All campaigns

The Textbook Racket

1. The Edition Churn Publishers release new editions every 2–3 years with minimal content changes — reordered chapters, renumbered problems — specifically to invalidate the used book market. A student who buys last year's copy for $30 arrives to class with the wrong edition. 2. The Bundle Trap Required homework platforms (MindTap, WebAssign, Connect) are bundled with textbooks and cannot be purchased separately. The access code expires at semester end. The used copy of the book is worthless without a new code — which costs nearly as much as the original bundle. 3. The Subscription Shift Publishers are now phasing out print ownership entirely in favor of annual digital subscriptions. Students who graduate own nothing — no reference library, no resale value, no access to the materials they paid for.

Campaign by

Buckoff

Cause

Education

Website

Objectives

Make Textbooks for College Affordable

Target

Pearson

Pearson is one of the dominant players in the U.S. college textbook market, giving it outsized influence over the prices students pay and the formats available to them. Students and professors are the direct consumers and decision-makers, meaning organized pressure — including faculty adoption choices and student purchasing decisions — creates real leverage. Alternatives exist, including open educational resources (OER) such as OpenStax, institutional library e-reserves, and independent open-access platforms, giving students and faculty credible switching options. Because Pearson's revenue depends heavily on per-semester access-code sales and subscription renewals, even modest reductions in adoption rates translate directly into financial pressure.

Better alternatives

OpenStax (Rice University nonprofit — free, peer-reviewed college textbooks) MIT OpenCourseWare (free course materials from MIT) Project Gutenberg (free public domain texts for classic literature/history courses) Chegg (textbook rentals and digital access at lower cost than new purchases) VitalSource (digital textbook rentals, often 50-80% cheaper than print) ThriftBooks / AbeBooks (used physical textbooks at steep discounts) Your campus library (free textbook lending and digital reserves) LibreTexts (nonprofit open-access textbooks across STEM and humanities) Cengage Unlimited (subscription model — access to thousands of titles for flat fee, competitor to Pearson) McGraw-Hill (traditional competitor with more flexible pricing options in some disciplines) Macmillan Learning (traditional publisher competitor with some OER partnerships) Direct author PDFs / preprints (many professors post their own materials freely) Z-Library / Internet Archive (legal digital lending of academic materials) Bookshare (free accessible textbooks for students with documented disabilities)

Ways to take a stand

easy

I pledge to i will leave a one-star review of pearson's digital learning products on the app store

Negative reviews reduce app store ratings and discourage new customers from purchasing Pearson's digital products, directly impacting their ability to acquire new users.

easy

I pledge to i will delete the pearson+ app from my device

Removing the app signals disengagement and, if combined with cancellation, reduces Pearson's active user metrics which matter to investors and institutional partners.

medium

I pledge to i will cancel my pearson+ subscription

Pearson+ is a core direct-to-consumer revenue stream; cancellations reduce recurring subscription income and pressure Pearson to reconsider pricing and access policies.

medium

I pledge to i will rent or borrow a used textbook instead of purchasing a new pearson textbook

Choosing used or rental copies cuts Pearson out of the sale entirely, directly reducing their print and digital textbook revenue which remains a major income source.

medium

I pledge to i will switch to an open-source or free alternative for any course materials currently supplied by pearson

Platforms like OpenStax offer peer-reviewed, free textbooks that can replace Pearson titles; shifting to these alternatives eliminates Pearson's revenue from your enrollment entirely.

hard

I pledge to i will request that my institution adopt non-pearson course materials for all my classes

Formally requesting alternative materials through your institution's academic or textbook committee creates institutional-level pressure that can eliminate Pearson contracts worth thousands of dollars per course section.

Target

Chegg

Chegg's core textbook rental and digital subscription business model is directly implicated in the unaffordable textbook ecosystem. While Chegg markets itself as a student-friendly alternative, its rental agreements require students to pay recurring fees for temporary access rather than ownership, and its platform is deeply integrated with the same publisher bundle ecosystem — including partnerships with Cengage, McGraw-Hill, and Pearson — that drives edition churn and access-code dependency. Students who rent through Chegg still lose access to materials at semester end and cannot resell or retain what they paid for. Because Chegg's revenue depends almost entirely on enrolled college students, a coordinated consumer shift toward open educational resources (OERs), library reserves, or peer-to-peer exchange directly threatens its subscriber base and stock valuation.

