Faculty FAQ

• D1TA allows faculty to retain complete academic freedom to choose the course materials with which they want to teach. 
• All instructors can be sure their students begin learning on the first day of classes. Even if students opt out, they can still keep access up until the add/drop deadline so they will not be without materials if they are waiting for delivery from another source.  
• Initial studies show that students (including those from traditionally underserved populations) who participate in similar programs are performing better academically and are more likely to complete their courses. 

The program at UC Davis was created due to financial aid issues, and this program will be covered by student financial aid. In addition, studies have shown students who participate have higher completion rates compared with students who opt out.   

Publishers must meet campus security and accessibility requirements through the campus Procurement Compliance Review (PCR) process. They will also need to provide their own support on courseware products such as assisting faculty with pairing/syncing/integrating with Canvas. Publishers will need to work with the campus store on delivering through the Day 1 Textbook Access model and turn off their website payment wall. Instructors can put us in touch with the publisher reps, and we will pre-vet the security and accessibility requirements before submitting through the official campus PCR process.  

Please email us as soon as possible. Whether you have taken over a new section or an instructor has taken over your previous section, it is important to have the textbook listing as current as possible. Fortunately, if it is a textbook available digitally, the turnaround time for access will be much quicker for students than it would to bring print books in.  

While your class may not require a textbook purchase, students may have other classes that do. This program aggregates all required textbooks needed by students and provides them for one price. Not only are there savings in buying digital compared to print textbooks, but the number one reason students stay participated (according to other schools with Equitable Access programs) is the convenience factor.  

While there is some demand for print materials, the actual student purchasing behavior ratio at CSULB is 72% digital to 28% physical. As is the current model, we believe students will pick the textbook format that best suits their needs and learning style. Our goal is to ensure all students can access their required course materials on the first day of class for an affordable price.

Day 1 Digital Access, our initial foray toward a digital-first approach, was offered on a class-by-class basis with different prices per class. In Spring 2023, 34 percent of sections with books participated in D1DA.  

What sets D1TA apart is that it covers all classes at one price. Both programs are a digital-first approach and both programs are voluntary, but D1TA allows us to bring equitable cost and convenience benefits to all students.   

Although this is a digital first program, students can still order print copies from us, if they prefer. One of the program’s primary goals, however, is to promote sustainability. To reduce the environmental impact of excessive shipping, we will fulfill these individual orders on demand, as needed. To this end, it is strongly recommended that these orders are placed 2-3 weeks in advance. 

While all faculty members are encouraged to use Canvas for the benefit of their students, they are not required to. The MyTextbooks Hub will be a Canvas global navigation tool accessible to all students and instructors outside of the Canvas class page.  

The textbook requisition process will not change; as is the case every year, we encourage you to submit your requisitions.  

In most cases, students will receive access for only the duration of the semester. A few publishers offer longer durations, whether one year, five years, or lifetime. However, to keep the program at a lower cost for students, most textbooks will have only the duration of the semester. If students prefer to retain their books, we recommend they not participate in the program and shop for books separately.

We asked faculty already utilizing digital textbooks for feedback. You can read what they said under Teaching With Digital Textbooks.

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