Are Coursepacks Preferable To Textbooks In University Courses?

Coursepacks, spiral bound volumes of photocopied articles, lecture notes and other materials selected by the professor, are used in lieu of textbooks in many university courses. From a pedagogical point of view, using coursepacks can be preferable, as it allows the professor to tailor the course to the specific needs of students at a given university, and he/she can alter the focus, or provide a more in-depth analysis of a subject not covered extensively in textbooks.

For students, the immediate benefit of using coursepacks over textbooks boils down to the cost. Coursepacks are much cheaper to produce, as they can be printed by the university, and they often cost up to 75% less than a textbook. This can lead to major savings. The only economic downside is that most university bookstores will not buy back these textbooks from students, so the only way to recover some of the money is to try to sell them privately.