We applaud the Pierce College Bookstore for its efforts to reduce the high cost of textbooks and we strongly encourage all faculty members to fully participate in the process.
At a recent meeting of the Academic Policy Committee, which is comprised of all Pierce department chairs, bookstore representatives made a professional and compelling presentation, identifying several ways that faculty can have a direct impact on the cost of textbooks.
It turns out that one of the easiest fixes is for instructors to get their textbook orders in on time.
Late book orders impact costs in several ways:
– They have to be shipped separately, often by higher-cost methods, in order to get them to the shelves in time for the semester start.
– There are far fewer pre-owned (and therefore less expensive) books available for purchase since they’ve already been snapped up by more proactive institutions.
– If the bookstore buyers do not know a particular book is going to be used again in the next semester they do not buy back those books from students. This further drives down used-book inventory, forcing more students to either purchase expensive new editions or buy from other vendors.
The good news is that many Pierce teachers are starting to pay attention to the ongoing prodding of administration and bookstore staff.
According to Bookstore Manager Greg Oswieler, only 22 percent of orders for the 2006 summer and fall semesters were received on time, whereas this year close to 50 percent of orders are coming in on schedule.
The bad news is that more than half of the instructors on campus are still procrastinating and costing students big bucks.
To those instructors – you know who you are – we say, “Get your order in, already!”
To those who have already done their job, we say, “Thank you, thank you!”