Faculty Information & FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Find important information and answers about course material adoptions, student materials, syllabus information, and digital access programs.
Adoptions and Participation
Day One Access (D1A) is a program developed by University Book Store, in collaboration with the University of Washington and our publisher reps, to provide digital materials to students at a reduced price, right through Canvas. Similar programs are in place at hundreds of colleges and universities around the country, saving students thousands of dollars on course materials each year.
The adoption process is the same. When you submit your adoption to the Book Store through Verba Collect, switch ON the IA interest toggle to let us know that you are interested. One of our staff members will contact you with more information so that you can make an informed decision. Once we confirm participation, you will work with us, or your publisher rep, to set up the materials in Canvas.
Materials must be required for the course and available in a digital format. If your course adoption includes required and non-required materials, only the required materials are eligible. Both publisher courseware and eBooks can be included in this program. Some Canvas setup is required on your part, and additional information will be provided.
No. If your course uses multiple titles, you can choose which ones you would like to include. Again, only required materials are eligible.
Yes, but because Canvas is where students access their materials, you will need to set it up for Day One Access and publish it to students.
Student Materials, Access, and Payment
Yes. All enrolled students are opted in to start the quarter, and will have access to their materials right away. Participation is voluntary and students can opt out before the payment deadline if they would like to, for any reason. Students who choose to opt out should understand that they are then responsible for obtaining the materials on their own.
No. Only digital materials are eligible for the program, and we will not supply print copies to purchase as an alternate option. However, we can special order a print copy for students who need an accommodation due to a disability.
Students’ balances will appear on their Accounts page in MyUW, by the first day of classes, under the “UW Day One Access Fees” header. They will click the button that says “make a payment”, which will take them to our website, where they can pay for all or just some of their materials. Students have about three weeks into the quarter to submit payment for their materials, and multiple reminders are sent out in that time. Students must pay for their materials through MyUW by the posted deadline to keep access for the entire quarter.
Generally, no. Students with federal financial aid, and most kinds of scholarships, will need to pay for their materials once their funds are disbursed. The exceptions are students whose materials are covered by 3rd party funding billed through the Book Store, such as Veterans Affairs, Student Athletics, Department of Vocational Rehab, etc.
Unpaid students will be opted out and lose access to their materials. Once the publisher turns off access, the student will encounter a paywall when trying to access the materials via Canvas, and can pay at that time to regain access. The price will then be the current retail price for the materials, as set by the publisher.
Unfortunately, no. The Book Store has to pay the publishers whose materials are in use for each student license, and we are under strict payment deadlines. Because of this, we are unable to offer extensions on payment. Again, students receive multiple email reminders about the payment deadline.
Setting Up Your Course
To ensure that students can access their materials without issue, set up will need to be completed both on your end, and on the Book Store’s end. Materials in this program are delivered either by the publisher directly, or by VitalSource, and set up will vary depending on who is delivering your materials.
All Courses
All courses in this program, regardless of the delivery method, must enable the Day One Access Materials page and add it to the navigation panel in Canvas. The University of Washington requires that students be given the option to opt out of any materials, and the VitalSource LTI tool on this page allows them to choose to opt out.
In Course Navigation, click on Settings, then on the Navigation tab. You should see a list of pages currently visible in your course, with disabled/hidden pages toward the bottom. Find the page called Day One Access Materials, and drag it up into the top section to enable it. It is recommended that you place the Day One Access Materials page toward the top, so students can find it easily.
IMPORTANT! After enabling this page, you must click on it to start syncing your materials with the VitalSource platform. Initially, you will see a message indicating that you have no materials associated with the course. Materials information will appear once syncing is complete. The syncing process can take several hours to complete, so please be patient. Additionally, you will not see an opt-out button, but your students will.
VitalSource-delivered materials
If your course uses an eBook, or courseware from a publisher with VitalSource Partner Integration in place, your students will access their materials via the Day One Access Materials page that you just enabled. Follow the steps above to enable the Day One Access Materials page and start syncing your materials.
Using only an eBook? Once your course syncs with VitalSource, set up is complete. When you publish your course in Canvas, students will come to this page, and click on the button that says Read Now to access their eBook.
Using courseware from a VitalSource Partner-Integrated publisher? Once your course syncs with VitalSource, you will see a button that says Launch Courseware. You can click this button to begin setting up your course within the publisher’s website. When you publish your course in Canvas, students will access their courseware using the same Launch Courseware button.
How do I know if the publisher of my materials has a partner integration? As of Fall 2026, the following publishers have partner integrations in place with VitalSource – click on the links below to view instructions for setting up your courseware through the VitalSource LTI tool:
Publisher-delivered materials
If your course requires courseware from a publisher without a VitalSource partner integration, you will need to place a direct link to the materials in Canvas, or use the publisher’s Canvas tool for student access (if available).
Once you set up your course on the publisher’s platform, you will get a link to place in Canvas, which students will use to set up an account and access your course. Or, if available, you can enable the publisher’s tool in Canvas, and use that to set up your course for student access.
We recommend working with your publisher representative to ensure that your courseware is properly set up and ready for student access, especially if you are new to this process.
Syllabus Information
We strongly recommend placing information in your syllabus to make students aware that your course is participating in the Day One Access program, what their responsibilities are, and when they need to submit payment. While the Book Store does send email notifications out to all enrolled students, it is important that information about the program appear in your syllabus so students can refer to it anytime.
Click the links below to download the example syllabus information for this quarter. NOTE: These will be updated every quarter, so please check back for the latest updated version to ensure you are providing the most current information to your students.
VitalSource-delivered materials
Last Updated 9/3/26