Day One Access Program

The Future of Textbook Affordability

The Day One Access program is a new initiative that will provide access to digital course content in place of a printed textbook at a more affordable cost to students, while also allowing faculty to select textbooks and other course materials that best help meet course objectives. It is a collaboration between the University of Washington, the University Book Store, and textbook publishers. Participation in the program is optional for both students and faculty.

Students enrolled in Day One Access courses:

  • Will have access to course materials on or before the first day of class
  • Will be able to access course materials right through Canvas
  • Will pay for course materials through a link on their MyUW Accounts page

Here are 3 important aspects of Day One Access:

  • The cost of Day One Access materials is NOT included in tuition, and must be paid completely separately. Do not assume that because you have paid your tuition, your Day One Access materials are paid for, too. To pay for these materials, look for the UW Day One Access Fees box on your MyUW Accounts page, and click on the "make payment" button.
  • If you do not pay for your materials by the payment deadline for that quarter, you will lose access to them. If you need to regain access to your materials after that deadline, you can purchase them at the current retail price, either through us or through the publisher directly.
  • Read your email!! We send out several emails to enrolled and opted-in students each quarter that contain important information about the program, and it is your responsibility to read these emails, so be sure to read those emails carefully. Your instructor will also provide this information, so please pay attention so that you understand your responsibilities in the program. If you did not receive any emails, please check your junk/spam folder.

How does Day One Access work?

Instructors who choose to participate in Day One Access will set up their course and install links right in Canvas for students to access the materials, either through the publisher's website or through VitalSource. Once the instructor publishes the course in Canvas, all students registered in that course will gain access to the materials. The balance due for all Day One Access materials will be posted to students' MyUW Accounts pages by the first day of classes.

To retain access for the entire quarter, you must pay for the materials by the opt-out/payment deadline. If you do not pay for your materials by this deadline, you will be opted out and access will end. If you decide not to participate for any reason, opt out of the materials by clicking on the "Want to opt out?" button in Canvas. If you opt out of the materials, you are responsible for obtaining them through other means.

The benefits of programs like Day One Access

  • Students can begin online work on the first day of class
  • Pricing is 50%-80% lower than equivalent pricing for printed textbooks
  • Students will have access to materials before financial aid is paid out
  • Federal law mandates that Inclusive Access materials need to be offered at or below the market rate, saving students money
  • Students will still have all of the currently available options if they choose not to participate
  • Instructors will still have academic freedom

Key Dates for Spring 2025

March 31, 2025 - First day of Spring classes

April 20, 2025 - Last day to pay for or opt out of Day One Access materials

Frequently Asked Questions

Not necessarily. In the Day One Access program, all enrolled students are “opted in” at the start of classes, so they can access materials right away. To retain access for the entire quarter, you must pay for your materials by the specified opt-out/payment deadline. Don’t make the assumption that, because you have access to your materials right away, they have been paid for – it is your responsibility to log in to MyUW and pay for your materials. Any balance due will appear on your Accounts page in MyUW, and is NOT included in tuition

No. The cost of materials for courses in Day One Access is completely separate from tuition, and must be paid separately.

Login to MyUW and go to your Accounts page, then locate the box with the header "UW Day One Access Fees". There, you will find your balance due for all materials in the program and the payment due date. To pay, click on the button below your balance that says “make payment”, and proceed from there. Once completed, you will receive a confirmation from us, so please keep this email for your records.

Typically, no. Access codes are not necessary for a majority of the materials in this program. If your materials do require an access code, you will see a button that says “Reveal Access Code” on the Day One Access Materials page in Canvas, and instructions will be provided for redeeming this code.

If your materials do not require an access code, you should not be prompted to enter one when registering your account with the publisher. If this happens, please contact us so we can look into it. You may be referred to the publisher’s Technical Support staff for further assistance.

We send reports to UW daily with students who have opted out of or paid for the materials for their course. It can take 24-48 hours for the balance to update on your Accounts page, so please be patient.

Course Materials and Access

No. Some faculty members may choose not to participate, or may not be able to as the required text is not available in digital format or is not eligible to be included in this type of program.

If your course uses an eBook, or courseware from Pearson Education, your materials are accessible on the Day One Access Materials page in Canvas. Click on this page from the navigation panel, locate the item card, and click the “Read book” or “Launch courseware” button. If your course does use publisher courseware (not from Pearson Education), your instructor will either place a link to the materials, or will enable and add the publisher’s tool to the navigation panel in Canvas. Check your course syllabus for more specific information on accessing materials.

This could be for a couple of different reasons. It may be that your instructor has not yet published their course in Canvas. Your materials will not be visible or accessible in Canvas until your instructor publishes their course for students, which usually happens on or just before the first day of classes. Or, if you recently registered for the course, your materials will not appear right away. We receive daily roster updates from UW, and as soon as you have been added to the roster that is sent to us, your materials should appear in Canvas. This can take 1-2 business days.

If you pay for your materials and then drop the course by the payment deadline, you must contact us at dayoneaccess@ubookstore.com to request a refund. Refunds will not be issued automatically.

