Unless you're in pretty advanced bio classes, it doesn't change every year like the textbook editions suggest.

Also I have had community college classes where the text cost upwards of $200. I've also had classes where the used book cost $5 and the prof was willing to buy it herself if you couldn't afford even $5...

The material doesn't change, but the homework problems do...or at least the order of homework problems/chapters may change.

But the material isn't changing, which then begs the question as to why the hell the professors and teachers believe that using a brand new edition is a good idea. That's the key point. Homework problems don't need to be changed, unless you're worried about people cheating from folks who've taken the class before - in which case, change the exams, and change which homework problems are being assigned. Even then it's their loss/problem if they decide to cheat. And it's not that the problems were incorrectly written - corrections are usually minimal - it's that if the problems change, what happens is that it's fundamentally the same question except numbered differently.

I've seen this happen so many times and I'm sick of it because the likes of all my intro classes from chem and physics and bio to calc and CS have not fundamentally changed SO much that it is impossible to use a text that is a couple years old.

I completely agree with you: it's a scam.

But we, the profs, don't have a lot of choice in the matter. Problem 1: we need to assign a text which is available to all students, and I can't guarantee availability of enough copies of the old editions.

I'd love to use this book (http://store.doverpublications.com/0486457710.html) costing $20 for calc, but that brings up problem 2: I have to use the book the department assigns. Changing this would require joining a curriculum committee, turf wars, academic politics, etc. Yuck, I'm a scientist, not a politician.

I usually work with my students to save them some money (copy problem pages, etc), and I bought old editions when I was an undergrad. But that's about the best I can do. I have given the problem some thought, and have a startup concept (with some code). If I can overcome some technical issues, I'll go live with it.

With problem 1, wouldn't the old edition still be cheaper than the new? Or would the publisher just stop publishing the older edition? Even with new editions I've come across situations where the bookstore was having an impossible time ordering enough to meet demand.

And the second...I just guess I don't understand why new editions have to be adopted so quickly sometimes. I taught myself all sorts of subjects out of used books I got at garage and library sales. Years later actually taking the classes with a brand new edition of a text, nothing's changed. Only the price..used books would be dirt cheap and the new edition would be $120. So the department assigns a book, why do they have to assign it? Kickbacks from the publisher? My question above about the publisher discontinuing the older edition?

I guess I'm ultimately mad about this whole situation (and yes, I was a textbook torrents user although they never had the texts for my classes). I even had one class at a CC (I think it was anatomy) where the class itself was only somewhere around $70 but the materials and mainly the text|online access|workbook were in the $300 range. I about flipped out then.

The publisher indeed stops publishing the old version. It would be cheaper for the students that can find an old copy, who knows if they will all be able to do so?

>So the department assigns a book, why do they have to assign it?

Do you want to buy a new book for calc 2 if you take it with somebody besides me? Or buy a new book if you switch sections?

Standardization makes sense, especially at the intro level. I'd prefer if they standardized on cheap calc books, but as I said, making that occur involves academic politics. Perhaps one day, when I've got clout...

Hmm, okay, now I'm hating them more and more.

>Do you want to buy a new book for calc 2 if you take it with somebody besides me? Or buy a new book if you switch sections?

Well, my idea was to standardize on cheaper books, not that it should be a free-for-all (for your reason precisely). It does involve academic politics and you'd run into the problem with having a lack of books in some cases. This sucks on all sides.

>And the second...

Several times in my experience the only difference between editions was that the publisher had changed the work problem (and maybe fixed some typos) for the sole purpose of making the students buy new books.

Right, that's what we're saying. Nothing fundamentally huge changes in most of these editions, so the students keep getting ripped off as they need to buy new editions and old editions become harder to sell.

I wonder what would happen if lots of students and faculty members from all over grouped together to refuse to buy such editions? In my dreams, but just to make a point to the publishers. I can only imagine how much of the cost of a new textbook is pure profit for the publishers and authors.

I'm taking Calc I at my community college right now to get it out of the way instead of taking it next semester. The textbook costs $110, used. I cant remember how much it would have been if it was new. Probably around $150.

Then on the flip side, I've got a class next semester that has 4-5 books required that cost a total of $50. So it's not dead set "Community == cheap, University == expensive" Its closer to "((University || Community) == expensive)" :\