very unfair, IMO. I hate this trend already, ugh:(
Well I never have, so if some professors are, please tell me where I can sign up for those.
@sylvan8798 , lol, my husband was a professor for ten years, he didn’t get any either:)
My kid has had to buy clickers and access codes but for the most part her book costs have been minimal.
For junior year in engineering/premed I don’t think she spend more than $200 and that was over two semesters.
Freshman year she mostly rented the books . As she became a sophomore, and then a junior the expense decreased because the teachers provided all the materials for the class or she was able to get a copy of the book needed from the college library. Senior year she expects book costs to not be very significant either. Knock on wood we got lucky in saving some money in that area.
At a recent visit to one of our state schools, they said the professors have some textbooks available for the students to use in the library.
In classes that have homework to turn in regularly. I don’t mind paying the access code. My youngest hasn’t had to purchase too many. As a prof, I love them, but my code, which includes an ebook, is half the cost of a new book plus code. The one disadvantage is that buying just the code with ebook can only be done through the publisher. Students who need to use their fin aid have to go through the campus bookstore, which means purchasing the more expensive paper copy/code.
FWIW, while the cost of math books (even without codes) is high, required art supplies for studio art classes has been far worse. Youngest has paid up to $400 in required supplies for a single class. And that’s on top of the book.
That is why I tell my daughter to always wait till class start to purchase the book. Every professor so far was ok with her using the eBook that came with the access code.
I’m pursuing a 2nd degree by taking a course at a time at a local college. Tuition is ~$500 per class. This session’s book with online access code is another ~$200. If I could just get a used copy of the book, the cost would be less than $50. The book with online access for my last class was ~$130, so it varies, but it’s still high. And it’s prohibitive for low income students. The difference between the haves and have nots at a particular school shouldn’t extend to what courses they can afford to take. How can low income kids become STEM majors if they can’t afford the books?
Same experience here. Some point to electronic copies in the library too.
I advised my kids not to buy their books until after the first class unless they know for a fact that they will be required. Sometimes they really aren’t.
I just came across this issue today while ordering books. My 9th grader’s French 1 textbook with access code is $160 plus another $60 for the workbook (private high school). I looked everywhere and there’s no way around it unless I can buy used without the access code. I do wonder whether the class will even need the access code; maybe I should have him email the teacher to ask.
I have a huge issue with these codes. I’m sorry but it can’t be that hard for a professor to come up with their own problem sets, they just have to do it once and they can reuse them every semester. Hell, if they’re really lazy they can copy them off quizlet but change the numbers. It’s ridiculous that students get gouged so hard because professors can’t be assed to come up with their own assignments. Hand grading in my experience is not an excuse either, as every school I’ve taken classes from (private schools, community colleges, and even my high school) has their own online quiz/test system on the class pages that automatically grades assignments.