As the new semester has taken way, students might have noticed some changes with some class requirements and book sales. These changes have made buying used books nearly impossible, making school even more expensive and harder on struggling students.

In the past couple semesters, more and more classes are requiring new editions of books. While I agree that it is completely necessary to have a recent version of a textbook so the students can learn the most up-to-date information, I feel that the school is making it very difficult for students to find more affordable ways to get the materials needed.

I also think it might be a conflict of interest that some of these new editions are even written by the professors that teach the classes requiring them. I understand that the professors teach the material and having written the book, they would do so in a way that would cater to the way they teach the class, trying to benefit the students. But circumstances as they are, this is actually making things harder on the students as the books are only being sold in bundles. So, even the classes that aren’t requiring brand new editions are still forcing students to buy the book in order to get the workbook needed for the class.

Many classes have also made it a part of a student’s grade to do online assignments, which require an online access code to complete. So, without buying the bundle, a student could be losing out on points by not being able to complete these online assignments.

In one of my classes, the online assignments aren’t even using information from the book. Imagine my disappointment when after spending $144 on something about the size of a notebook, I get online to find assignments that are based on news articles, not material covered in the textbook.

When the books weren’t sold in bundles, students were able to at least purchase used books from students who have already taken the classes, essentially eliminating a lot of the cost. By bundling the books and requiring students to get everything, even when they only need an access code or a workbook, it is only hurting the students.

Many of the students that are going to be hurt by this the most are the ones who are financially struggling, the ones who know how important it is to get a degree and a good job, the ones who would work hard and make their classes a priority. Those students are the ones that are going to end up having to drop classes because they can’t afford it. The school might have raised enrollment and it might be making a lot of money by making these changes, but if this doesn’t change, it just seems to me that they might also be pushing a lot of students out of classes.