CAMBRIDGE -- Two top deans have asked Harvard University professors to reduce student expenditures on textbooks and other course material by putting those items on line or by deciding earlier if they plan to use the same textbook in subsequent semesters.
Jeremy R. Knowles, Dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, and Benedict H. Gross, dean of Harvard College, said the average amount Harvard students spend on textbooks, compact discs , course packets, and other related materials is pushing $1,300 a year.
"Many of our students either skimp on daily expenses to purchase course materials or skimp on their books to make ends meet," the deans wrote in an e-mail to staff last week.
Many Harvard students interviewed yesterday applauded the effort and said they hope it leads to a universitywide initiative to reduce student spending on course materials.
>What should course materials look like today?
>With the costs and logistics of copyright compliance, are comprehensive (rather than updating and supplemental) course packets a realistic alternative to published books?
>Will students print out and read lengthy web-based and other online materials? Is it realistic to expect these to be read online? (I still much prefer paper to screens, but that may be generational.)
>Are published course materials (including books) worth keeping? (My wife and I still have shelves of books we read--or at least, were assigned to read--during our college years. We still refer to many of them, and take them down to brush up. Are we fossils?)
>How significant are resale options?
Comments welcome.
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