Vanderbilt Student Government representatives are continuing their efforts to lower textbook prices with a second phase of encouraging professors to submit their book lists early.
Students, as they were in last spring’s campaign, are urged to ask their professors to turn in their list of books for next semester by Nov. 1.
When professors submit book lists this early, the bookstore is able to acquire those books at cheaper prices and is able to buy back more books from students, explained VSG Vice President Lori Murphy, ultimately lowering the price of books and allowing the bookstore to offer more used copies, which are cheaper.
“Other bookstores submit their lists later. That’s when they’re competiting for resources,” Murphy said. “By submitting earlier, Vanderbilt can get more used books.”
Last April, there was a 31 percent increase in the amount of used books that were bought, saving a total of about $100,000, Murphy said.
The bookstore initially set a deadline for professors to submit their lists earlier in the month, but VSG worked to move the date to “a more firm deadline of Nov. 1.” This date, Murphy said, still allows the bookstore to get books at cheaper prices while giving professors a few more days to figure out what books they will teach in the spring.
Murphy said there’s “no specific goal” in mind with the efforts this year.
“(Last semester) we targeted really specific year-long classes and big departments,” she said. “Even if we save students less than $100,000, it doesn’t mean we’re any less successful.”
VSG President Wyatt Smith said it’s important to note that the savings build up over time.
“The $100,000 is an incremental gain,” he said. “We’re building incrementally from here.”
Murphy said VSG was using a variety of efforts to encourage professors to submit the booklists by Nov. 1, including the grassroots methods that dominated last year’s effort.
“We have coordinated with representatives from every undergraduate college,” said Murphy, who also said deans of every college were being supportive and faculty had been e-mailed about the deadline and the purpose behind submitting their books early.
Murphy said last year’s efforts focused on education, since many professors did not know they could save their students money by submitting their book lists earlier, even if they don’t have everything figured out yet.
“Even if they don’t know the whole list, faculty can submit the half they do know,” she said.
This semester, every undergraduate college, not just the College of Arts and Science, is being targeted, as are a wide variety of courses, Murphy said. All VSG members have also been encouraged to talk to faculty members and follow up with them later to make it “a broad-based effort,” she said.
