Ball State First Day

Ball State First Day offers discounted, low-priced course materials on the first day of class. All required course materials (print and digital) are selected by instructors for one flat rate by credit hour and billed to the students’ account. The program is applied to all courses registered by semester. All undergraduate and graduate students are automatically enrolled upon class registration.

Physical books are conveniently packaged and provided to students on a rental basis, and access to digital material is directly within Canvas. At the end of the term, students will receive email reminders to return rented physical course materials to the bookstore.

Ball State First Day includes textbooks, lab manuals, e-books, and online learning tools (e.g., MyLab, WebAssign, Connect, WileyPLUS).

There are no upfront costs at the start of term. Ball State First Day charges will be added to your eBill to ensure a seamless one-stop process for billing and receipt of course materials by the first day of class. Ball State First Day’s cost is $22.75 per credit hour or $341.25 per 15 credit hours each semester. You also have the option to opt out of the program.

Financial aid first pays your mandatory institutional charges such as tuition and fees. If you have enough aid to cover your institutional charges and your costs for course materials, financial aid may cover those costs.

Some financial aid is restricted and can only pay tuition and fees or room and board. In those cases, those funds cannot cover course materials. Please check your student account for details when available.

If you stay in Ball State First Day, you keep access all semester to the digital course materials. If you opt out, the digital code will expire immediately. You will not have access to the materials or any testing associated with it.

• Register for your classes, and the Ball State Bookstore will start preparing your course materials.
• One month before classes start, you will receive an email instructing you to select your delivery preference (in-store pickup or shipped directly to you).
• An email notification will be sent when your order is ready for pickup or when it ships.
• Your digital materials for your course will be delivered within Canvas.
• At the end of term, the bookstore will send an email about how and when to return your books. This is also a good time to review your upcoming semester schedule to ensure it is current for the next round of book distribution.

The Ball State First Day charge will be added to your eBill as Course Materials - First Day to ensure a seamless one-stop process for billing and receipt of course materials by the first day of class. Ball State First Day’s cost is $22.75 per credit hour or $341.25 per 15 credit hours. You also have the option to opt out of the program.

Financial aid is first applied to your institutional charges, such as tuition and fees. If you have sufficient aid to cover these charges as well as your course materials, financial aid may also cover those costs.

Some financial aid is restricted and can only be used for tuition, fees, or room and board. In these cases, those funds cannot be applied to course materials. Please check your student account for specific details.

One month before classes start, you will receive an email instructing you to select your materials and delivery preference (in-store pickup or shipped directly to you). An email notification will be sent when your order is ready for pickup or when it ships. Your digital materials will be delivered for your course(s) within the LMS.

Learn more about how to access your materials.

Mac or PC Operating Systems

• Windows 7 or newer
• OS X 10.10 (Mountain Lion) or newer

Mobile Devices

• Android 5.0 (Lollipop) or newer
• iOS 11 or newer

Browsers

• Chrome (stable channel)
• Firefox (release channel)
• Microsoft Edge (stable channel)
• Safari 11+
• Opera (stable channel)
• Mobile Safari (stable Channel)
• Chrome for Android (stable channel)

You can access your digital interactive courseware directly from your course in Canvas. Before you start, be sure your popup blocker is turned off and your cookies are enabled.

Location of the embedded course material can vary based on the publisher or type of material, and on where your professor chooses to place the link. Your courseware may be accessed from the “Course Materials” link on the left or could be easily visible elsewhere in the left-hand navigation (i.e., McGraw Hill Connect). It could also be located within a section of the course, such as “Tools,” “Assignments,” “Content,” or “Modules.”

Contact your professor for assistance in finding the course material within your course.

Learn more about how to access your materials.

If you purchase a rental eBook, you will have access to the material for the rental duration.

If you purchase an eBook with perpetual access or a rental longer than one year, online access via the web reader is only available for one year from the date of purchase.

You can continue to access your content by downloading the Windows, Mac, iOS, or Android apps. This will allow you to download the content for offline use and you will have access to it perpetually.

All eligible students will be automatically enrolled in the Ball State First Day program with the option to opt out.

Please be advised it is not recommended that you opt out, as these materials are required by your professor to complete the course. Should you choose to opt out, you will be responsible for purchasing your course materials at the opt-out price and may have to work outside of the e-learning platform.

If you drop the course before the deadline noted on your course materials, your access to the materials will be removed. If you were previously charged, your account will be adjusted according to Ball State billing policies.

While Ball State First Day provides convenient and affordable access to all required course materials, students have the option to opt out of this program each semester. Cost for course materials is $341.25 and is based on 15 credit hours ($22.75 a credit hour). The opt out option will be available to all students prior to the beginning of the Fall, Spring, and Summer terms. Opting out involves all course materials for the semester. Students cannot opt out/opt in by course.

The opt-out period opens the same week fees are posted on your account and closes on the day the Add/Drop period ends. The fee due date and the Add/Drop deadlines for each term can be found on the Academic Calendar.

Summer semester 2026 opt out window is through May, 17, 2026.

To change your status and opt into the Ball State First Day program, please follow the link found in your opt-out confirmation email which is only active through the end of a term’s Add/Drop period.

Remember the link only works when an opt out or in period is open. Please note you must make your final selection by the end of the Add/Drop period for the term. 

You can only opt out of the inclusive access program through the deadline listed on the “Course Materials” page in Canvas. After this deadline, you can no longer opt out.

You can opt in again up through that deadline as well. If you see opt in as an option on the “Course Materials” page, you can opt in again. Once the deadline has passed, this option will be removed, and you will no longer be able to opt in or opt out.

While the deadline for opting out is strict, if you accidentally opted out and want to opt in again, you may have some more time. Please contact the Ball State Bookstore manager for assistance.

If you continue to receive the error message, please contact Ball State Bookstore and send a screenshot of your issue.

When purchasing physical books, choose either free in-store pickup or shipping for a flat fee of $8.99 + tax, payable by credit or debit. This step is required for all physical materials. Digital materials are accessed directly in Canvas.

 If you have opted out, you can still purchase materials from the Ball State Bookstore by selecting the Spring 26 opt-out term or buy them from another source.

If you completely withdraw from all your courses (100% total withdrawal) by the January 11, 2026 add/drop deadline, the fee will be removed as part of the withdrawal process and credited back to your account. Processing may take some time, but it will be applied and reflected on your eBill as soon as possible.