Tennessee Comptrollers released a report Thursday that addressed what it said was the rising costs of college textbooks in the state.
“Although the cost of course materials is only one component of the cost of a postsecondary education, by the time a student obtains a degree, the total spent on course materials can equal the cost of an additional semester of tuition at some four-year institutions. The report discusses initiatives among the state’s higher education institutions to make college course materials more affordable,” according to an emailed press release that the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability emailed Thursday.
“In 2019, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK) surveyed nearly 2,000 Tennessee community college students. Almost half of respondents said they spent more than $300 on course materials for the fall 2019 semester. Respondents reported that the high cost of course materials had resulted in difficult purchasing decisions that, in some cases, affected their grades or progress toward graduation. On the national level, surveys show that students at some institutions are spending less over time on course materials for reasons including a shift to digital materials and students sometimes electing not to purchase the course materials.”
Course materials can include print or digital textbooks, workbooks, audiovisual materials, online homework platforms, and other supplemental materials, the press release said.
Tennessee State Representative Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna) and former Tennessee State Senator Dolores Gresham, (R-Somerville) requested the report, the press release said.
Efforts to create more affordable options for students in purchasing course materials, the press release said, are widespread across Tennessee.
“The Tennessee Textbook Affordability Task Force has helped decrease course material costs by creating a statewide repository for open education resources (OER). OER are online learning content such as textbooks and other digital resources created by instructors, students, and others that can be used to teach, learn, and research a subject at no cost,” according to the press release.
“OER are used in some capacity on most college and university campuses in Tennessee. At UTK, for example, students are estimated to have saved over $4 million through the use of OER since 2015.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
