Professors procrastinate: Missing textbook deadlines is unacceptable

We deserve the best deals on textbooks. But our own professors are getting in the way of making textbooks affordable.

The deadline for professors' submission of textbook lists to Student Stores was March 27.

But as of last Monday only about 36 percent of professors had turned in their lists.

That is just 630 orders for an estimated 1731 courses.

And while this is an eight percent improvement over last year it is still a dismal statistic.

For students late textbook lists from professors mean that students will receive less money when they sell books back to Student Stores.

If Student Stores isn't positive a book will be reused the following semester it is forced to buy the textbook back from students at wholesale rates. Student Stores will then sell that textbook back to wholesalers.

But if they knew the book was going to be reused they wouldn't have to sell it back to wholesalers. Then they could pay students more because they could resell it as a used book.

Late textbook lists also mean that students will pay more when buying books for the next semester.

The earlier that Student Stores can start purchasing books the better deals it will be able to get for students. The later they wait the more expensive textbooks become.

And May the peak season for Student Stores to purchase textbooks from wholesalers is just around the corner.

Furthermore textbook costs are skyrocketing.

For the past two decades the price of textbooks has been growing at twice the rate of inflation.

These increasingly high costs are already burdensome for students.

And these costs are only heightened when Student Stores has to purchase books later than anticipated.

Granted Student Stores' deadline for textbook lists is a month ahead of the UNC-system deadline. Perhaps if the systemwide deadline were aligned with Student Stores' deadline there would be more pressure for professors to meet it.

But regardless of the date professors should make every effort to get their lists to Student Stores as early as possible.

In anticipation of registering students have been thinking about fall classes for weeks.

Professors should be too.