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Georgia State University is defending its actions in a lawsuit filed by three publishing companies for posting copyrighted material online for student use.

The university claims that the material falls within the fair use policy regarding copyrighted materials. The opposing party is comprised of Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Sage Publications, which say the university is promoting illegal use of published materials.

More and more schools are curtailing course reader materials and Web sites to minimize student textbook costs and to circumvent the purchase of such materials that only contribute a minimal amount to course syllabi.

With increased tuition fees, living expenses and constantly looming debt, the last thing students want to dish out more money for is a heavy and overly expensive textbook that they will open once over the course of the quarter to read one paragraph.

By selecting materials from different sources and compiling this information for students online, universities could save students a tremendous amount of money each quarter and actually encourage students to read what the professor asks.

Universities such as Georgia State University and UCLA are not using departmental Web sites and programs like Blackboard/WebCT for profit, but for the benefit of students. We urge universities to defend their use of these materials and prevent another increase in the cost of higher education.