Impact of a Free Textbook on an Introductory Programming Course

Rising textbook costs has made students reluctant to purchase them. According to the review of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, textbook prices has risen 88% since 2006 and the rate of its increase has been greater than tuition. Even parents do not have the ability to pay for the textbook for years. The high cost of textbooks has led many students to forego the purchase of textbooks and has led to underachievement in many cases. Anecdotally, the authors have determined that many students are not purchasing the textbook for a programming fundamentals course. In this paper, we present our findings in implementing a free textbook and its impact on students.