If you are having problems with, or questions about Bison Ready or other digital course materials, START HERE.


What is Bison Ready


Bison Ready is a ‘whole campus’ course materials acquisitions model where every student in every section of every course across the entire campus is provided with their required course materials on or before the first day of class. Student accounts are charged a single flat fee for all their course materials regardless of course or program type.




 

Bison Ready Student Portal

To view your Bison Ready courses or to opt-out of your Bison Ready course materials before the deadline, sign into your student portal using your Bison Login
Go to my Bison Ready Portal

Bison Ready has 3 options to choose from.

Complete

One price per semester for all required textbooks, kits, and digital materials.

Select

Individually select and pay for the materials you want.

Opt-Out

Source your course materials on your own.


What are the benefits of Bison Ready?


Affordable

  • Flat rate each semester for all required materials
  • Predictable course material costs
  • Flexible options for students with fewer materials

Convenient

  • Materials available by first day of class
  • Digital materials linked to Blackboard course

Accessible

  • Day one access improves student success and retention
  • Digital materials contain interactive accessibility and study tools


How does it work?


  1. Faculty chooses required materials for their courses.
  2. Students review their booklist and decide which level of Bison Ready to use (Complete, Select, or opt out)
    3. • Complete will cover all physical and digital materials for a single semesterly price.
    • Select will allow students to have items billed at the sum of their costs instead, along with the option to keep some and drop others.
    • Opting out will remove all automatic Bookstore charges and students will be responsible for sourcing materials on their own.

  3. If at the Complete or Select level, Students are automatically charged through their student accounts.
  4. If at the Complete or Select level, students gain access to digital course materials via Blackboard on the first day of class.
  5. All remaining materials, if any, can be ordered on www.ndsubookstore.com or through an outside vendor.


Opting Out / Changing Program Level


Students are automatically opted into Bison Ready at the Complete level. Students have the option to scale down to the Select level, or to opt out, receive a refund, and purchase the course materials elsewhere.

  • To move from Complete to Select, sign into your Bison Ready portal and choose “Bison Ready Select”. This option is recommended if the sum of your items’ costs is lower than the semesterly flat rate.
  • To opt out, sign into your Bison Ready portal and select opt out. Before you opt out, make sure to consult with your instructor to ensure you can access all of the required readings and tools for the course without Bison Ready.


Opt Out Deadlines


The opt-out deadline for all Bison Ready programs is at 11:59pm on the class add/drop date each term, which can be found at https://www.ndsu.edu/onestop/academic-calendar.

Go to my Bison Ready Portal

Bison Ready Frequently Asked Questions


How do I access my Bison Ready digital course materials?
Sign into Blackboard and navigate to your course to access your materials. Contact your professor if you’re having trouble finding them.

If your course materials are not in Blackboard after the first day of class, it could be because of a few reasons:

  1. Your instructor has not yet loaded the digital materials into Blackboard. If this is the case, contact your instructor.
  2. You registered for the class within the last 2 business days. If you registered recently, wait 2 business days for the materials to be loaded into your account. If you still are not seeing them, email the bookstore at ndsu.bookstore@ndsu.edu.
  3. Your instructor may have specific instructions for accessing the materials. Instructors can manage the release time of certain materials to fit their course. Ask your instructor if there is a reason you cannot see the materials.

Why can't I add my Bison Ready title to my shopping cart?
Bison Ready is billed separately from your other course materials. Because your Bison Ready title is automatically billed to your university account, there is no need to add it to your shopping cart. Do not purchase the title directly from the publisher or you may be billed twice for the same course material!


What if I drop the course? Will I be refunded?
If you drop your course before the opt-out deadline, you will be automatically refunded for the course materials.

View more frequestly asked questions HERE



Digital Textbooks


Looking for digital versions of your textbooks? You can purchase digital access codes online or in store.



Open Educational Resources (OER)

Your instructor may utilize openly licensed free or low-cost course materials. These are typically available digitally and provided by your instructor. If a print version is available, it will be listed on our website to purchase.