Textbook Costs
According to a NBC News Report, the average cost of textbooks has risen four times faster than the rate of inflation over the past 10 years, increasing faster than the consumer price index for tuition, healthcare, or housing, rising 1045% since 1977 (2015). This has resulted in 65% of students skipping the purchase of required textbooks at some point in their college career due to a lack of affordability (NBC News, 2015).
According to the Florida Virtual Campus Survey, the burden of textbooks is also hampering academic success, persistence, and retention in a number of ways, see below (2018).
| Student Response | Percentage Responding |
| Not purchasing the textbook at all | 64.2% |
| Taking fewer courses | 42.8% |
| Not registering for a specific course | 40.5% |
| Earning a poor grade | 35.6% |
| Dropping a course | 22.9% |
| Withdrawing from a course | 18.1% |
| Failing a course | 17.2% |
2021 Student PIRG Report
According to the 2021 Student PIRG Report, where 4,000 students across 83 institutions that serve a combined total of 500,000 students were surveyed, students reported the impacts of textbook costs displayed in Table 2 (Student PIRGs, 2021).
| Student Response | Percentage Responding |
| Skipped buying a textbook | 63% |
| Skilled buying an access code | 17% |
| Worried foregoing purchase of course materials would negatively impact their grade | 90% |
| Worked extra hours | 25% |
| Prioritized purchasing access codes over other course materials | 22% |
| Chose classes based on their course materials cost | 19% |
| Skipped meals | 11% |