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What Is Academic licensing and who can get it?
Back to school season is here. Students, teachers and organizations alike are dusting off their notebooks, both paper and electronic, to get back into the swing of the new season. In order to help these groups achieve their goals this year, Microsoft has created a line of products with special pricing around Academics targeted toward making their best tools available for those engaged in learning at institutions. Academic licenses provide full versions of the applications at a significantly reduced price for approved consumers. These Academic titles can be obtained through a Microsoft distributor like MyChoiceSoftware, but who qualifies for these products, which titles are available and what do you have to do to obtain a license? This article will help you walk through the process of finding and obtaining the license you are searching for.
Are there differences between Academic and Retail versions of Software?
Often when customers see lower prices or products made for charity or education organizations they assume that they are outdated or watered down versions of their parents, but this is not true of Microsofts Academic products. They include the full version and features of the title. This fact is particularly impressive when you discover that nearly every single Microsoft product has an Academic edition available. Students and faculty can conduct their courses utilizing the full versions of Access, Visual Studio, Publisher or even Windows Servers that they will encounter in the world outside of academia. This hands-on experience can give the confidence that the skills and methods in school will easily translate into the working world.
What about Microsoft Office Licenses?
But it's not just the specialized Microsoft products that receive this attention from Microsoft, Office and Office 365 have deals as well. Office Home and Student editions have been a staple of the Microsoft suites for years and are not restricted to student users. This means that no qualifications are required to purchase the personal license for a much lower price than other versions like Home and Business or Professional. It also means that the license will be valid after a student is no longer enrolled at a school. Microsoft even offers their online monthly subscription Office 365 for free for students who qualify. But, this free version is only applicable during enrolment.
What is volume licensing and why do I need it?
Typically any license that is not a standard retail version needs to come through Microsofts Volume Licensing Center. This is how Microsoft controls their specialty licenses like Open, Governmental or Academic editions of their software, and they typically require that such titles be purchased in bulk quantities of 5 or more. This means that theoretically these academic versions of software can only be purchased if you order at least 5 or if you pay an additional cost to bypass that requirement. Some vendors, like MyChoiceSoftware, will not require the 5 license requirement and will even pay the bypass fee for the students or faculty members.
Overall Academic Licenses from Microsoft offer a great experience for educational institutions and students. They enable full-featured access, experience and learning for a fraction of the cost. These skills obtained from the experience grant the students stronger resumes and a smoother transition into the workforce they are training for. If you want to learn more about the Academic licenses available visit MyChoiceSoftware or call one of their sales reps.
