Average Annual Cost of Textbooks at $602

Students spent less on average for their course materials this year than last year; and that's way lower than they paid a decade ago.

That figure was pulled from the latest results reported by the National Association of College Stores, which surveyed college students in the United States and Canada.

The study, "Student Watch: Attitudes and Behaviors toward Course Materials: 2015-2016 Report," found that students spent an average of $602 on their purchased and rented required course materials last school year, compared with$563 in in the 2014-2015 school year. The survey authors noted that the rise between 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 was primarily due to a change in how responses were weighted. The unweighted total spending average for the latest year was $559, making it a lower average cost than 2014-2015. However, the average in 2007-2008 was $701, about 14 percent higher than the latest cost.

The average number of textbooks needed each year is nine, and the average cost for the most expensive of those was $145 in the spring 2016 semester, compared to $140 in fall 2015. The average price per textbook or other course content was $67, up from an average of $53 in the 2007-2008 academic year.

The same survey found that 4 in 10 students said they prefer a printed textbook format; and a quarter of students (26 percent) said they would choose a combination of print and digital materials. Convenience (56 percent) and lower cost (45 percent) were cited as the two primary reasons students said they prefer digital curriculum. Three-quarters of students said they have used a digital resource at least once during their college careers.

The survey also found that campus stores "dominate" the rental textbook market. During the fall term alone, 40 percent of students rented their textbooks and course materials, while 86 percent purchased them and 11 percent borrowed them. Overall, 80 percent of students said they hit the campus store for their course material and 57 percent head to online or other retailers.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • cloud and circuit patterns with AI stamp

    Cloud Management Startup Launches Infrastructure Intelligence Tool

    A new AI-powered infrastructure intelligence tool from cloud management startup env0 aims to turn the fog of sprawling, enterprise-scale deployments into crisp, queryable insight, minus the spreadsheets, scripts, and late-night Slack threads.

  • human figures surrounded by precise arcs with book and gear icons

    Kennedy-King College Rolls Out Holistic Student Support Program

    Chicago's Kennedy-King College is expanding student support services through a collaboration between City Colleges of Chicago and One Million Degrees (OMD), a Chicago-based nonprofit serving low-income community college students.

  • college students in a classroom focus on a silver laptop, with a neural network diagram on the monitor in the background

    Report: 93% of Students Believe Gen AI Training Belongs in Degree Programs

    The vast majority of today's college students — 93% — believe generative AI training should be included in degree programs, according to a recent Coursera report. What's more, 86% of students consider gen AI the most crucial technical skill for career preparation, prioritizing it above in-demand skills such as data strategy and software development.

  • laptop and fish hook

    Security Firm Identifies Generative AI 'Vishing' Attack

    A new report from Ontinue's Cyber Defense Center has identified a complex, multi-stage cyber attack that leveraged social engineering, remote access tools, and signed binaries to infiltrate and persist within a target network.