Better alternatives

Khan Academy (free, nonprofit, mission-driven education platform) OpenStax (free peer-reviewed textbooks from Rice University) MIT OpenCourseWare (free course materials from MIT) Coursera (affordable online courses, partners with universities) Library Genesis / Z-Library (free textbook access, community-supported) Your campus library (free textbook reserves and digital loans) Interlibrary Loan (ILL) programs (free textbook borrowing through your institution) Quizlet (free study tools, student-built flashcard community) Slader / Numerade (free homework help and video solutions) ThriftBooks / AbeBooks (cheap used textbook purchases) Bookfinder.com (price comparison for used/rental textbooks) Valore Books (independent textbook rental and purchase) Campus textbook co-ops (student-run cooperative textbook sharing programs) Reddit r/textbooks (peer-to-peer free PDF sharing community) Direct publisher rentals (Pearson, McGraw-Hill, Cengage often cheaper than Chegg) Cengage Unlimited (flat-rate subscription, broader publisher access)

Ways to take a stand

easy

I pledge to i will delete the chegg app from my device

Removing the app reduces Chegg's active-user metrics and signals disengagement to advertisers and investors who track platform engagement.

easy

I pledge to i will give chegg a one-star review on the app store or google play

Publicly visible ratings directly affect Chegg's app discoverability and reputation among prospective student subscribers. A wave of honest negative reviews signals consumer dissatisfaction at scale.

medium

I pledge to i will switch to a free alternative such as khan academy, openstax, or wolfram alpha for my study help

Migrating study activity to free, open platforms directly reduces Chegg's traffic and demonstrates that paid homework-help services are replaceable.

medium

I pledge to i will downgrade my chegg study pack subscription to the lowest available tier

Downgrading reduces average revenue per user, one of Chegg's core financial metrics reported to investors each quarter.

hard

I pledge to i will stop renting or purchasing textbooks through chegg and use my campus library or an open-access alternative instead

Textbook rental and sales represent a meaningful secondary revenue stream for Chegg; shifting that spend to free or campus-funded resources cuts into that income directly.

hard

I pledge to i will cancel my chegg subscription

Subscription cancellations directly reduce Chegg's recurring revenue and subscriber count, the primary metrics Wall Street uses to value the company.

Target

Cengage

Cengage is one of the largest college textbook publishers in the United States and a direct driver of the affordability crisis affecting millions of students and families. Its MindTap and WebAssign platforms are frequently listed as required course materials, giving instructors and institutions structural leverage that Cengage exploits to lock students into purchases with no viable alternatives. Consumers have concrete economic power: students and faculty can demand unbundled, perpetual-access options, advocate for open educational resources (OER), and pressure campus bookstores and institutional purchasing officers to reject bundle-only contracts. Institutions that adopt OER or competitor platforms remove Cengage's captive market entirely.

Better alternatives

OpenStax (free, peer-reviewed textbooks from Rice University — covers most intro college courses) MIT OpenCourseWare (free course materials from MIT across hundreds of subjects) Library Genesis / Open Library (legal open-access textbook repositories) Chegg (textbook rental and digital access — significantly cheaper than Cengage purchase) VitalSource (digital textbook rentals, often 50-80% cheaper than new print) ThriftBooks / AbeBooks (used physical textbooks at steep discounts) Your campus library (free textbook reserves, interlibrary loan — often overlooked) Pearson (competitor publisher — comparable pricing, but has its own affordability issues) McGraw-Hill (competitor publisher — similar pricing tier, use only if OpenStax unavailable) Bookshare (free accessible textbooks for students with print disabilities) Project Gutenberg (free public domain texts — useful for humanities courses) Khan Academy (free supplementary learning covering many college-level topics)

Ways to take a stand

easy

I pledge to i will leave a one-star review of cengage unlimited on the app store or google play

Visibility of negative reviews pressures Cengage's app ratings and signals dissatisfaction to prospective student customers. This takes under two minutes and costs nothing.

