{"id":13256,"date":"2021-09-07T10:42:01","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T10:42:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hwbd-test.uk\/?p=13256"},"modified":"2024-07-02T15:56:41","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T15:56:41","slug":"why-textbooks-should-be-included-in-tuition-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kortext.com\/student-hub\/ambassador-blogs\/why-textbooks-should-be-included-in-tuition-fees\/","title":{"rendered":"Why textbooks should be included in tuition fees"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why textbooks should be included in tuition fees<\/h3>\n

By Taylor Williams, Kortext student ambassador<\/p>\n

Picture this: you\u2019re just about to begin your first year of university. You\u2019re moving away from home, living independently, it\u2019s the beginning of the rest of your life\u2026 and you find out your loan barely covers your rent.<\/p>\n

Then you get an email with your reading list for the year \u2013 a stack of textbooks that’s going to cost an arm and a leg.<\/p>\n

Sound a little too familiar?<\/p>\n

Students can just about afford their lunch, let alone their textbooks<\/p>\n

According to the University of York, a typical student spends a whopping \u00a3494.50 a year on textbooks and course materials. That\u2019s nearly \u00a3500 that every single student is expected to shell out in addition to their \u00a39250 tuition costs before they\u2019ve even arrived at university.<\/p>\n

From my personal experience, the majority of students are relying entirely on loans to survive at university \u2013 in fact, many have to find an additional source of income to support themselves. And this is just so they can afford their basic living expenses. On top of that, universities are expecting them to come up with an additional \u00a3500 a year.<\/p>\n

The bitter truth of it is that these are essential course books. They will be referenced in your lectures, discussed in your seminars, and tested in your exams. You cannot complete your course without them. So why should students have to pay extra for something that is required for them to complete their degree?<\/p>\n

The Covid cohort<\/h3>\n

My first year of university was the infamous 2020 – aka, the COVID cohort. As a result of the pandemic, the whole program had to move online, and I spent the majority of the year studying remotely. And on top of all this, I was going to have to shell out hundreds of pounds on textbooks.<\/p>\n

Except\u2026<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Due to complications caused by the pandemic, making it harder to access and purchase physical textbooks, my university made the majority of my course materials available online \u2013 and completely free of cost. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest, completely relieving the stress of having to worry about how I was going to afford to purchase my books.<\/p>\n

I could simply access my reading list online, with each title having a link beside it for the online copy. As you can probably imagine, this was so much more efficient than having to carry around a stack of textbooks everywhere \u2013 or rather, from my bedroom to my living room.<\/p>\n

Not only was this faster and easier than owning a physical copy of a textbook, but learning to use the eBook platforms came with benefits of its own. Some textbooks can cost anywhere up to \u00a360, and I don\u2019t know about you but I\u2019m not ready to start highlighting all over a \u00a360 textbook. That thing would be going on eBay the second I graduate. If this was made available online, not only is it free for all students, but with platforms like Kortext<\/a> we can annotate, highlight, bookmark, copy and collaborate. This greatly enriches and improves the learning experience, and after all, that\u2019s really what university should be about.<\/p>\n

Can universities afford this?<\/h3>\n

This leaves the question: if this is such a ground-breaking initiative, what\u2019s stopping universities from immediately taking it on board? Or better yet, why haven\u2019t they been doing this all along?<\/p>\n

The main argument, in this case, is affordability. Yes, you read that right \u2013 affordability.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the thing \u2013 people argue that universities, receiving a little over \u00a39k per student every single year, cannot possibly afford to buy textbooks for their students. How could we even consider the idea?! And yet, a single student with just enough money to cover their rent and their weekly food shop, can afford that \u00a350 textbook. This really doesn\u2019t make sense to me.<\/p>\n

I realise that universities have other costs \u2013 overheads, wages, maintenance, to name a few. And I have no doubt that these easily add up to more than I can even imagine. However, a university is just that \u2013 a university. A massive organisation, receiving funding, grants, investments and income from all sorts of places. So, what I do doubt is that they can\u2019t afford textbooks.<\/p>\n

If anything, the affordability argument brings us right back around to students. It\u2019s expensive enough to undertake a degree – why shouldn\u2019t universities be trying to relieve the financial burden as best they can? They should be setting us up for our futures, not piling hundreds of pounds of additional expenses upon us.<\/p>\n

Plus, I\u2019m sure we all saw the news last month \u2013 universities offering applicants who deferred their course \u00a310,000 and free accommodation for the year. Per student. Kind of speaks for itself, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

The HE revolution<\/h3>\n

The pandemic has kick-started something of a revolution in higher education. Of course, there were many aspects of online learning that I personally didn\u2019t enjoy in the slightest – it\u2019s kind of impossible to make friends on Zoom. However, I won\u2019t deny there are elements of it that we need to carry forward. Expecting every fresher to purchase a brand-new copy of the same book year after year is archaic and wasteful, and if anything, this year has proven that there is a greater solution.<\/p>\n

All students should be able to get the most out of their degrees, without worrying about how they will fund essential course materials. If my university could streamline the process, perhaps offer guides on how to use the platforms so that students are making full use of them, it could absolutely transform the way in which we access our educational materials, and in turn, transform the higher education experience.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/p>\n

Living costs<\/a><\/p>\n

Defer degrees<\/a> \/ defer by a year<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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