Make Textbooks Affordable Reports

A Cover to Cover Solution: How Open Textbooks are the Path to Textbook Affordability

College textbook prices have skyrocketed in recent years, threatening the affordability and accessibility of higher education in America. The average student spends $900 on textbooks annually, which can be the tipping point between affording a degree and dropping out because of cost. As prices continue to rise, the need for solutions is increasingly urgent. This report looks at some of the solutions.

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Report | Textbooks

Course Correction: How Digital Textbooks are Off Track and How to Set Them Straight

The Student PIRGs conducted this study to determine how digital textbooks can live up to their potential as a solution. Through a survey of 504 students from Oregon and Illinois and 50 commonly assigned textbook titles, we confirm three fundamental criteria – affordability, printing options, and accessibility. We found that publishers’ digital “e-textbooks” fail to meet these criteria, and that an emerging form of digital textbooks – open textbooks – are a perfect match.

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Report | Higher Ed

Obama’s Budget: Supporting Students, not Banks

A report by the USPIRG Higher Education Project estimates the impact of transferring $5 billion in student lender bank subsidies to Pell Grant recipients in each state.

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Students in Action

Student leaders educate the campus about income inequality during National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week.
We collect petition signatures - lots of them!
Hunger and Homelessness intern Roua Aboukhadijeh collecting interview footage on campus for a short film on poverty.
Students campaign for High Speed Rail.
Fast Trains ARE Cool.
Students volunteer at a local garden for the National Hunger Cleanup.
Volunteers wear the textbook mascot costumes to educate students about affordable textbook alternatives.
Students posing with the textbook Rebellion books, We Want Cheaper TEXTBOOKS!!
Textbook Rebel and Mr. $200 drew attention to outrageous textbook prices.
Six media outlets covered a stop on the Textbooks Rebellion tour to promote affordable alternatives to outrageously expensive textbooks.