easy

I pledge to i will request a refund or dispute my cengage unlimited charge with my bank

Chargebacks and refund requests create direct financial friction and administrative costs for Cengage, and high chargeback rates can trigger payment processor penalties.

medium

I pledge to i will cancel my cengage unlimited subscription

Cengage Unlimited is Cengage's primary consumer revenue stream, bundling digital textbooks and study tools; cancellations directly reduce subscription revenue and signal churn to investors.

medium

I pledge to i will source my required textbook through a library, open-access site, or used print copy instead of purchasing through cengage

Bypassing Cengage's digital storefront removes per-title revenue and weakens the case for mandatory digital access codes that lock students into their ecosystem.

medium

I pledge to i will switch to an open educational resource (oer) or a competitor platform such as openstax or chegg for my course materials

Actively migrating to a free or competing platform reduces Cengage's market share and demonstrates to institutions that students will seek alternatives when pricing is predatory.

hard

I pledge to i will refuse to purchase any course that requires a cengage access code and formally notify my instructor or department of my reason

Declining enrollment in Cengage-dependent courses creates institutional-level pressure, as low enrollment tied to required materials directly impacts department budgets and faculty adoption decisions.

Target

McGraw Hill

McGraw Hill is a direct and effective target because it is one of the three dominant players (alongside Pearson and Cengage) controlling the U.S. college textbook market, giving it significant pricing power. Its customers — students and the faculty who assign its materials — represent a concrete pressure point: faculty can choose to adopt open educational resources (OER) or competitor materials, and students can organize to demand institutional negotiations or opt out of bundled platform purchases. McGraw Hill's proprietary Connect platform is specifically central to the bundle-trap model, making it a visible, nameable product around which consumer campaigns can be built. Institutional purchasing decisions by university bookstores and faculty adoption committees are the key leverage points.

Better alternatives

OpenStax (Rice University nonprofit — free, peer-reviewed college textbooks) MIT OpenCourseWare (free course materials from MIT) Project Gutenberg / Standard Ebooks (free public domain academic texts) Chegg (textbook rentals and lower-cost alternatives to buying new) VitalSource (digital textbook rentals, often cheaper than print) Pearson (offers more rental/digital options and open educational resource partnerships) Cengage Unlimited (subscription model — one flat fee for access to all Cengage titles) Macmillan Learning (has invested in open educational resources and affordability initiatives) Pressbooks / LibreTexts (open-source, faculty-authored free textbooks for college courses) Your campus library (interlibrary loan, digital reserves, and course reserves are free) Internet Archive / Open Library (free digital lending of academic books) local used bookstores and campus used book exchanges (independent, affordable)

Ways to take a stand

easy

I pledge to i will leave a one-star review of mcgraw hill's digital platforms on the app store or google play

Public reviews influence other consumers and signal dissatisfaction to the company. This takes only minutes and contributes to visible reputational pressure.

easy

I pledge to i will stop purchasing mcgraw hill textbooks new and buy used or rental copies instead

Buying used or renting textbooks cuts McGraw Hill out of the transaction entirely, directly reducing their new-copy revenue. This is one of the most accessible ways students can apply economic pressure.

medium

I pledge to i will cancel my mcgraw hill connect subscription

McGraw Hill Connect is a key recurring digital revenue stream. Cancelling or declining to renew removes direct subscription income and signals reduced platform adoption.

medium

I pledge to i will switch to an open-source or free alternative textbook for my current course

Open Educational Resources (OER) such as OpenStax offer peer-reviewed, free alternatives to McGraw Hill titles. Switching eliminates spending entirely and supports a competing ecosystem.

medium

I pledge to i will request that my institution or instructor adopt a non-mcgraw hill textbook for future terms

Institutional adoption drives the bulk of McGraw Hill's sales. Formally requesting an alternative during course planning periods creates upstream pressure on their core revenue model.

hard

I pledge to i will refuse to purchase any mcgraw hill course materials for the entire academic year and source alternatives for every required title

A full-year commitment to avoiding all McGraw Hill purchases — including textbooks, access codes, and digital platforms — maximizes individual economic impact across multiple courses and terms.