The Soaring Price of College Textbooks: Students at Cascadia Community College are Pioneering the Solution

BOTHELL, Wash., Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cascadia Community College has an answer to a problem that is literally growing by volumes. With the high cost of textbooks a point of contention, not to mention a real economic burden, for college students across the country, students currently enrolled in Cascadia's Introduction to Computer Programming course are publishing a free open source textbook.

"This is significant on many levels," says Ron Wheadon, Dean of Student Learning at Cascadia. "Not only is it providing a practical solution to a very real problem but it's also an example of an educational model at which Cascadia excels. Our students are earning course credit to create an actual product that will benefit thousands of people. Future generations of college students throughout the U.S. will be able to use Cascadia's open source programming textbook free-of-charge."

The soaring price of college textbooks is one of the major concerns students will be sharing with their legislators this Thursday, January 27 when students from the state's 34 community colleges will unite to rally at Olympia.

"It's important that our legislators hear directly from us about the increasing economic hardships we face as students. The high price of textbooks is at the top of our list. People usually don't take into consideration the cost of textbooks when they are budgeting for college, but at community college – where the annual cost of tuition runs around $3,000 – the textbook bill can easily add an additional 20-25%," says Cascadia student government president Kevin King.

Cascadia faculty member Michael Panitz is working with students this term and expects to publish the open source text book by spring 2011. His course meets on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. The price of the textbook currently used by the students enrolled in his course retails for $124.50.

Cascadia Community College, which shares a campus with UW Bothell, serves 5,000 students every year. Cascadia has gained a national reputation for its innovative programs in network and programming technologies, as well as its environmental technologies. Cascadia (www.cascadia.edu) also boasts the highest transfer rate to 4-year colleges in the state.

SOURCE Cascadia Community College