Research Guides: Open and Affordable Course Content: The Problem: High Textbook Costs

The Impact of Textbook Costs: VCU Student Stories

Undergraduates at four-year public universities are expected to budget $1,250 on average for textbooks and supplies in 2019-20. (The College Board. Average Estimated Undergraduate Budgets, 2019-20.)
Textbook prices have increased at over four times the rate of inflation since 2006 (U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Student PIRGs. 2016. Covering the Cost)

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, College tuition and fees increase 63 percent since January 2006. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/college-tuition-and-fees-increase-63-percent-since-january-2006.htm

In a survey of students from over 150 campuses, 65% of students reported not purchasing a textbook because of its high price (U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Student PIRGs. 2014. Fixing the Broken Textbook Market.)
In a survey of more than 22,000 Florida college students, students reported that the cost of required textbooks had caused negative impacts on academic performance and time to graduation, including earning a poor grade, failing a course, and not registering for a course.