Coursepack prices rise with new printer
Students looking to save money on expensive textbooks can buy used books or search discount Web sites. But for Rice-specific coursepacks, the Rice Bookstore is the only option. This semester, coursepacks cost one-and-a-half to three times as much as they did last semester.
A variety of classes use coursepacks as a collected compilation of required readings that supplement or replace a course’s textbook.
In the past, the Kinko’s in the Student Center printed the coursepacks. But this year, XanEdu, a publishing firm for custom textbooks, printed the packets. Professors are unable to assemble the coursepacks themselves because copyright laws require royalties to be paid when copyrighted materials are distributed.
Assistant Bookstore Manager Helen Williams said she does not know why former Bookstore Manager Evelyn Morton made the change.
“We had a manager who’s no longer here, so we’re not really certain of everything that was agreed to right now, but we’re working on resolving it,” Williams said.
ELEC 301: Introduction to Signals is one of the classes affected by the price increase, with a course packet that increased from $38.25 in Fall 2005 to $117.55 this semester.
“My students are very upset,” Electrical Engineering Professor Richard Baraniuk said. “The content is virtually identical between last year and this year, so I don’t understand the reason for [this increase].”
In another change from last year, a student who drops a class can return the course packet. Williams said accepting returned coursepacks is one of XanEdu’s practices.
She said Bookstore staff members are researching other printing options for the coursepacks. They will make a change by next semester and will probably return to Kinkos for the printing, although they are considering other publishing companies, Williams said.
“We’re researching the price difference, and we’re going to resolve that,” she said. “Our whole goal and motto is to make sure that you students are well taken care of.”
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