If the license for the materials will cover the entire quarter, you may opt out, but be sure that you are able to access your materials outside of Canvas before doing this. If access to your materials will expire before the end of finals week, it’s strongly recommended that you pay for your materials each quarter to ensure that you have access for the entire term. We are not able to extend access to these materials.

Opting Out

Opting out means that you do not want to participate in Day One Access, and you do not wish to use the materials provided to you in this program. You only have a certain window during which you can opt out - check your syllabus for this quarter's deadline.

Note that if you opt out of your materials, you will lose access to them, even if you have paid for them already. If you intend to keep using your digital materials and take advantage of Day One Access pricing, do not opt out. If you opt out by mistake, be sure to opt back in by the deadline.

You can opt out of Day One Access by clicking the “Want to opt out?” on the Day One Access Materials page in Canvas. This button will only be active until the opt-out deadline for that quarter.

Yes, you can opt-out of Day One Access course materials in each class independent of the others. You only pay for the materials where you have not opted out.

Yes, but only until the opt-out/payment deadline for that quarter. After this deadline, the opt in/out button will become inactive. Check your syllabus for this quarter's deadline.

Please contact us at dayoneaccess@ubookstore.com if you missed the deadline. We cannot guarantee exceptions to this deadline, but we will advise you of alternatives.

Student Billing & Payment

Payment for your Day One Access materials is due by the posted deadline for that quarter. Please note that the amount owed for your Day One Access materials is NOT part of tuition, and must be paid separately!

The total cost for all of your Day One Access materials will appear on the Accounts page in MyUW. Look for the “UW Day One Access Fees” header. Individual prices are displayed on your textbook list in MyUW.

The payment page can sometimes take a few moments to load due to traffic on our website, so please be patient. Try clearing your cache/cookies, and see if that helps, or you can try again later. If that does not resolve the issue, please contact us for information on purchasing directly through our website.

Very occasionally, interruptions can occur in the communication between our server and the UW server, and this can cause some students' balances to disappear temporarily, even if they have not paid yet. If you notice any issues or your balance disappears without you having paid, you can contact us to verify.

If you registered for the course very recently, note that it can take 24-48 hours for the balance due to appear in MyUW.

If we do not receive payment from you by the deadline, you will be opted out and lose access to your materials. Because of payment commitments to the publishers we work with, we are unable to opt you back in or make exceptions to this deadline.

Yes, but you will not be able to purchase them through the Day One Access program, at the Day One Access price. If your course is using an ebook, you can visit this website to search for and purchase your materials: https://ubookstore.vitalsource.com. Make sure to check that you are purchasing the correct edition of the book.

If your course uses courseware and you lose access after the payment deadline, you will encounter a paywall if you try to access the materials through the link your instructor placed in Canvas. You can purchase access to the courseware at that time, and you should regain access to the materials, including assignments and quizzes you may have already completed (make sure to use your UW email!).

In either case, purchasing your materials after the Day One Access payment deadline will be at current retail prices, so if you want to remain in the program and take advantage of reduced pricing, be sure to pay by the deadline.

Customer Service & Troubleshooting

For questions not answered on this page, or for information about the program, payments, and opting status, please contact University Book Store at dayoneaccess@ubookstore.com.

If you are having trouble accessing your materials, you are welcome to email us, but we may refer you to the publisher's Technical Support team. We do not have access to your courseware account, and are largely unable to offer support/troubleshooting for items in this program.

If it is after the payment deadline for this quarter, try going to the Day One Access Materials page in Canvas, locate the item “card” for your ebook, and click the “read now” button to access your book. This should update your license, and access should resume. Additionally, you can try clearing your browser cookies/cache to see if that helps.

If the problem persists, you can contact Vitalsource for further help. You can utilize their live chat feature here for quickest assistance: https://support.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

If you are having trouble accessing your materials, you may need to contact the Technical Support team for the publisher of your materials for assistance. Find your publisher below, and click the link to get started. If you are not sure which publisher to contact, email us at dayoneaccess@ubookstore.com and we will provide a support link.

VitalSource: https://support.vitalsource.com/hc/en-us/requests/new

Cengage Learning (OWLv2, MindTap, WebAssign): https://support.cengage.com/magellanweb/TechSupport/login.aspx

Pearson Higher Education (Mastering, MyLab, Revel): https://support.pearson.com/getsupport/s/

McGraw-Hill Education (MH Connect, GO): https://mh.my.site.com/CXG/s/

Macmillan Learning (Achieve, Achieve Essentials): https://mhe.my.site.com/macmillanlearning/s/

Wiley (WileyPlus, Knewton, zyBooks): https://support.wiley.com/s/

W. W. Norton (Inquizitive, SmartWork, ZAPS): https://wwnorton.com/student

Packback: https://help.packback.co/hc/en-us

You will receive communication through the software we use to manage this program. The email will come from no-reply@verbasoftware.com, and the name will read University Book Store. If you have not received any email, check your spam/junk folder in case the emails end up there by mistake. Be sure to read these emails, as they contain important information about the program.