Local universities help lower soaring textbook prices

As textbook prices continue to soar, local universities are trying to help students lower the cost.

News Center 7's Rachel Murray reports the average student spends more than $1,000 on textbooks each year. From 2006 to 2016, textbook prices increased by 88 percent.

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“It’s quite frankly absolutely ridiculous,” Wright State University Student Body President Daniel Palmer told Murray. “I’ve testified in the Ohio House multiple times on textbook prices and it’s outpaced the consumer price index three to four times.

At WSU, most students spend more than $1,200 on books, according to the college board. The university says it’s saved students nearly $8M with a book rental program and something called inclusive course ware.

“We use the purchasing power of the institution to negotiate lower prices than an individual student would be able to get, and that looks like it’s on track to save our students at least 50 percent,” said Dan Krane, WSU professor of Biological Sciences.

There are websites and Apps available students can use to compare prices. At directtextbooks.com, students can scan a bar code and get a cost comparison.

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At The University of Dayton, students can fill out a Federal Student Aid form to possibly receive a textbook scholarship of up to $4,000.

Clark State Community College says their online bookstore saved students over $372,000 last year.

A bill currently moving through Ohio legislature would save students millions by making textbooks tax exempt.