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GUEST: Shreema Mehta, Reporter with New Standard News, and a member of the New Standard News Collective

As a new school year approaches, many students will be waiting in long lines at college bookstores buying assigned textbooks for their college courses. College textbooks are a necessary and an increasingly expensive part of higher education. According to a report issued by the Government Accountability Office, it is estimated that students spend an average of about $900 dollars on textbooks every school year. Meanwhile, another report released by Student Public Interest Research Groups (Student PIRGs) criticizes the rising costs of textbooks on textbook publishers. They claim that publishers frequently release new editions that undermine the used-book market. Publishers are also criticized for driving up costs of textbooks by including CD-ROMs and other seemingly erroneous supplementary materials. The increasing cost of textbooks comes at a time when student debts are also on the rise. Joining us on the line to speak about the issue is Shreema Mehta, a staff journalist at The New Standard and author of the article “Students Seek Alternatives as Prices Mount.”

Read Shreema Mehta’s article here:
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3572

For more information, visit www.newstandardnews.net.