Higher Education Project

Current Campaigns

Affordable Textbooks

Students spend an average of $900 a year on textbooks, which is 20% of tuition at an average university and half of tuition at a community college! And the prices keep going up. We think that textbooks should be reasonably priced, students should be able to easily sell their books and used books should be easy to find. Students also shouldn’t be required to buy additional CD-ROMs and workbooks that might not even be used in their classes. Unfortunately, these items often come bundled with the textbook which inflates the price of the book even more and makes the books harder to sell back at the end of the semester. Read more.

Higher Education Funding

Higher education in America continues to be critical for both individual success and the economic and political health of our country. While college attendance has grown over the past two decades, state and federal aid has failed to keep pace with the rising cost of higher education. As a result, more students than ever must rely on student loans to pay for a four-year degree and start their post-collegiate lives with significant debt. Read more.

Overview

In a country with a world-renowned medical reputation, we expect drug companies to rigorously test and truthfully market their drugs. We expect that people will Americans have the means to treat illnesses, and for hospitals to put our health and safety over all other concerns.

But prescription drug prices are soaring, the Vioxx tragedy demonstrates that drugs are not always safe, and infections at hospitals kill too many patients. Health insurance plans too often fail to provide the coverage or treatments we need.

Too often, it is powerful special interests that are keeping our country from fulfilling our expectations of health and safety. U.S. PIRG works to counter their influence and protect the health of all Americans.

MASSPIRG's Student Program Director Saffron Zomer calls for affordable textbooks at a State House press conference with Northern Essex Community College Professor Joe LeBlanc.

News

Bill To Lower Cost Of College Textbooks Heard Before Legislative Commitee 10/02/2007

Bush Administration Commission's Draft Recommendation Would Cost Student Loan Borrowers $32 Billion and Enrich Private Loan Companies 8/08/2006

New Report: Student Debt Rising 3 Times Faster than Cost of Living in the Boston Area 8/02/2006

Newsroom

Reports

Exposing the Textbook Industry: How Publishers’ Pricing Tactics Drive Up the Cost of College Textbooks 2/01/2007

Student Debt and Consumer Costs 8/02/2006

Paying Back, Not Giving Back: Student Debt's Negative Impact On Public Service Career Opportunities 4/05/2006

More Reports

Highlight

Students speak volumes about the high cost of college books - 9/27/2007 Lowell Sun (new window)

BOSTON -- Outraged by the cost of textbooks, college students from across the state banded together yesterday to push for legislation to lower the cost of college books. more. . .

Textbook prices must be reduced - 10/4/2007 Lowell Sun (new window)

It's September, and a new generation of college students is on its way to classes. To get there, they've already negotiated a maze of admissions requirements, course selection and financing decisions. After figuring out how they will finance their college degree, there is still one more sticker shock for this year's college freshman (and their later-year colleagues) -- the cost of textbooks. more. . .

ISSUES