When selecting textbooks, students kept in mind

 

 

By Emily Cedargren

One of the ongoing complaints of college students is the cost of textbooks, and some students may wonder how professors choose textbooks to make required reading.

Last week, professors had to submit their list of required textbooks for next semester, and one UK professor said he does not look at item costs or buyback prices when choosing books.

Spanish professor Georgie Medina said when choosing books and materials for Spanish classes, professors focus mainly on finding materials to enhance the students’ proficiency in the language.

“We are aware that some of the materials are expensive, but we look at how much are the students going to benefit from all these tools,” Medina said.

In some cases, students are required to spend more than $100 on textbooks for a single course, which is something not all can afford.

Pyschology senior Alyssa Bretts said she spent $500 on materials for one class once.

Management junior Steven Kasper said in some of his classes professors have not used the whole book, so the textbooks have not been worth their price.

“Given the actual value of [what is used] compared to what they’re costing us … it’s completely ludicrous,” Kasper said.

Open-source textbooks is a way for students to download textbooks to their computer or access them online, and Kasper recommended this option.

CourseSmart is a Web site specializing in electronic textbooks with more than 6,000 titles available.