Ask any college student to name one of their biggest expenses and it would be safe to bet that the answer would be "Textbook Prices!" The cost of purchasing course materials has reached figures high enough to lead many students to apply for a second loan. Information released this year by the American Enterprise Institute shows that “college textbook prices have risen faster than tuition, health care costs, and home prices, all of which have risen faster than inflation ” (Kingkade, 2013). This information equates to an 812% increase in the cost of college textbooks compared to just over thirty years ago (Kingkade, 2013). The figure here shows an unusually large increase that far exceeded that of average inflation. Combine this information with equally troubling information released by Bloomberg that “college tuition and fees have increased 1,120% since records began in 1978,” and a serious financial problem for students emerges (Huffington Post, 2012). One thing should be clear in light of these statistics: something must be done to help reduce the financial burden placed on today's students. Considering the implications of these two figures, the University of Delaware should attempt to remedy the rising cost of textbooks as soon as possible before they overwhelm students more than they already have. To help reduce these out-of-control costs, this institution should pursue a policy similar to that practiced by high schools and elementary schools, namely some sort of loan program. To better understand why implementing such a loan program would be more beneficial to students one must understand why textbook prices have gotten out of control. The problem lies in textbook publishing… middle of paper… the university needs to stop requiring packaged materials and should move away from textbooks that require one-time access codes. Additionally, they can reuse textbooks for several semesters because key information remains the same from one edition to the next, eliminating the need to constantly replace supplies with each new edition. Students will be held accountable for the status of their assigned book and will also have the option to keep it at the end of the semester. In either case, the school has options to recover the cost of the textbook if a student destroys or decides to keep a specific book. By implementing such a program, University of Delaware students will be less likely to resort to illegal measures to save money and will certainly be less likely to take on additional debt as the cost of college tuition continues to rise..