Report 2007-116 Recommendation 12 Responses

Report 2007-116: Affordability of College Textbooks: Textbook Prices Have Risen Significantly in the Last Four Years, but Some Strategies May Help to Control These Costs for Students (Release Date: August 2008)

Recommendation #12 To: University, California State

To increase awareness and transparency about the reasons campus bookstores add markups to publishers' invoice prices for textbooks, UC, CSU, and the community colleges should direct bookstores to publicly disclose on an annual basis any amounts they use for purposes that do not relate to bookstore operations, such as contributions they make to campus organizations and activities.

60-Day Agency Response

CSU stated that the bookstores operated by campus auxiliaries are all not-for-profit corporations that are required to produce annual audited financial statements that include, among other financial details, the disclosure of net income, revenues and expenditures, and use of any funds provided to the campus for other activities. CSU indicated that it asked campuses to ensure that financial statements are made accessible to any interested student for auxiliary-operated bookstores. However, according to CSU, it cannot require the commercially operated bookstores to share their financial statements. Finally, in August 2009 the CSU sent a memorandum to all campuses instructing them to seek input from students through the bookstore Web site when they plan to use bookstore profits to support campus activities other than bookstore operations. (See 2010-406, p. 157)

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2007-116

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.