University students who are frustrated with the high cost of textbooks and low prices offered at the University Bookstore buyback soon may find relief.
A personal experience with the bookstore prompted one student to develop a proposal to provide students with some financial relief.
"I felt like I had been robbed" when I sold my books back to the bookstore, said Ronald Mayhew, a first-year College student and a Student Council representative. Mayhew then decided to research why this was happening and how it could be fixed.
He presented his project entitled "Savings for Students: A Look at the UVA Bookstore and How to Make Education More Economical" to the Faculty Senate yesterday, explaining the role of faculty members in providing students with more money from book buyback.
Mayhew began his presentation by highlighting what he sees as the main problem. There is a small number of used books available at the bookstore, which forces students to buy expensive new books.
According to Mayhew, few used books are available because the University does not offer an attractive price for used books, so students opt to keep their books rather than sell them back. When selling back books, students now generally receive 10 to 40 percent of the book's original price from the bookstore.
But Mayhew said students can receive about 50 percent of the new book cost if faculty members "forge a partnership" with the bookstore and submit their book orders by the priority deadline. If the bookstore knew in advance which books it could sell again, it would be more willing to invest money in them through book buy back.
Students now receive low compensation for used books because most book orders are not received by the priority deadlines in time for buyback. In the spring, the bookstore receives 36 percent of book orders by the deadline. In the fall, that number falls to about 18 percent.
Faculty Senate members responded to Mayhew's proposal enthusiastically.
William J. Kehoe, chairman of the Faculty Senate's research and development committee, said he agrees that faculty "can do much better at ordering books."
One of the main reasons why faculty members neglect the priority deadlines is because they are not aware of the repercussions on students, Kehoe said.
Faculty Senate Chairwoman Patricia H. Werhane said she would make an effort to increase faculty awareness about the deadline's significance.
May 1 and Nov. 1 are deadlines for ordering books for the fall and spring semesters, respectively.
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