In my limited experience, it's not just this company. I went back to college for my master's degree last year, about a decade after completing my undergrad. Almost all of my professors choose actual books written by people in the field instead of using textbooks because many textbooks have gotten ridiculous.

I still use them for the classes I take at the community college. Many have gotten weird. First, they often come with a one-time use code that you need to access material online. Although I can't prove it, I suspect the instructors are given incentive to use the online material. What this means is you must buy a new textbook to be able to complete assignments. It's normal for these new textbooks to cost up to $200 a piece. Then, when you use your code, you also have to pay an online access fee. I've been paying $100/year.

The textbooks and online material are really bad. I've had to give up on watching the instructional videos that the textbook companies make because there are times they really get the material wrong. The textbook itself is complete rubbish. It explains almost nothing, so, unless you already have a fairly good grasp of the material, it's hard to follow. As best I can figure, these companies must just hire someone who has a degree in the field and tells them to write a textbook. I really don't think they care that much about quality.

I honestly didn't expect such a discrepancy in my experiences with a private university and a community college. When I was working on my BA, I took a number of courses at the local community college and had such a positive experience. This time around, I truly feel like I'm in a money-making machine--I assume the textbook companies make bank off of us students, and the instructors or the college must get their pockets lined by requiring these ridiculous books.