UC Clermont Professor Patty Goedl teaches an accounting class on campus. photo/Danny Kidd
In 2020, University of Cincinnati Clermont College Professor Patty Goedl watched the average cost of a digital accounting textbook soar from approximately $30 per student to more than $200. Students were struggling to afford the resource they needed to succeed in class.
At first, Goedl negotiated with the publisher to decrease the cost of the textbook; but soon, the price rose again.
So she created her own.
“I realized I was already creating content and videos for students; I should just write my own textbook,” said Goedl, a former CPA who holds a PhD in accounting and has taught at UC Clermont for 14 years.
“Principles of Managerial Accounting” is now published as an OER, or open-education resource, by University of Cincinnati Press. The open-access digital textbook, which features videos, quizzes and other interactive features, is peer-reviewed but available for free to anyone through the UC Press website (https://ucincinnatipress.pressbooks.pub/principlesaccounting/).
“I call it a video e-text,” said Goedl, who has surveyed more than 300 students and found that the majority preferred video instruction. “It has the same written text as a traditional textbook, in addition to comprehensive videos where I actually work a problem and show a concept in action.”
Goedl began using the textbook in her course in the fall of 2021. Since then, the book has become the required resource for all UC Clermont sections of managerial accounting — saving students an estimated $20,000 in textbooks each semester. Since Goedl began using the book, she estimates that it has saved approximately 500 UC Clermont students more than $100,000 in total.
“Students shouldn’t need to worry about whether they can afford the required textbook for a class,” Goedl said. “I look at this resource as a gift to every student who uses it.”
The open, digital nature of the textbook allows Goedl to continually update and adapt the book to students’ preferences and needs, offering significant benefit over traditional textbooks. Currently, Goedl is writing two new chapters, adding interactive video quizzes and ensuring that the entire book is accessible. Each semester, she asks students to complete a survey.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” she said. “I can tailor the content and add more elements over time. The book is developed for the modern student — the YouTube generation.”