Skye Sarac Headshot
As a college student, I am well aware that college comes with hidden costs. While some things, like printing costs, may have seemed shocking my freshman year of college, it no longer fazes me. Yet there are still times I feel genuinely surprised at just how much it truly costs to be a student, especially in a place that should encourage students to pursue knowledge.
While textbooks are essential for learning in most classes, it is unethical for professors to require students to purchase a textbook they wrote themselves without providing some form of compensation to the students. Textbooks already carry exorbitant costs for students, and many students now get their textbooks from third-party sites, like Chegg and Vital Source. Yet professors are still allowed to assign books they write themselves and charge students the full price.
There is no widespread rule against professors requiring their own textbooks, although some professional societies discourage professors from exploiting students for financial gain. I am not against professors sharing their own knowledge and even presenting it as superior. In fact, this can give students exposure to new perspectives and force them to question their own beliefs, which is part of what college is for. However, providing their textbooks as the only source of information promotes a biased viewpoint, and when students are forced to pay for the textbook, it can limit students from seeking out other viewpoints and hinder their ability to explore new information.
I once had a class where the professor did not assign their own textbook, yet toward the end of class I noticed they included several of their own published pieces in the assigned readings. I thought this was an excellent way for the professor to share their knowledge and give students the opportunity to ask questions about the material the next day in class.
Professors teach because they possess an in-depth knowledge of their subject matter, and one of the benefits of a college education is being able to directly interact with professors who are experts in their field. However, professors also have the responsibility to provide students with an opportunity to explore other viewpoints and challenge ideas. Most likely, any professor who requires the purchase of their own textbook will base graded assignments on the textbook material, which is essentially proclaiming that their view is absolutely correct, despite any bias that may be in the book.
While it is unreasonable to ask professors to never assign their own textbooks, there are certain stipulations that, if put in place, could make the process fairer and more ethical. For example, professors could negotiate contracts with the publisher to provide the book at a lower cost to students, or they could provide printouts or PDFs of the books to students.
Regardless of whether a professor takes actions to mitigate the cost of the book, any professor who assigns their own book should be required to state in the syllabus how much they are being compensated, if at all, and then list alternative textbook options for students who cannot afford to purchase the professor’s book. At the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, for example, professors who require students to purchase textbooks they wrote must donate any royalties back to the university. Even at NC State, there are a few classes where professors can ask students to buy their textbooks, as long as the proceeds go back into the University, benefitting the students in return. This is a policy all professors requiring students to buy their textbooks should follow.
When professors force students to pay extra for their own textbook, this creates barriers to accessing knowledge and can be detrimental to those who are already facing extra barriers to begin with. Especially during a time when higher education is in a precarious position and students are finding the already difficult task of affording college unmanageable, we should be removing barriers to access knowledge, not creating them.