The Higher Education Opportunity Act

In part to ensure that students have access to information about selected  course materials, Congress included several provisions related to  textbook information in the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), as  described below. Publishers Have Disclosed Required Information and Made Materials Available Individually, but Stakeholders Said These Practices Had a Limited Effect on Faculty Decisions

		Publishers Have Disclosed Required Information Online and in Other Marketing Materials

The eight publishers included in this study have disclosed textbook  information including retail prices, available alternative formats, and  descriptions of substantial content revisions between editions. In most cases, publishers’ textbook information  was available to students and the public, in addition to faculty. Publishers Have Made Bundled Materials Available for Sale Individually

All publishers included in this study have made bundled materials  available for sale individually, which is a requirement of HEOA. Faculty told  us they typically prioritize selecting the most appropriate materials for  their courses over pricing and format considerations. Changes in technology and available options in the college textbook  market—factors unrelated to HEOA—have also shaped faculty decisions  about course materials. Although faculty decisions about textbook selections have not changed  much in response to publisher practices, representatives of faculty groups  told us they are more aware of affordability than they used to be. Most Schools Provided Textbook Information Online, and Stakeholders Said Students Benefited from Increased Transparency

		Most Schools Provided Textbook Information Online

Based on our review of a nationally representative sample of school  websites, most schools provided students and college bookstores with  the textbook information specified in the HEOA provisions. Schools are structured and operate in various ways, and HEOA allows  some flexibility in whether and how they disclose textbook information. An  estimated 19 percent of schools did not provide textbook information  online. Of the estimated 81 percent of  schools that provided textbook information online for the fall 2012 term: an estimated 67 percent had an institutional textbook rental an estimated 73 percent provided some used textbook pricing  information for at least one course; and an estimated 40 percent provided other pricing information—almost  always for digital products—for at least one course. Stakeholders Said School and Bookstore HEOA Implementation Costs Were Manageable, and Students and Others Cited Benefits of Greater Transparency

Representatives of schools, bookstores, and higher education  associations we spoke with said the costs to schools and bookstores of  implementing the HEOA provisions were manageable. Students, faculty, school administrators, and most other stakeholders we  spoke with said students have benefited from having timely and reliable  textbook information. Representatives of  student organizations at three schools said they now have sufficient  information and time to shop for their course materials before each  academic term. Education provided technical comments, which we  incorporated as appropriate. To obtain a range of perspectives, we selected  five publishers that represented over 85 percent of new U.S. higher  education textbook sales, according to information they provided us, as  well as three smaller publishers. While we reviewed  documentation of publisher efforts to provide information to faculty and  make bundled materials available for sale individually, we did not  evaluate whether these practices, as supported by documentation or  described to us in interviews, were in compliance with the law. To determine the extent to which postsecondary schools have provided  students and college bookstores access to textbook information, we  reviewed websites of a nationally representative, stratified random  sample of 150 schools to determine the extent to which they disclosed  textbook information in their fall 2012 course schedules. We also reviewed relevant studies and federal laws.
Why GAO Did This Study

The rising costs of postsecondary education present challenges to maintaining college affordability. Textbooks are an important factor students need to consider when calculating the overall cost of attending college. In an effort to ensure that faculty and students have sufficient information about textbooks, Congress included requirements in HEOA concerning publisher and school disclosures, as well as publisher provision of individual course materials. HEOA directed GAO to examine the implementation of the new textbook provisions.
This report addresses (1) the efforts publishers have made to provide textbook information to faculty and make bundled materials available for sale individually, and how these practices have informed faculty selection of course materials; and (2) the extent to which postsecondary schools have provided students and college bookstores access to textbook information, and what the resulting costs and benefits have been. To conduct this study, GAO interviewed eight publishers representing over 85 percent of new U.S. higher education textbook sales, administrators at seven schools, four campus bookstores, two national campus retailers, faculty and student groups at three schools, and others with relevant expertise. GAO also reviewed websites of a nationally representative sample of schools, complaint data from Education, and relevant federal laws.
GAO makes no recommendations in this report. The Department of Education provided technical comments, which were incorporated as appropriate.

What GAO Found

Publishers included in GAO's study have disclosed textbook information required by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), such as pricing and format options, and made components of bundled materials available individually, but stakeholders GAO interviewed said these practices have had little effect on faculty decisions. While most publishers in GAO's study provided all relevant textbook information, two smaller publishers did not provide copyright dates of prior editions, and one did not provide certain pricing information. Publishers communicated information to faculty online and in other marketing materials, and in most cases the information was available to students and the public. In addition, publishers said they began making bundled materials available for sale individually before HEOA was passed. Faculty GAO interviewed said they typically prioritize selecting the most appropriate materials for their courses over pricing and format considerations, although they said they are more aware of affordability issues than they used to be. Changes in the availability of options in the college textbook market that are not related to HEOA, such as the increase in digital products, have also shaped faculty decisions about course materials.
Based on GAO's review of a nationally representative sample of schools, an estimated 81 percent provided fall 2012 textbook information online, and stakeholders GAO interviewed said implementation costs were manageable and students have benefited from increased transparency. HEOA allows schools some flexibility in whether and how they disclose information and an estimated 19 percent of schools did not provide textbook information online for various reasons, such as including textbook costs in tuition and fees or not posting a course schedule online. Representatives of most schools and bookstores, as well as others GAO interviewed, said implementation costs were not substantial. In addition, there was general consensus among students and others GAO interviewed that students have benefited from timely and dependable textbook information. Specifically, representatives of student organizations said they had sufficient information and time to comparison shop for their course materials before each academic term.