Reading stuff like this gives me unbridled joy.
Too bad this group didn't get a mention :o(
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The Wall Street Journal
Aug. 27, 2014 7:29 p.m. ET
A Tough Lesson for College Textbook Publishers
By JOSH MITCHELL
As More College Students Opt for Used or Free Books, Companies Are
Forced to Revamp Business Models
After years of nearly unfettered pricing power, the $7 billion college-
textbook industry is being upended by students like Amanda McQueen.
The 24-year-old George Washington University graduate student rarely
Amazon, or skips the purchase altogether.
"It's so easy to find somebody posting a scanned copy" on online sites
like Scribd, an e-book subscription service that allows members to
upload materials, says Ms. McQueen, a North Carolina native working
toward a master-of-public-health degree.
Debt-weary college and grad students are opting for cheaper or even free
textbook versions, forcing major publishers to revamp their business
models. The publishers are shifting toward digital products, such as
software that blends textbook material with videos and diagnostic
quizzes to track a student's progress mid-semester.
Nearly two-thirds of college students have skipped buying a course
textbook at least once because it cost too much, the Student PIRGs, a
nonprofit advocacy group, reported earlier this year.
Some opt instead to download textbooks illegally. A report last month by
the Book Industry Study Group, an industry trade group, found that 25%
of students photocopied or scanned textbooks from other students, up
from 17% in 2012. The number of students who acquired textbooks from a
pirate website climbed to 19% from 11%.
Those trends come at a time of steadily rising textbook prices. The
price of new printed textbooks has jumped an average of 6% a year over
the past decade, triple the rate of overall inflation, government
figures show, making textbooks among the fastest-growing consumer
expenses in the U.S.
Rising prices and changing buying habits have taken a toll.
Sales of new printed textbooks made up 38% of McGraw-Hill Education's
higher-ed revenue in 2013, down from 71% in 2010, said Chief Executive
and President David Levin.
digit percentage. So are computer-software programs, which are generally
cheaper than print textbooks. They offer the contents of textbooks and
track students' progress with quizzes, Mr. Levin said.
"Our business is having to shift," he added. "It probably was slow in
shifting. And the last couple of years have seen a radical
transformation."
The changing landscape is straining publishers' revenue at a time when
they are already grappling with a decline in U.S. college enrollment.
London-based publisher Pearson PLC, which derives 60% of its sales from
North America, reported last month a 6.5% sales drop in the first half
of 2014. That reflected a strengthening British pound relative to the
dollar, declining revenue from printed textbooks and lower college
enrollments.
Pearson is focusing on new products, including interactive software that
offers the same content as traditional textbooks but presents the
experience in online games to keep students more interested. The
software is intended to improve student outcomes and graduation rates, a
growing concern among colleges.
Don Kilburn, president of Pearson's North America unit, says the
industry is increasingly being asked by schools to design texts "in a
way that actually solves a specific problem or comes up with a
measurable outcome around that problem."
"That's been a pretty big shift, at least for Pearson," he said.
Overall student debt has doubled since 2007, reflecting a rise in
borrowers along with increasing individual debt burdens. Publishers say
pinch.
Students are spending less on textbooks than several years ago,
indicating they are becoming more cost conscious. The average amount
17% between 2010 and this spring, says research firm Student Monitor,
which polls students.
One challenge for publishers: Even as print-textbook revenue declines,
e-books aren't taking off. Many students still prefer to hold print
books so they can write in the margins, dog-ear pages, highlight
material and easily refer back to sections, experts say.
Monitor.
Luis Cartagenova, a 21-year-old rising senior at Yale University, said
he still prefers print textbooks, mainly so he can write in the margins.
But he has found a way to cut costs.
During his freshman year, the molecular cellular development biology
major says, he spent more than $1,500 on new textbooks. Now, he spends
several hundred dollars a semester on textbooks, buying them on Amazon
or through a campus-run program that sells used textbooks for charity.
"I'd rather not have to go into debt or really start racking up the
credit-card bills on books," he says.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/a-tough-lesson-for-college-textbook-
publishers-1409182139
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