Upon registering for courses, you will be automatically enrolled into the program. Once you've successfully selected your courses, the bookstore will start preparing your order.
Starting 30 days before the first day of classes, you will receive an email to verify your order and select your fulfillment preference.
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 Blackboard.
Archie's Book Bundle is a course material and textbook rental program that lowers the cost of course materials and ensures students have their required course materials on the first day of class.
Currently, the program is available to undergraduate students.
All eligible undergraduate students will be automatically enrolled in Archie's Book Bundle.
For Archie's Book Bundle program, $24 per credit hour will be applied to your student account.
Archie’s Book Bundle fees are applied directly to a student’s account and may be paid with financial aid, scholarships and/or loans.
With this program, students will save on average between 35-50% on the cost of required course materials throughout their academic career.
Yes. Each semester you will have the option to opt out of the program by submitting the Archie's Book Bundle Opt-Out Form. You must opt out prior to the end of the 100% refund period.
No. Opting out means you opt out of the entire semester and may not choose to purchase selected materials only at the reduced cost. Priority for filling student orders will be given to students enrolled in the Archie’s Book Bundle program.
You will have the option to have your books shipped directly to you at following rates:
If you drop or add a course, you will be provided instructions for returning your dropped course materials, and delivery options for any new courses that are added will be provided to you. Fee adjustments will be made for any changes to overall semester credit hours.
Yes. Eligible undergraduate students will be automatically enrolled in the Archie's Book Bundle program every semester. Students will be required to confirm their course materials list and choose a delivery option each semester.
Any student choosing to opt out of the program will have to do so each semester.
Yes, after reviewing all your course syllabus or using our Compare Opt Out Prices tool and you have determined your courses do not require a textbook, you must opt out. Simply not taking action or not having required textbooks will not automatically opt you out of the program.
Course materials and the delivery format are selected by the course instructor. Based on these adoptions, the program provides all required textbooks, laboratory manuals and access codes to undergraduate students.
The program does not include consumables that cannot be returned and reused such as laboratory goggles, dissection kits, molecular model kits, engineering kits or nursing kits. Any textbooks and other course materials designated as recommended, instead of required, are not included.
Yes. Students are able to purchase, at normal retail price, course materials and supplies for their courses at the USI Campus Store.
Yes, you will still be required to return continuation course textbooks. You will be issued the same title for the next semester of the continuation course.
The Archie's Book Bundle program is a textbook rental program. Textbooks are due back to the Campus Store by the last day of the semester. You also have the option to purchase your textbook(s) at a highly discounted rate.
You have two options for returning your books:
Yes. You can return your books to the Campus Store by shipping them through USPS or any other carrier. To create a USPS shipping label, log in to the Campus Store website. Navigate to Course Materials and Textbooks, then select Return My Books. You’ll see a list of your active rentals—click Check In Rental and choose Option 2 to ship your books.
To ensure your books are checked-in correctly, please forward your tracking number to brownc@bncollege.com.
Yes. You may purchase one or more of your Archie's Book Bundle textbooks at a highly discounted rate. Please visit the Campus Store to begin that process by the end of the semester.
Visit the Campus Store website to find each course and its list of materials to compare the opt-out price with your bundle cost. Be sure to select "Spring26 Opt Out" to view prices.
If you decide that Archie's Book Bundle is not the best option for you, each semester you will have the option to opt-out of the program by submitting the Archie's Book Bundle Opt-Out Form. You must opt-out by the Friday of your first starting course for the semester. For spring 2026, if your class begins on January 12, the deadline to opt out is January 16.
Archie's Book Bundle is a course material and textbook rental program administered by Barnes & Noble College (BNC) through the USI Campus Store. The book program is for UNDERGRADUATE students and reduces the cost of books to ensure students have required materials for all registered courses prior to the first day of class. The USI Campus Store will provide each student with a convenient package for physical books, and digital materials will be automatically embedded into the student’s Blackboard course shell. The fee for the book program is $24 per credit hour which will be added to the student’s account and may be paid for with financial aid, scholarships or loans. For example, students taking the standard full-time course load of 15 credit hours will be charged a total of $360 for all required course materials. By comparison, the USI Financial Aid Office estimates books for a full-time student to cost $600 per semester, so this program offers substantial savings. Savings will vary by semester.
Archie's Book Bundle benefits students in a variety of ways:
Faculty are required to submit their course material selections to the USI Campus Store by the May 2, 2022 adoption deadline. Adhering to this timing is vital so that appropriate books can be ordered and packaged in time for students to have all their required course materials for the semester prior to the first day of class. Faculty members are required to select the modality of the required materials (e.g. hardcopy, electronic).
No. There are no restrictions to the course materials you select for your course(s). All course materials, from any publisher, in your preferred format are included in the program.
Yes. Each semester undergraduate students will receive personalized emails including their course materials list and book bundle cost, based on the number of credit hours taken. A student may elect to opt out by following the instructions in the email. Students must opt out prior to the end of the 100% refund period. Opting out means a student opts out of the entire semester and may not choose to purchase selected materials only at the reduced cost. Priority for filling student orders will be given to students enrolled in the Archie’s Book Bundle program.
BNC is committed to lowering the costs of course materials for students, and with an integrated supply chain and economies of scale, the Archie's Book Bundle program brings a new and innovative way to provide an affordable solution to USI students. The program will be evaluated annually to assess costs and affordability.
The USI Campus Store is committed to ensuring the textbook adoption platform is updated with the new course materials. The faculty member should notify the USI Campus Store of the changes to their teaching assignment.
If a student drops or adds a course, the student is provided instructions for returning their dropped course materials, and delivery options for any new courses that have been added are provided to them. Fee adjustments will be made for any changes to overall semester credit hours.
Students are assessed the program fee for the total number of credits taken per semester, not by the number of courses utilizing the program. However, students usually still see an overall savings with the book bundle program even if some of their classes do not require materials. If a student is taking an internship or has only one or two courses with required materials, these may be limited reasons for a student to opt out of the program.
