It's back-to-school season, which means you'll probably confront the inevitable course syllabus requiring you to buy a Calculus or Psychology 101 textbook. You might shell out $300 or $400 dollars at the beginning of the semester and sell it back at the end of the year for practically nothing. Outraged, you'll find this meme is all too true: 

But why? Why are textbooks so expensive? And what can we do to fix the problem?

ATTN: made a video explaining why the costs of textbooks have increased more than 800 percent in price over the last three decades:

We also spoke last fall with Ethan Senack, a federal higher education advocate at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. He lobbies in Washington, D.C., on behalf of students to make college more affordable. Here's what he had to say on high textbook prices and the road to reform.

ATTN: Why exactly are textbooks so expensive... does course curricula really change that much from year to year?

ES: Textbooks are so expensive because professors assign specific editions and just five publishers have a lock on the market. That means they're able to drive up prices without fear of market competitors. The content of some courses changes, but not nearly enough to justify brand new print editions—sometimes every two years—that carry such high prices.

ATTN: Who is getting rich off textbooks? 

ES: According to the National Association of College Stores, more than 77 cents of every dollar spent on textbooks go to publishers. Of those 77 cents, the publishing company makes about 18 cents in pure profit, while spending 15 cents on marketing, and roughly 32 percent to cover costs (paper, printing, employee salaries, etc). At the same time, the author - the person who dedicated hundreds of hours of research to write the book – only gets about 12 cents on the dollar on average.

imgur - imgur.com

ATTN: Is there a policy solution? 

ES: Absolutely. Late last year, Senators Durbin and Franken (and Congressmen Miller and Hinojosa) introduced a bill called the "Affordable College Textbooks Act." The bill supports the development of open textbooks - which are exactly like traditional textbooks, but they're released under an open license. Why does that matter? Because they're totally free to access online, free to download, and only around $20 for a hard copy. Open textbooks have the potential to break the traditional publishers' lock on the market - and they can save students billions of dollars without sacrificing quality.

ATTN: Ok, but Congress might very well not pass anything soon. Are there any practical steps that students can take in the meantime to save money?

ES: There are hundreds of open textbooks available right now, but we need to spread the word. Students should talk to their professors about adopting an open textbook in their class. Check out the Open Textbook Catalog to see if there's a book available for your class. In the meantime, students need to be smart consumers. There are many cost-saving options available right now: students can rent books at most bookstores, search for lower-cost e-textbooks, buy older editions instead of the most current, or join a book swap and purchase directly from other students. If those options are still too expensive, students should inquire at their campus library: copies of textbooks are often kept on file for public access.

You can read more about ways to save money on textbooks here.