With No Frills or Tuition, a College Draws Notice

But if the textbook manufacturers don't also get a dose of it (or a swift kick in the teeth, I'm flexible on the matter), it won't solve the entirety of the problem. A few years ago, my girlfriend paid nearly $400 for a single book/CD-ROM/online combo for one class--and the CD-ROM/online service was licensed to disallow resale. That was the most expensive, but many classes require three or four texts at $100+ each. So, even if the schools themselves lower admissions dramatically, there's still a huge swath of costs that lower income folks won't be able to manage. It just seems like the textbook industry has gone mad with power and greed...I managed to make it through school with almost entirely used books from alternate sources (usually prior editions, even, which could be had for pennies on the dollar from local used bookstores), but the textbook manufacturers seem to be figuring out ways to prevent that--more frequent new editions, more dramatic changes between editions to make it harder for students to find their way in older editions, and the associated media licensing tricks to prevent legal used sales entirely.