Students question college textbook legislation

A new bill approved by the Iowa House of Representatives could help college students find lower priced textbooks.

If signed into law, the bill would require public colleges to provide students with specific textbook information at least two weeks before semester classes begin.

The House cleared the proposal, House File 487, with a 98-0 vote.

The proposal moves to the Iowa Senate for final consideration this week.

Chuck Soderberg, District 3 Iowa House Representative, said the goal of the proposal is to grant college students the opportunity to find lower priced textbooks online or other locations besides the campus bookstores.

"With today's economic status, college students now have even more financial struggles," Soderberg said. "This proposal provides a means to assist college students financially. Students can utilize this proposal well during this time of economic difficulty."

Randy Feenstra, Iowa Senate member for District 2, is also supportive of the proposal.

"This is a great program because there are so many textbooks that are 50 percent less or more online that students can find, and now their colleges would be able to help," said Feenstra.

While legislators show enthusiasm towards the bill, Le Mars college students have mixed responses.

"I feel like buying textbooks online is already happening," said Greta Johnson, a junior at Iowa State University. "I think it's good that students are not required to buy from the bookstore, but I want to know why the legislation is necessary."

Johnson also said that public university bookstores are non-profit bookstores so they're not earning any money from student book purchases. Moreover, students can receive tax credit by buying their books from the college bookstore.

Even though the proposal does not directly affect private colleges, Daniel Pond, a junior at Dordt College expressed similar concerns. He has never purchased books in the bookstore due to their higher cost. Instead, he e-mails his professors to request the ISBN numbers of his books. He has not yet encountered resistance from any faculty.

A few Northwestern College students also shared their opinions.

"I really like that this proposal has been made," said Freshmen Ashley Eades. "The books at campus bookstores are really expensive, even for used ones. Giving us students a chance to find our books online before school starts is a fantastic idea, and it will help us save a lot of money that could be put towards many other things."

Yet, Freshman Riley DeVos said, "the whole thing doesn't bother me either way. While the legislation may motivate some students to get their books quicker, two weeks is not a lot of time to look for, purchase and receive books found online."

Although Brenda Ream will graduate this spring, she addressed the issue that sometimes a class requires a specific section of a book, not the whole thing. As a result, students cannot find those particular class materials outside of the bookstore. Ream also feels that students will not know if they are getting a better deal if they do not know the bookstore prices.

The proposal does not require the colleges to provide the bookstore price information according to Feenstra

Last year, consideration of the proposal ended in a compromise that encouraged -- but did not require -- public colleges to provide textbook information.