OSPIRG is working to lower the cost of textbooks.
This is a long term project that we started in 2004. We knew that we couldn’t solve this problem overnight. We also knew that if students were going to have a chance to be effective, we would need good research and solid facts. And we also knew that Oregon students alone couldn’t change the market; that we would need to band together with students around the country.
So we’ve done a few things over the last 4 years.
First, we organized student PIRGs and student government associations from around the country into a national campaign, called Make Textbooks Affordable. We hired a fulltime staffperson, Nicole Allen to run the campaign.
Second, our staff and volunteers authored ten reports that exposed the problem and identified solutions. Our research was so good that it has been covered by nearly every major news outlet in the country, and in all 50 states. This includes the New York Times, USA Today, the Oregonian, and more. And our work sparked a Congressional investigation into the problem.
Third, we have organized
faculty to speak out again high textbook prices. Faculty are the most important solution to the problem, since they are
the ones that order textbooks. So we organized over 700 math and
physics professors from 150 universities to call on the
world’s largest publisher to stop issuing unnecessary new editions of
textbooks. We then organized over
2,000 faculty - including 50 from UO - to sign a commitment to adopt free, Open Textbooks
instead of expensive commercial textbooks.
Fourth, we have gotten the government to take action. When the Oregon Legislature decided to take action, they turned to OSPIRG State Advocate Laura Etherton (that’s her speaking to Governor Kulongoski). And when Congress decided to finally act, they turned to called OSPIRG Federal Advocate, Luke Swarthout (that’s him testifying before Congress).
Now we have a new law that requires publishers to tell professors the price of textbooks and to offer unbundled versions of all class materials. And, the University must ensure that students are told what textbooks they need at least two weeks before classes start.
And although OSPIRG funds were not used to lobby for this legislation, Congressional insiders say that it was our research and advocacy over the last 4 years – here on campus and in Washington DC - that was the key force that led Congress to finally act.
All of this is starting to pay off. Faculty are starting to adopt
cheaper books, and we’re working to accelerate the pace and scale of this
trend so that it affects every single student.
