Free college textbooks could be on the way

While it’s no secret that college tuition, room and board, and fees have risen in recent years, many people don’t realize the cost of textbooks has also gone up dramatically–1,041 percent since 1977, in fact.

This can add significantly to a family’s financial burden when paying for college. While there are ways to save on college textbooks, they’re still a significant investment that many families don’t realize until their student has already started college.

Program would make online textbooks free

But a new bill from Senator Al Franken (DFL-Minnesota) could help eliminate this significant college cost, according to Fox 9 News.

The senator has proposed the Affordable College Textbook Act, which would set up a competitive grant program for colleges to allow professors to write open-sourced textbooks for distribution online, which students could then use instead of buying physical textbooks.

Free textbooks can lower college costs

The great thing about this plan is that it incentivizes professors (who often prescribe expensive textbooks for classes with little regard for their costs) and represents a sustainable model that could be used for years into the future.

When professors want to update their textbooks for a new year, they could easily make these changes online, rather than forcing students to buy a whole new edition of a textbook.

We think this is a great idea and hope to see the bill passed in Congress.

Given that students spend about $1,200 per year on books and supplies, this could help families save significantly on the cost of college.

We’ll keep you updated on any developments with this program, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction when it comes to reducing college costs. Hopefully, we’ll start to see some action to help reduce the rising cost of tuition, room and board and other college fees as well.