Microsoft 365 Education Licenses and Usage

Overview

Microsoft 365 Education licensing allows faculty, staff, and students to have access to a suite of Microsoft 365 applications that includes Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Due to changes to the licensing structure by Microsoft in August 2024, there are two types of licenses issued to Brandeis users.

Active faculty, staff, and students have access to the A3 license, which provides full use of the Microsoft 365 service, including the ability to install Microsoft applications on devices. (For more information on how to access those licenses, please see below under A3 License Changes).

Temporary staff, scholars and researchers with affiliate appointments only, and contingent workers have access to the A1 license, which provides full use of the online versions of Microsoft 365, but does not include the ability to install these applications on devices.

Microsoft Products and Licensing Updates

What is included in the Microsoft 365 A1 License?

The A1 license includes Office 365 for the web with online versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Your Microsoft Online account comes with 25GB of storage.

What is not included in the Microsoft 365 A1 License?

Brandeis uses Google for our primary email and calendar tools; we do not support Microsoft email (Outlook) and calendar tools and therefore do not recommend their use. Please continue to use Zoom or Google Meet for your teleconferencing needs and Brandeis does not support Microsoft Teams and you will be unable to log into Teams.

How do I log into Microsoft 365 Online?

Go to the www.office.com website. Click "Sign-in" and enter your Brandeis email. Choose "work or school" account, then use your Brandeis password to log in.

A3 Licensing Changes

For active faculty, staff, and students who will be using an A3 license, you will see some changes to your own Microsoft license. Faculty and staff who have been issued a Brandeis computer that has been imaged or re-imaged after August 1, 2024 will be required to log into the desktop version of your Office Suite with your Brandeis username and password in order to verify your license. Students will also be required to re-enter their Brandeis username and password when logging back into Microsoft products.

What is included with an A3 license?

Active Brandeis faculty, staff, and students will have full use of the Microsoft 365 Suite, including online and desktop versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Your Microsoft Online account comes with 25GB of storage.

What is not included with an A3 license?

Brandeis uses Google for our primary email and calendar; we do not support Microsoft email (Outlook) and calendar tools and therefore do not recommend their use. Please continue to use Zoom or Google Meet for your teleconferencing needs as Brandeis does not support Microsoft Teams and you will be unable to log into Teams.

Support

If you have any questions regarding Microsoft products or licensing, please email help@brandeis.edu or call x64367 (6-HELP) from an on-campus extension or 781-736-HELP (4357) for calls made on non-campus lines.

Frequently Asked Questions