Community College students could graduate faster and with better grades if they spent less time working at their jobs and more time studying and taking classes.

In 21st century America, a college education is critical for individual success and the strength of our nation. Higher education is associated with better health, greater wealth and more vibrant civic participation, as well national economic competitiveness in today’s global environment. As the need for a college degree has grown, however, so has the cost of obtaining that education. The result is rising student debt.

College textbooks have always constituted a meaningful portion of higher education costs. In the past two decades, however, the price of textbooks has soared to unprecedented levels. Textbook prices are increasing at more than four times the inflation rate for all finished goods, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index.

In January 2004, the State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) released Ripoff 101, a report documenting the high price of college textbooks. Ripoff 101 surveyed popular textbooks at 10 public colleges and universities on the West Coast and detailed the gimmicks publishers use to artificially inflate the cost of textbooks. The report sparked extensive media coverage, a call to action from hundreds of faculty members around the country, a congressional investigation, and government action in a number of states, including California, Connecticut and Illinois.

With student and faculty complaints about the price of college textbooks on the rise, the California Student Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG), the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) and the OSPIRG Foundation conducted a survey of the most widely assigned textbooks in the fall of 2003 at 10 public colleges and universities in California and Oregon. Student volunteers and staff also interviewed 156 faculty and 521 students about the cost of textbooks and their purchasing practices.