I’m a lecturer for a University where all courses are required to have a mandatory textbook that is sold at the University book store.
The thing is, most of the time the book isn’t actually necessary - we just have to tell the students in code. When I tell students that a textbook is mandatory as a required supplement to the materials that will be provided in lecture and online, it’s code for “Don’t buy that shit - they’re making me say it’s mandatory.”
When I was in school, I also had a professor who had written a mandatory textbook, but it was printed on the cheap, spiral-bound, and he didn’t take a commission on its sale, so it was like $12.
But there are also evil professors. I had a professor of American History in college who had a “mandatory” textbook he had written and said would be included in all the exams and that he would not cover it in lectures. The book turned out to be about an art movement in 1920s Mexico (his doctorate was in Mexican history), and not a page of it was actually relevant to the course or included in the exams. He just wanted to make extra money off the students.
janonymous@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
I had one prof here in Germany that did this as well. It was his own book. He was adamant that everyone taking his class had to get the latest version, upgrading it every semester.
Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 hours ago
Grifters gonna grift.
Probably makes MUCH more money forcing his book on students than he does teaching.
Unless you mean that he provided it to his students for free. In which case, good on him! 😁