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Fuck Stats classes and classes like it in regards to textbooks.

Cryptosporidium

Cryptosporidium

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,624
canada
Everything I need to know about stats is EASILY available online for FREE. Histograms, stemplots, literally everything in introductory stats is easily found. NO NEED for a textbook..

But guess what? fuck you you need to buy the textbook in order to be able to do the online quizzes and assignments because again, fuck you stop being poor you idiot

/rant
 
Cation

Cation

The Fallen
Oct 28, 2017
3,603
I didn't have to buy a textbook for my stats class.

I would be pissed if I did. Wtf, sorry brah
 
Kangi

Kangi

Profile Styler
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,946
Welcome to modern colleges' addictions to Pearson. You're not allowed to save money
 
Layell

Layell

One Winged Slayer
Member
Apr 16, 2018
1,981
I had one prof in a liberal arts class who made all the readings online material that the university already had access to or was free, what a bro.
 
Murasaki

Murasaki

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
1,726
The Deep North
96.7% of professors who have written statistics textbooks disagree

Srsly, the pricing of all academic texts online is a problem. Especially here in the UK I'm sorry to say.
 
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DJ_Lae

DJ_Lae

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,856
Edmonton
I'll admit I'm a little grateful I graduated just prior to the introduction of online textbooks and single-use redemption codes.

That's not to say there wasn't classic textbook shittery being sprayed around in the form of multiple revisions with reordered questions/chapters and hilariously overpriced books but used textbooks were available and usually viable and profs would sometimes make it all optional anyway.

But now there are extra layers of hell on top of an already predatory and disgusting industry.
 

real2

Member
Jan 31, 2019
366
When I took a stats class over the summer, there was no textbook that we had to buy, but we had to purchase access to a website (think it's owned by Washington State itself and not by Pearson or any over the textbook makers). I think it was $15-20 for access so it wasn't too bad. I fucking hate online access codes because you can't buy used or borrow from someone who kept the book from the class.
 
Rosebud

Rosebud

Two Pieces
Member
Apr 16, 2018
43,462
That's lame.

The books of my course are also expensive, but we can just use the library (or google).
 
Illusion

Illusion

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
8,407
I hate it. We need the online codes now to just do the assignments.

Seriously what the fuck. I've complained to the college but they don't care.

I wish we could report this, I paid for the class. I shouldn't be required to pay for access to do my assignments.
 
Dennis8K

Dennis8K

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
20,161
Textbooks are a scam.

I am a working scientist. Never looked at textbook since finishing my studies. Nobody does. They are obsolete before they even come out.

So they are basically a way to take money from students.
 
lmcfigs

lmcfigs

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
12,091
yeah they're doing this for a Econ class im TA'ing. its clearly a huge rip-off.

well actually one benefit is that it saves me a lot of time from grading... so its not all bad. it doesn't really help the student though
 
GYODX

GYODX

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,233
I like textbooks. They explain things more precisely and much more comprehensively than most online resources.
 
Skittles

Skittles

Member
Oct 25, 2017
8,251
The fact textbooks arent included in tuition is honestly bullshit. Bordering on classism
 
canseesea

canseesea

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,011
The only stats class I took had a $110+ textbook that was revised every semester so it could never be sold back. I never removed the shrinkwrap.
 
thewienke

thewienke

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,921
Eh, for something like a stat class it's basically "A Lesson Plan: For Dummies". They make you buy the book because that's how they're going to set the pace of the class. Plus, nobody really wants to mess with making a lesson plan using free online sources that also passes departmental scrutiny.
 
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THErest

THErest

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,091
Cryptosporidium said:
unfortunately not, buying the text apparently gives you a code which gives you access to assignments or something like that. Still havent bought the text as I live on my own, am waiting on student loans, and fuck you university
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If it's Pearson, you may be able to buy just the online code separately from the textbook.

When you go to sign up for the course on Pearson, if you have't purchased a code yet, it will give the option to buy it online right then and there.
 
Prolepro

Prolepro

Ghostwire: BooShock
Banned
Nov 6, 2017
7,310
I had a $300 textbook charge once

Screw that noise, I would just grab it off the shelf and take it to the coffee shop attached to the book store and cram in what I needed to read the morning of any exams I had then put it back on the shelf.
 
