2000 Professors Join Call for Open Textbooks

- Sujatha Jahagirdar, Student PIRGs

Textbook prices are way out of control and professors are joining the fight to bring them down. Students spend an average of $900 a year on textbooks, which is equal to 20% of tuition at an average university and 50% of tuition at a community college. Textbook companies manipulate the market to drive prices as high as possible and students end up footing the bill.

The Student PIRGs have spent the past year organizing professors to sign the Open Textbooks Statement which is a commitment to consider using free, open source textbooks, instead of expensive, traditional textbooks. As of this week, about 2,000 professors have added their names to the statement, with more joining every day.