IHL
looking at ways to lighten textbook load
By
Lindsay Hill, Staff Writer
Published 2/4/2010
In
late January, Mississippi Institute of Higher Learning’s (IHL)
State College Board voted to raise tuition at Mississippi’s
eight public universities by 6.8 percent for the 2010-11 school
year and another 6.9 percent for the following year.
This increase only furthers the financial burden of higher education
for students and parents alike.
Tuition costs
for Mississippi universities have nearly tripled in the last few
years with prices ranging from about $4.000 to $5.000 presently.
In comparison, tuition at Northeast is currently only $945 a semester.
To top it all off, textbook prices have risen as well.
According to
education writer Elizabeth Crisp with The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson,
college students spend an average of $300 to $600 on books each
semester, although some students are known to have spent as much
as $1000.
A criminal justice book from the Northeast bookstore runs $111,
a differential equations $186, a nursing book $110, and a microbiology
book $179. Students and parents today are faced with the option
of paying tuition to attend class or the books needed in those classes.
The State College Board is now looking for policies that would reduce
the cost of textbooks.
According to Crisp’s
story, the board has agreed to require stricter requirements for
professors on the textbooks used in their classes.
Future college
professors may be required to use the same book for three consecutive
years for lower-level courses (100-200 level courses that Northeast
offers) and two years for upper-level courses (300-or above courses
offered at universities).
Professors could also be required to establish earlier textbook
adoption deadlines, more clearly identify whether books are required
or recommended, and let students know if earlier editions may be
used.
|
