Course Correction: How Digital Textbooks are Off Track and How to Set Them Straight is the most recent in a serious of reports published by the Student PIRGs in the United States about the academic materials industry. The parallels to the Canadian academic materials industry mean the PIRG reports are also informative in our national dialogue.
On August 22nd, 2008 CRAM adopted its Key Principles. The Key Principles are the first product of the national dialogue on academic materials and they will guide CRAM’s actions as it strives to address the academic materials issue.
On November 21st, 2008 the General Manager of the University of Alberta Students’ Union gave the following presentation to the National Roundtable on Academic Materials (NART). The call to action was heard loud and clear and over the next six months NART evolved into CRAM.
Hitting the Books is an article from the Canadian Student Review on the problems faced by Canadian students when purchasing textbooks. It focuses how the Book Importation Regulations in the Canadian Copyright Act impact the price of Canadian textbooks.
College Textbooks: Enhanced Offerings Appear to Drive Recent Price Increases is a report by the US Government Accountability Office to the US Congress on increasing textbook prices in the United States.
The following three reports are from the American Student PIRGs. The reports expose how the current practices of publishers drive up the cost of textbooks and explore how to address the rapidly escalating costs.
Be Booksmart is an on campus information campaign currently underway at the University of Alberta. The Students’ Union and Bookstore have partnered to raise awareness of the academic materials issue amongst instructors and students and to seek solutions through a campus wide dialogue and collaboration.
In 2002 the University of Alberta founded their Bookstore Advisory Group (BSAG). Since November 2007 many members of CRAM have founded their own BSAGs. The benefits of open communication between the students and bookstore cannot be understated – and is central to the spirit of CRAM. Based on the experiences at these schools a document outlining how to found and utilize a BSAG at your school will be coming shortly.