My little brother is going to college in two years, but he’ll have it tougher than I did — and I graduated just three years ago. Every college student has a story or knows someone who spent hundreds of dollars on a single textbook. I was able to avoid most of my textbook costs by sharing with classmates, asking an older student to lend me theirs, or finding a PDF online. But more and more, those options don’t exist.
Universities across the country are implementing automatic textbook billing and calling it “inclusive access,” misleading students and parents. Instead of being “inclusive” these programs force students to pay for their books, thus robbing them of the opportunity to choose cheaper or free alternatives.
The U.S. Department of Education proposed rules to let students “opt-in” to these programs, instead of automatically billing them with little notice on how to “opt-out.” I’m urging President Biden and his administration to finalize that rule to give students, like my little brother, the right to make an effort to reduce the cost of college.