The University of Toronto bookstore. Photo: Philip Cheung for The Globe and Mail
The University of Toronto bookstore. Photo: Philip Cheung for The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail's Back To School page
When Memorial University of Newfoundland student Nathan Downey looked at his third-year linguistics syllabus for the first time, he was peeved. The professor had assigned his own book.
"It seemed too shady for words, a professor pimping his own—very costly—textbook. I thought for sure he only taught the course to sell a few more books each year," said Mr. Downey.
But in retrospect, he admits, it wasn't so bad.
"In truth, it was a positive learning experience," he said. "Ultimately, I bought the text, learned a lot, and have never sold it off because it's a pretty interesting read."
The idea of professors assigning their own books presents an ethical dilemma. Students may feel uncomfortable questioning the material, and there is arguably a conflict of interest in profiting from one's own syllabus.
But it's not always about the money, and there's something to be said for having a professor who knows the course material inside out.
Theresa Kline, a University of Calgary psychology professor, is an example. She's been using her own textbook in her first-year and graduate-level psychometrics classes for four years.
"I wrote it because I had taught both of those courses before and I didn't like any of the textbooks that were out there. I didn't like how they were presenting the material, so I ended up having to cobble together a whole bunch of other readings for the students," Dr. Kline said.
She certainly doesn't do it for the extra cash.
The book, Psychological Testing, costs about $100. Kline makes about 10 per cent of the cover price in North America and 5 per cent internationally. But her classes are small, not many other professors teach the book, and most students buy it used.
"I'd be starving," she said with a laugh when asked if she relies on the income from her book. "I did it because I wanted to do it."
For Joanne Naiman, a retired sociology professor from Toronto's Ryerson University, it was also a labour of love. She had to take a six-month leave from work without pay to write her introductory textbook.
And also like Dr. Kline, she wrote it to fill a gap. Nothing on the market suited her needs, so when a publisher suggested she write her own text, the idea stuck.
"Although I have indeed made money from my book, it took a long time to just earn back the cost of my lost pay for the writing period. Few of us ever get rich doing this, although, of course, some do," said Prof. Naiman.
Some do, indeed. Especially professors who teach large classes and push new editions every couple of years. In a 2005 New York Times column, law professor Ian Ayres called the practice a "self-dealing transaction, which would be presumptively illegal if professors owed a fiduciary duty to students."
Dr. Ayres teaches his own book as well. But he also rebates his students individually to the sum of $10.50 (U.S.) — the amount he makes on each book sale.
But not all profs are sensitive to the power dynamic involved in assigning their own books. When University of New Brunswick student Tony von Richter had to buy his political science professor's book, it was a first-year student's nightmare.
Not only did he assign his own book, but he also made his students review it.
"Even six years and hundreds of assignments later, that still ranks as one of the strangest and most awkward. Imagine being a first-year student and being told to not only write a report on your prof's book, but to not be afraid and critique it. How are you supposed to react to that?" said Mr. von Richter.
"Most of us were worried about writing negatively about the prof who was going to be assigning our grades, so we turned in a mostly positive critique or summary of the book, with very little criticism. It was definitely not an experience that I'd like to have again."
Special to The Globe and Mail
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