GK86

GK86

Member
Oct 25, 2017
18,739
It is a fucking scam. College would charge you for breathing if they could.
 
Res

Res

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,601
I hate how many courses require access codes, especially when they're like $100+. Tuition is already expensive as is. Renting from amazon is a good option if it doesn't require any access codes
 
Squarehard

Squarehard

Member
Oct 27, 2017
25,821
Just fyi, most publishers actually have direct purchasing, and will be cheaper than purchasing from the campus bookstore, or even from places like Amazon.

If you can go that route, it's definitely preferable.

I always tell my students to find the cheapest version of the textbooks as they can, and can care less where it comes from.

I still order the textbooks from the campus bookstore to show good faith to the publishers, as if you don't order textbooks from them, they'll also be far less helpful, and unwilling to help instructors that don't push their wares, so it's sort of a double edge sword. Though, most instructors should really do a better job finding a better textbook rather than just the easiest one, where vendors send you textbooks for free in hopes you use them, whether or not it's great. Can't tell you how many books I have stacked up, but most of them that I've gone through are just useless garbage, and I can't even imagine forcing my students to use them, much less pay that much for them.

Hellhole of a industry.
 
Bee.Cups

Bee.Cups

The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
2,355
The cosmic boundary of time and space.
I'm more upset about the one class I had where it was mandatory to buy the textbook or you wouldn't be allowed in the class, but then the textbook was never used and didn't match the curriculum. It was however written by the professor of the class, who literally never showed up to the class even once. (It was about 120 sheets of computer paper held together in a plastic clip)
But yeah, in general textbooks suck across the board, they're scummy and very unhelpful for us poors.
 
Dr. Monkey

Dr. Monkey

Member
Oct 25, 2017
15,029
GuyIncognito said:
The free alternatives get better every year. More intro courses should be using these. OpenStax for example is good enough for a lot of subjects. It's usually the individual professors who drive textbook decisions, not the university.

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Depends. If it's a boxed course set by the department, it's not the professor. And depending on school/department culture, professors are either encouraged to go cheap or use this Pearson garbage. In my program, we have informal cost caps and when we review syllabi, we look at cost and how much an instructor is using a book. I remember buying a $200 book as an undergrad and never using it. I was enraged.
GK86 said:
It is a fucking scam. College would charge you for breathing if they could.
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And then they put that money into the dumbest shit. My university is about to knock down the last affordable housing near campus and build new stuff for... absolutely no reason. To spend money and make things prettier, I guess.
 
Antrax

Antrax

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,262
lmcfigs said:
well actually one benefit is that it saves me a lot of time from grading
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This is the entire reason the department I teach at uses online software. The average instructor load is 6 courses a semester, with about 60 people in each section (unless you draw Business Calc classes, those have 200). So the only options are:
1) Online homework
2) No homework

A lot of people think they want the second one, but then they find out the exams will therefore determine your entire grade, and you won't get any practice either leading up to them unless you do it on your own (and they won't). Even if they do, it won't be graded, so they won't know if they're even really doing it correctly.

It could all definitely be cheaper though.

THErest said:
When you go to sign up for the course on Pearson, if you have't purchased a code yet, it will give the option to buy it online right then and there.
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Yeah, I mostly teach Pearson classes, and I also always recommend people use their free trial, no matter what. Pearson's is like two or three weeks, and if you do stay in the class, you just pay for the code then and it upgrades the trial account to a normal one with all the work still saved. If you drop, then you didn't buy a non-refundable code.
 
OP
OP
Cryptosporidium

Cryptosporidium

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
7,624
canada
Also I was incorrect, prof said it was 140$ but its only a cheap 95$..

I miss my poli sci classes where buying Plato or some shit costs me 15$
 
ameleco

ameleco

The Fallen
Nov 2, 2017
974
I teach physics and I've been trying to find cheaper solutions to online homework. Every free or cheaper alternative I've seen is trash. Webassign is just the one I've found with the best solutions in place :(
 
turbobrick

turbobrick

Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,049
Phoenix, AZ
For my class we had to buy the online homework pass, which just happens to come with a book. I think it was under $100 though. Don't actually remember.

Either way it was a waste of money. Also the book was one of the worst textbooks I had in all of my college life. In the course feedback at the end of the semester I used all the free response space to say how shit the book it.
 
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