Student FAQs

D1TA and the digital-first approach have many benefits for students, most notably, price and convenience. At $250 for all required books, the flat rate can be much more cost-effective than buying individually and provides the convenience of predictable budgeting. In addition, the digital-first approach allows for access on the first day of the semester which eliminates the long wait that can come with books being shipped to you. It also removes the burden of finding all your textbooks.  With D1TA, we collect and deliver all your textbooks to you.

On your Canvas class page, visit the MyTextbooks Hub on the sidebar navigation. This will show your classes along with the required textbooks for each class and indicate whether your textbooks are being delivered digitally or are available for pick up as a physical textbook at the University Bookstore.

Depending on if your textbook is an e-book or courseware (assignment platform), you will start in the MyTextbooks Hub in Canvas. Any e-book will show a “Read Now” button which will lead you to the VitalSource website platform, our campus e-book provider. Any courseware will be available through the courseware tool links or tool apps your instructor created. These links are externally hosted and will link to the publisher’s website platform. Courseware generally includes the e-book on the platform as well.

Physical textbooks can be picked up at the Book Information counter located towards the back of the University Bookstore.

In the MyTextbooks Hub in Canvas, you should see an “Opt Out of Subscription” button. Clicking on that will opt you out of the program.

You will have until the last day to add or drop classes without approval to opt out and receive a refund. This is generally 2 weeks after the start of classes for the Fall and Spring semesters. Check the Key Dates and Deadlines published by Enrollment Services for the exact date.

Of course! If you opt out of D1TA, you can still purchase textbooks from the bookstore individually at regular retail prices. Please visit our website www.ShopTheBeach.com to place a web order. We highly recommend placing orders 2-3 weeks in advance as physical books usually take 2-3 weeks to get in. 

Yes, you can still opt back in before the deadline.

Please visit the MyTextbooks Hub in Canvas, which will update with any new textbook information. Changes may be as simple as gaining access to a new digital book while losing access to the one from the dropped class.  However, in a scenario when you are switching from a physical book to a digital book, you will instantly have access to the digital book, but will need to return the physical book from the dropped class to the bookstore by the last day to add or drop classes without approval.

Please reach out to the Accessible Instructional Materials Center (AIM Center) at aimc@csulb.edu or (562) 985-1663 as soon as possible. The AIM Center will assist and facilitate obtaining a copy in the format you need.

There will be no changes to the ways these funds are accessed. For specific questions, please reach out to ETA@csulb.edu.

To keep the program more affordable for students, only required books will be included.

The D1TA charge will be credited back into your MyCSULB Student Center account within 3-5 business days of when you opted out.

While we would like to be able to include all required books in the D1TA program, there are a few caveats.
 
The first is the book must be in-print. We are unable to include books that are no longer in print. Generally, when we come across a book that is no longer in print, we reach out to the instructor/department. However, it is ultimately their decision whether they would like to switch books or stay with the book that is no longer in print.
 
The second is for "physical only" books that have no digital rights. These physical books must be in-stock. We are not able to provide books that we cannot order from our publishers/vendors.
 
The third is the textbook information must be submitted to us by the instructor/department. We are not able to include textbooks in the program if we do not have confirmation from the instructor/department that the textbook is required for the class.

When you opt out, you would still access your textbook courseware through the publisher links setup by your instructor in Canvas. At some point, the publisher will remove access for all students who have opted out of the D1TA program and you will see a payment screen. You can either purchase access directly from the publisher or redeem an access code that you may have purchased separately.