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Your books. Ready before day one.

At Cedar Crest, our goal is to help you succeed. Our textbook bundling program, First Day Complete, makes getting and paying for your required course materials easier so you can focus on your education. The benefits include:

Simple, Predictable Pricing

Required textbooks and course materials are now bundled directly into your tuition — so you never have to choose between buying books and paying other bills.

Automatic Enrollment

Students are automatically enrolled in Barnes and Noble’s First Day Complete and have the ability to opt out each semester.

Ready When You Are

Once you register for classes, we’re working behind the scenes to make sure everything you need is ready and waiting before your first day of class. Physical books, digital materials, access codes — handled.

Why It Matters

Research shows that when students have immediate access to their required course materials, they’re better positioned to succeed. At Cedar Crest, First Day Complete ensures you have everything you need from day one so you can start strong and stay focused. With all your course materials prepared and ready, you can walk into your first class with confidence, organized, and ready to engage. It’s one more way we help position you for success.

We See You

At Cedar Crest, we see you as more than a student. We see your goals, your commitments, and your potential. First Day Complete is just one of the ways we support your journey and help you move forward with confidence.

Frequently Asked Questions for Students

What is First Day Complete?

First Day Complete (FDC) is a program that provides your required textbooks and instructional materials at one predictable cost. Instead of buying books on your own, everything you need is delivered to you before the first day of class, so you’re ready to go.

First Year Student at Orientation
  1. Register for classes – Eligible students are automatically added to the program.
  2. Check your Cedar Crest email about 30 days before classes start – You’ll be asked to review your book list and choose pickup at the Cedar Crest Bookstore or shipping for print materials.
  3. Get your materials – The bookstore will prepare your course materials in a convenient package. You will receive an email notification when your order is ready for pickup at the Bookstore or when it ships, depending on your selection. Your digital materials will be delivered automatically within Canvas.
  4. Return or keep your materials – When your courses are over, the Bookstore will send you helpful reminder emails to return your rental course materials, and information how to purchase eligible materials if you want to keep them.

The cost for the 2026/2027 academic year is $25 per credit hour for eligible students and courses and this fee is charged to your student account just like tuition. You don’t pay separately at the Bookstore.

Most students find this save 35-50% by participating compared to buying everything on their own.

All undergraduate students, except for LVAIC cross-registered and Acadeum visiting students, are enrolled in FDC automatically. All undergraduate courses are included in FDC, with the following exceptions:

  • ATH, NUR, and NMT courses
  • Courses taught by college affiliates, such as Rize Education, Acadeum, or the Dual Credit Academy
  • Study abroad courses taken at other colleges or universities

Graduate students and graduate courses are not currently eligible for FDC.

FDC provides required print and digital materials as indicated by your professors, including:

  • Required textbooks (print and digital)
  • Lab manuals
  • Access codes

The program does not cover supplies that are for individual use, such as:

  • Lab goggles
  • Dissection or lab kits
  • Art supplies
  • Lab coats or stethoscopes
  • Calculators
  • Optional/recommended books or materials

You’ll need to buy those separately if your course requires them.

FDC will provide you with the materials your professors require. So, if one professor requires a print textbook and another requires a digital textbook, that’s what will be included in the program. If a book is available in both print and digital format, FDC will include the one that was selected by your professor.

Digital textbooks and access codes will show up automatically in Canvas.

Can I choose shipping instead of pickup?

Yes. When you verify your order, choose “Ship to Home” instead of pickup. You can choose the shipping option that works best for your budget and timeline.

HUB T-shirt Students

If you stay in the program but don’t verify your order:

  • Your materials will still be prepared
  • They’ll be held for you at the bookstore
  • You’ll still be charged the per-credit rate for eligible courses

Always make sure to verify so your materials get to you faster.

Selecting your delivery method is the best way to ensure you get your required materials in a timely manner. By making a selection, it generates an order in the Bookstore system so the team in the store can process it and have it ready for you, either for pick up or delivery.

Your books will be held in the Bookstore and your student account will be charged the per-credit rate for all eligible courses.

If you drop a class, you will be responsible for returning any physical books for courses you’ve dropped and will get an email from the Bookstore with information about how to do this. If you don’t do so within 48 hours of notification, you risk still being charged the $25 per credit hour for the dropped class. Any digital materials you’ve received through FDC will also be removed from Canvas after you drop a course.

If you add a course, you’ll receive an email from the Bookstore asking how you would like to receive your new books, and digital materials will be added Canvas. Your semester bill will be adjusted (up or down) if your overall credit hours change.

Eligible undergraduate accelerated courses are included in FDC and use the same verification and delivery processes as full semester courses. If you’re only enrolled in late-start term courses and you want to opt-out of FDC, contact the Bookstore for assistance.

