A new law under the Higher Education Opportunity Act now requires colleges to release all textbook information to students at the time of class registration. Additionally, all publishers of text books must disclose prices information to schools, which may help students find better deals on textbooks this school year, according to USA Today.

These new mandates aim to give students more time to find the best deals on text books, which can be quite costly for pupils and their parents. Some students may opt to search for textbooks online, as there are many websites that offer discounted prices on used books.

In the past, students who did not have textbook information until a few days before class would not have had the option to search online and order their books in time for the first day of school.

"If information isn't available to you until the last minute, things like the Internet don't really benefit you," Dan Rosenweig, CEO of the textbook rental site Chegg.com, told the news source.

Students who do elect to save online should be sure to guard their personal information when browsing the web, as people between the ages of 19 and 24 are the largest target for identity theft, according to Javelin Strategy and Research.