Inside Higher Ed podcast: UC Clermont professor speaks on increasing affordability in course materials

According to Inside Higher Ed, a 2023 survey of Pennsylvania college students found 71% of students are worried about meeting their course material costs for the term, and 16% have failed a class because they could not afford the course materials.

Despite nearly two-thirds of faculty members viewing textbook affordability as a top priority, a spring 2023 Student Voice survey from Inside Higher Ed and College Pulse found 26% of students believe their professors do not take affordability into account when choosing course materials.

Goedl is an accounting professor at the University of Cincinnati Clermont College who wrote and published her own textbook as an OER, making the resource free and available to anyone who wants to use it inside or outside her institution. The textbook features video lectures, practice problems and the features of a traditional text, but it saves students thousands of dollars each month. Goedl estimates that the etext has saved students more than $200,000 in just a few years.

In the latest episode of the Voices of Student Success podcast series, Goedl spoke with Inside Higher Ed about how she made her book and what faculty should know before undertaking a similar project of their own.

“It’s so beneficial for students," Goedl told Inside Higher Ed. “I’ve received so much positive and kind feedback from students. And I feel like I’ve made such a difference.”

Listen to or read the entire interview from Inside Higher Ed.

Featured image at top:UC Clermont Professor Patty Goedl smiles in front of a classroom of her students. Photo/Danny Kidd