In the Jan. 30 issue of The Index, staff writer Sydney Dial wrote a story on the $300 flat fee for all books purchased through the bookstore, starting next semester. We, the editorial board, think the new policy is lacking in communication and are worried about its usefulness.
Truman State University has not released much information about the fee and as class registration looms on the horizon, it seems unfair to ask students to register without having a full expectation of what their textbooks will cost them. Students should be told at every possible opportunity how to opt out of this fee. The automatic opt-in status feels predatory in nature, and it can easily be missed if the student is not informed on how to opt out. We would prefer that the automatic status is opt out, to avoid any accidents.
We hope the University does more to communicate about this change and provides demonstrations on how to opt out of the fee. $300 is not spare change to many students, and we hope to see the University treat communicating this change with great importance.
For many students and specific academic programs, books can be way under this $300 fee and this would not be a good option for them. The University should put special emphasis on communicating how to opt out to the programs that don’t typically have pricey textbooks.
Communication and student awareness is key in a situation like this. We hope the University gives students every opportunity to become aware