Originally published at Library Buzz by Cailean Cooley

Student PIRGs – a powerful collective student advocacy body – has taken a prominent role in criticizing textbook publishers’ rising profit margins amid growing concern over college affordability. Its newest report focuses on textbook publishers’ shift to access codes as a strategy to maintain profit margins despite the emergence of free alternatives like open educational resources.

Here’s the full report:

Access Denied: The New Face of the Textbook Monopoly

“Access codes create a direct link between the ability to pay and the ability to get good grades.” 

More reports from Student PIRGs:

Covering the Cost – investigating the real impact of high textbook prices on today’s college students (2016)
Open Textbooks: The Billion Dollar Solution – alternative textbook model could save students a billion dollars (2015)