Hi, Russ. If the students purchased/rented their book from the Vitalsource platform, they will have received a redemption code which, once redeemed, will give them access to the courseware. If the students purchased their book from another retailer, software is not paired with the book. This is due to technical issues. The description for the book will include the text:
Note: Esri Press e-books do not include 180-day trial software. Instead, you can download the publicly available ArcGIS Trial.
Assuming the students do not have access to ArcGIS software through the institution, we recommend that they use the Student ArcGIS Trial.