Over the past three decades, the cost of higher education has skyrocketed. College tuition has increased by 559 percent, while textbook prices have surged by an astonishing 812 percent. According to the UNC Office of Scholarships and Aid, UNC students pay on average $1,604 a year on supplies, well higher than the College Board National average of $1,250. The average price of a new textbook increased by 38 percent between 2011-2012 and 2015-2016 according to the National Association of College Stores.

These prices are hurting students’ wallets and GPA’s. As discovered by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), 65 percent of students reported they have skipped buying or renting an assigned textbook due to cost. Ninety-four percent of them realized this would impact their grade.

PIRG chapters at UNC-CH, UNC-G, and N.C. State are taking action to remedy this. UNC-CH’s NCPIRG chapter has partnered with their Student Government to get professors to pledge to explore affordable material options for their classes. By signing this pledge, professors become partners in NCPIRG’s efforts to research and consider more affordable options for course materials, such as open educational resources (OERs). OERs are faculty-written materials published under an open copyright license which are proven to be as effective as traditionally-published textbooks — if not more so. Best of all, they are 100 percent free.

In just one week, the UNC effort has already secured 20-plus signatures from professors committing to explore more affordable course materials. Their pledge is available at http://executivebranch.unc.edu/task-forces/affordability/textbookpledge/.

— Kent McKane

Chapel Hill