Can financial aid help pay for the program?

Yes. Because the program is charged to your student account, financial aid, scholarships, and payment plans can all be used to cover the cost.

Cedar Crest College flag in front of Blaney Hall

No. You can choose to opt out each semester.

If you prefer to manage getting your materials on your own, you can opt out during the opt-opt period, which starts 14 days before the start of each term and ends when drop/add ends. By opting out, you will not receive your required materials in a convenient package and access to digital content that was integrated into Canvas will be removed after the opt-out window closes. If you opt-out, you can still purchase your materials individually through the Cedar Crest College Bookstore.

During the optout window, follow the link sent to your email. Once you opt out:

  • The program charge will be removed from your student account
  • You’ll be responsible for getting your own course materials

If you change your mind before the deadline, you can opt back in, as long as the window is still open.

If you opt-out, the per-credit fees will be credited to your student account within 2-3 business days.

If you’ve opted out for a semester and then want to opt back in for that semester, you can do this until the end of drop/add. You’ll be able to do this through the same portal you used to opt out. Access to the portal is located at the top of the page, just select the Verify My Order button.

After the opt-out window ends, you can’t change your mind for the current semester, but you’ll be able to participate in the program for the next semester.

Maybe, for books where you have activated or revealed access codes. Some textbooks include one-time access codes that must be activated to access the material. Access codes are usually physically bundled along with your textbook or sent digitally via email. Regardless of delivery method, once activated or revealed, some access codes cannot be returned or refunded. Students who later choose to opt out of the program may be responsible for the cost of the access codes.

Physical textbooks bundled with physical access codes in their original condition will only be accepted for a refund upon opt-out. Physical access codes that have been lost, damaged, or revealed by scratch/peel off will not be accepted or refunded. Access codes sent via email are automatically considered revealed by nature of the delivery method and cannot be returned without confirmation from the publisher that the code has not been activated.

You should carefully consider whether you will stay in the First Day Complete program before activating any access codes.

Your participation is semester-based and includes all eligible courses for that semester. If you stay in the program for a specific semester, you’ll get all of your books for eligible courses in semester through FDC. If you opt-out for a semester, you won’t get any of your books for that semester through FDC. You can change your participation each semester.

This depends on the courses you’re taking. You will always be able to check the Bookstore website to see what books have been adopted for your classes and what their retail cost is. Barnes and Noble has calculated that the average student using the program will save 35%-50% over the cost of buying their books new, as well as having the convenience of having their books ready for them on the first day of class (and paying for them through their semester bill). You should do your own due diligence to determine if this is true for you for a particular semester.

You should compare the program cost ($25 x the number of credits you’re registered for) vs. the cost of buying everything yourself. For example, if you’re registered for 12 credits, your textbook charge for the semester using FDC would be $300 – even if the actual cost of buying all your books separately would cost more than that.

If you don’t have many books for a particular semester, you may decide to opt out and purchase on your materials your own. It’s your choice.

What about classes that don’t have any books or use Open Educational Resources?

You will be charged $25 per credit hour for all your eligible classes, regardless of whether or not said classes use books. This allows you to spread the costs of your textbooks across all your credits for the semester. It is your responsibility to figure out whether this program will be advantageous for you in any given semester.

SAGE Student

Print books are rentals. At the end of the semester, you must return them to the Cedar Crest College Bookstore, unless you want to buy them at a discounted price. The deadline to return all rental textbooks is the last day of finals, and you’ll receive reminders from the Bookstore about how to return or purchase your books.

Digital materials usually expire at the end of the term unless the publisher provides extended access.

Within limits, yes. The Bookstore will use the same standards for determining acceptable condition of rental textbooks that it uses for determining condition of books sold back as used books. If there is too much damage, you may be charged a replacement fee.

Yes, you will still be required to return books, unless you purchase the book at the end of the semester. If you return a rental that you need for the next semester, you will be reissued the same title at the beginning of the next semester.

You may be charged a non‑return fee, which can include the cost of the book.

To avoid fees, return your books by the deadline. You’ll get email reminders from the Bookstore.

Yes. If you need accessible or alternative formats, contact Student Accessibility Services. They’ll work with the Bookstore to make sure your materials fit your needs.

Since students are charged a flat per-credit fee, you won’t owe anything back if your professor ends up not using a required book. You just return the text at the end of the semester, along with your other books.

Participation in First Day Complete is optional. Before deciding, consider the courses you are taking this semester. If most of your course materials can be borrowed through the ACT101 Lending Library, you may want to opt out. But if you have books that can’t be borrowed from the ACT101 Lending Library, it might be more affordable to participate in the program. The choice is entirely yours.

Who do I contact if I have questions?