14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is one of the companies that are aggressively investing in the educational sector, and it’s a well-known fact that several schools have already signed up for a program that brings Surface tablets, Windows 8.1 devices, and free Office 365 for students and teachers.
But there are some cases when schools failed to register for Microsoft’s programs, so a lot of students actually never got the chance to receive a free copy of Office.
That’s going to change thanks to a new program announced by Microsoft, that allows students to request free software as part of the Student Advantage program on their own, without the need for schools to give their go-ahead.
The only thing you need is a valid email address provided by your school in order to register for the program and thus get access to free Microsoft goodies.
Office 365 ProPlus available free of charge
Once you register, Microsoft emails you a list of links with access to Office 365 ProPlus, the same version of the cloud-based productivity suite that was until now available to schools.
Office 365 ProPlus comes with the standard productivity tools, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, and Publisher, support for five different devices, be they PCs, Macs, or tablets, an additional of 1TB of OneDrive cloud storage, and access to Office Online.
“The new self-service sign-in is quick and easy for students, but still allows school IT managers to maintain all the control, flexibility and security that Office is known for while reducing the amount of administrative work needed to provide these free services to students. This same service will be available worldwide in the next few months,” Anthony Salcito, vice president of Worldwide Education at Microsoft, has said today.
Only available in the United States
Unfortunately, this new program is only aimed at students in the United States for now, but the company has promised to add support for new countries in the coming months.
“Eligible educational institution employees in the U.S. can sign up at office.com/teachers beginning in October with availability worldwide starting in December,” the company says.
At the same time, Microsoft has also announced that organizations will also receive a free subscription for Office 365 ProPlus for all students, faculty and staff once they purchase an Office license.
“With Office 365 ProPlus, teachers get continual updates, which means they are always using the latest, best version of Office. They can install Office on up to five PCs or Macs and can unlock the editing capabilities of Office apps for iPad. Using their Office 365 ID also means they can access the same Office content while on the go with the mobile apps on Windows Phone, iPhones and Android Phones,” Microsoft concludes.
To find out if you’re eligible for the new US-only program, click this link.