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Microsoft 365 Education (formerly Microsoft Office 365 Education) is a service that enables access to a suite of Microsoft 365 applications, with cloud storage through OneDrive.
This includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, One Note, and more. Depending on your license, you can access Microsoft 365 applications through the cloud (web based) or installed locally on your device. Eligibility for services is described below.
Who is Eligible?
Majority of active Faculty, Staff, and Students
Microsoft 365 Licensing Questions
What are the different license types available to me?
There are two different levels of licensing for Microsoft 365 at Oakland University.
The Microsoft 365 Education A1 license grants access to Microsoft 365 Apps for Education through the cloud (web-based access in a browser). It includes access to Word, Excel, Teams and 100GB of OneDrive storage in the cloud.
The Microsoft 365 Education A5 license includes the features of the A1 license, along with allowing local installation and access to Microsoft 365 applications on your device (see below for more information regarding installation).
Who has access to what license?
Microsoft 365 Education licenses are assigned to eligible users as described in the general "Microsoft Education Qualified Users” agreement. OU is unable to assign licenses outside of this agreement.
Users eligible for a Microsoft 365 Education A5 license include, but are not limited to:
- Majority active Faculty
- Majority active Staff
- Active Students
- Note that students are assigned a “Microsoft 365 A5 for Student Use” license, which differs slightly from Faculty and Staff licenses.
Users eligible for a Microsoft 365 Education A1 license include, but are not limited to:
- Faculty Emeritus/Emerita
- Non-active Adjunct Faculty
- Visiting Faculty
- Clinical Faculty
- Part Time Clerical Technicians (including 65% Clerical Technicians)
- Part Time Administrative Professionals (including 65% Administrative Professionals)
- Casual Employees (including Casual Monthly Employees)
- Temporary Part Time Employees (including Temporary Monthly Employees)
For a full description of differences between Microsoft 365 Education A1,A5, and A5 for student use licenses, please refer to the Microsoft 365 Education Services chart.
What if I am unable to perform certain tasks due to my Microsoft 365 license?
There are a few solutions available:
- Consider whether the web-based Microsoft 365 Apps for Education will work for you. Most features available in the desktop-installed versions are also available in the online web version.
- On university devices: Depending on your situation, you may be eligible for device licensing Microsoft 365 Apps for Education, allowing you to run Microsoft's M365 productivity suite on your university-owned workstation. If this is you, please submit a general support request on support.oakland.edu for access.
- On personal devices: A1 browser-based access can be used on any device with a modern browser and internet connection. A5 licensing allows for you to install Microsoft 365 applications on up to 5 personal devices.
I have an eligible license and device, can I install Microsoft 365 on it?
On personal devices: If you have access to the Microsoft 365 Education A5 license, you can install the latest version of Microsoft 365 on up to 5 devices by navigating to the Microsoft Office portal and signing-in with your Oakland University email. Click on the “Home” button from the left-sidebar on the website, from the “Install and More” dropdown, click “Install Microsoft 365 apps”.
On university owned devices: Most devices have Microsoft Office installed already by your support personnel. If Microsoft Office is not installed on your device, or if you are experiencing issues, please report an issue using the linked service offering on the side of the page.
What are all the applications currently available to me?
You can view all the Microsoft 365 applications that are available to you within the Oakland University Office 365 portal.
For a full description of differences between Microsoft 365 Education A1,A5, and A5 for student use licenses, please refer to the Microsoft 365 Education Services chart.
Will all my Microsoft 365 documents be stored in the cloud?
You can choose to store documents on your local computer, or you can choose to store them in your Microsoft OneDrive account.
What will happen to my account and data after I graduate or leave OU?
- For Faculty: After one year of leaving OU, you will lose access to Microsoft 365. Any information stored in OneDrive will be deleted.
- For Staff: On the day you leave OU, you will lose access to Microsoft 365. Any information stored in OneDrive will be deleted
- For Students: After one year of graduating from OU, you will lose access to Microsoft 365. Any information stored in OneDrive will be deleted.
If you would like to transfer your data to a personal account prior to losing access, please refer to Microsoft’s documentation on the “Mover Transfer Wizard” to transfer your data to a personal, non-OU account.
Note that all users with active OU email addresses (@oakland.edu) are eligible for Microsoft 365 subscriptions (full benefits of Microsoft 365 apps, 1 TB of cloud storage) with a 30% discount:
Microsoft - Workplace Discount Program
What type of information should I store in OneDrive?
OneDrive storage is appropriate for certain university related usage. For more information, please refer to:
Employee Resource Network - Sharing, Storage, and Learning Services
Why can't I change my name or personal information?
Your user information, which includes but is not limited to your first and last name, display name, title/position, and other organization information is synced directly from MySail/Sail daily, meaning it cannot be changed in Microsoft 365 directly. If you would like to change your first name or display name, please set your preferred name in MySail/Sail.
Office 365 vs. LTSC & Professional Plus
Product Differences
The “LTSC” / Professional Plus versions of Microsoft Office (i.e., “Microsoft Office 2024 LTSC”) are activated utilizing license keys stored on an on-premises Key Management Server (KMS). This means that devices with these versions of Microsoft Office installed on them will need to periodically be connected to the GlobalProtect VPN, Ethernet, or on-campus Wi-Fi in order to remain activated.
LTSC / Professional Plus are also “single-release” versions of the Microsoft Office suite. Meaning that Microsoft will release a new major version of the product and that version will need to be reinstalled or re-licensed on a device. Office 365 differs from this model as it is installed once and receives continuous updates from Microsoft that mirror the major release updates.
Office 365 activates using Microsoft’s official servers in the Cloud. The product is licensed based on which Microsoft Office 365 Education license is added to your account. The type of license added to your account is based on your affiliation with the university as described above.
Which version of Microsoft Office should be installed on my device?
University Technology Services will continue supporting LTSC, Professional Plus, and 365 versions of Microsoft Office.
For devices managed by Oakland University:
Single-User Devices:
- If the device is on the ADMNET domain, it will likely have Office LTSC / Professional Plus installed and will be activated using our on-premises KMS server.
- If the device was recently set up by the OU Tech Center on the AD domain, it is likely to have Office 365 installed on it.
- If the device was recently migrated from the ADMNET → AD domain by the OU Tech Center, it is likely to have Office LTSC / Professional Plus still installed on it. It should be able to activate against the on-premises KMS server.
Lab Computers / Shared Devices:
University Technology Services has not implemented Microsoft Office 365 device-based licensing. Lab computers (especially those that may not be able to access the open internet due to security policy) may require the LTSC/Professional Plus versions of Office. This is regardless of whether they are on ADMNET/AD.
Personal Computers
Personal devices that are unmanaged by Oakland University can utilize Microsoft Office 365 by signing-in to a school/work email account. If your account is eligible for an A5 license, the Microsoft Office 365 suite can be downloaded and installed from the Office applications portal:
- office.com → Click “Install Apps” and “Microsoft 365 Apps”
Additional Resources
Information on specific products offered in Microsoft’s 365 licensing plans can be found below:
Resources on Microsoft Office 2024 LTSC, the latest version of the product, can be found below: