Bruce Hildebrand, executive director for higher education at the American Association of Publishers, said licensing options and online texts offered by many publishers have slashed prices as much as 60 percent from the traditional print editions.
Hildebrand said publishers believe professors “want top-of-the line materials that have been peer-reviewed and are proven to be of high quality,” standards not yet guaranteed when it comes to open license materials.
“It’s sort of like textbooks for Wikipedia,” he said. “Who’s doing the fact checking? Where are the peer reviews?”
Steinberg’s proposal also could be a tough sell to fellow lawmakers, given the state’s fiscal troubles.
On the same day Steinberg unveiled his proposal, Gov. Jerry Brown said he would slash nearly $1 billion in funding for higher education, K-12 schools, and services for the elderly and mentally disabled.
Because state revenue has fallen $2.2 billion short of the $4 billion it had penciled into the budget when it looked like the economy was improving, Brown’s administration is being forced to make $981 million in “trigger cuts” under a budget plan agreed to by Brown and Democratic legislators last June.
The cuts are the finishing touches to a year in which Brown and the Democratic-led Legislature had to close a $27 billion budget deficit.
And they will be followed with more misery, Brown said, noting that he is in the midst of writing next year’s budget, which is $13 billion below current spending levels.
K-12 districts will face a $327.6 million funding cut, though it will be colleges, MediCal, child care, counties, local libraries, and services for the mentally and physically disabled that will be hardest hit.
The governor plans to cut $102 million from community colleges and $100 million each from the University of California and the California State University systems.
While CSU will not raise tuition mid-year—instead drawing on reserves and delaying purchases and maintenance—fee increases are possible next year.
“I don’t know where it’s going to stop,” said Leroy Madarang, 22, a senior at San Jose State University. “It’s either work more hours, get another job, or take out another loan.”
At community colleges, fees will increase by $10, to $46 per unit beginning in the summer. This will be on top of the $10 fee hike this past fall.
Copyright (c) 2011, the Sacramento Bee and the Contra Costa Times, with additional reporting by eSchool Media. Distributed by MCT Information Services.
- Extron AV Switching, Streaming, and Control Systems Aid Higher Learning at Idaho’s First Medical School - June 1, 2021
- Extron XTP, Streaming, and Control Systems Empower Point Park University’s Varsity Esports Program - June 1, 2021
- Extron NAV Series Delivers AVoIP Throughout Allied Health Veterans Hall at UNC Wilmington - June 1, 2021