I read stories
like this and I'm very glad that the school I'm going back to in a couple weeks has a text rental program. I think the most I've ever dropped on books in one semester was about $120, which is apparently the cost of just one "normal" text book, and the worst of which was a self published professor who infamously changed it every semester, and charged $80 for something that looked like it came from the copy center at Staples.
Don't forget the VHS tape that came with the book. We. Were supposed to watch it before every lecture. Yeah, sure. That particular professor also required us to buy 8 textbooks and "novels" (they were really just pieces of paper his friends printed) for his reasoning and criticism class. I have some reasons for critizing him...
ReplyDeleteHe had upgraded to a DVD by the time I was in his class (half the production costs, twice the cost to the students!) I understand there were quite mixed emotions when he died last year.
ReplyDeleteFor those not familiar with UWSP, the class in question was Comm 101, a class every student is required to take simply to graduate. I think there was a motion from student gov't to do something about it every year too, and then they remembered they were student gov't, and nobody cared.