Student Leader Statement Against Automatic Billing

Textbook prices are out of control and have become a serious obstacle to the affordability of a college education. The textbook market is rigged so that publishers can generate huge profits and engage in bad practices at students' expense. The latest tactic they use is to automatically bill students for unfair access codes by putting a charge on their tuition bill. Automatic billing eliminates cheaper alternatives, and harms student and faculty choice.

Fortunately, we have solutions to this problem in the form of "open textbooks" -- high-quality books that are published under and open license and available to students for free.

As a member of my student government, I am opposed to the automatic billing of access codes and other digital materials. I support the use of open textbooks and urge my college and colleges across the country to support the use of open textbooks when academically appropriate.