From currently taking Community College course, in pursuit of an initial degree, I see both sides. First course I took after a 18 year ‘break’ from college was in the field of Bio-psychology and the Professor had written the text. Mind you the text was spiral bound and not that expensive. I have kept that text, because I learned so much! My son took the course @ 4 years after me, and yes, there was a ‘new edition’ but in light of the advances in this field and knowing the passion of the Professor, I totally see why he had revised it, and give him credit for staying in sync with his field and making the information up to date.
On the flip side, I have enrolled in other courses at the same institution where it appeared to me that the Instructor made minimally ‘editorial’ changes (read ‘fixed grammar errors, ‘tweaked’ a sentence) and the new ‘edition’ of course bumped up the price.
Hmmmm….
I can empathize with today’s College students; they register and continue in pursuit of ‘higher learning’ where no rules apply. There indeed ARE awesome, gifted, talented educators out there, but swimming in the same waters are individuals with much less integrity and perhaps a too-large house note or other financial obligations?
Bottom line, IMHO, it’s a crap shoot, and if you don’t pass the class, perhaps you got schooled in a lesson of ‘Human Dynamics/Motivations 101’, or ‘Self-Advocacy 101’. Soak it in like a sponge, learn and be more aware next term! Better yet, question and seek validation when things don’t seem quite right, don’t delay. With some of these cats, it’s just a matter of time before someone raises the question to the Chancellor…..