Microsoft Educational Licences

Educational licenses are important in supporting educational institutions by offering software and tools designed specifically for academic use. Since these licenses are designed to facilitate research and education, they are not available to just anyone; there are requirements attached. This article explains what educational licenses are, which ones exist, and who they are intended for.

What are educational licenses?

Educational software licenses are licenses intended exclusively for officially recognized educational institutions that award diplomas to their staff. They may only be used for academic education and/or research. Educational licenses can only be purchased by officially accredited educational institutions and can only be issued by institutions recognized by national accrediting bodies. Examples include universities and comparable institutions of higher education, academic and technical schools, colleges, and vocational training institutions. Outside of educational institutions, teachers and research staff may also use them, provided it is for direct use in research and teaching tasks that form the academic relationship between the individual and the institution.

Academic Volume License

An Academic Volume License Agreement is created for schools and other educational institutions to purchase multiple software licenses affordably. There are four types of volume licenses available: School Agreement, Campus Agreement, Academic Open License, and Academic Select License. This section provides more information on who the licenses are mainly intended for. It is important to know that Academic Volume Licenses are not full Windows licenses. These licenses only cover upgrade licenses for Windows operating systems.

School Agreement: The School Agreement license is mainly intended for primary schools, libraries, and museums looking for a simple and flexible subscription license.

Campus Agreement: The Campus Agreement license is mainly intended for higher education institutions looking for a simple, flexible subscription license.

Academic Open License: The Academic Open License is mainly intended for academic institutions of any size looking for simple, one-time transactions. It is important that institutions are flexible in purchasing licenses in small quantities.

Academic Select License: The Academic Select License is mainly intended for medium to large institutions with approximately 250+ devices in use and can predict the number of required licenses.

What educational licenses are there?

There are several different educational licenses with various purposes and functions:

Microsoft 365 Education consists of three different versions: Microsoft 365 A1, Microsoft 365 A3, and Microsoft 365 A5. Microsoft 365 A1 is a simple learning solution applicable to one device. Microsoft 365 A3 includes everything that Microsoft 365 A3 also contains, plus analytics, advanced security, and desktop apps. Microsoft 365 A5, in turn, includes everything in Microsoft 365 A3, plus streamlined security, licensing, and management tools.

Windows 11 Education is a license with operating system options specially developed for educational purposes. The license addresses the developments in education where educational and learning methodologies have shifted focus to blended learning, face-to-face learning, and the support of remote learning environments. One of the features that make Windows 11 Education so advantageous is the integration with Microsoft Teams, which allows teachers and students to collaborate remotely.

Azure Education Hub can be used for managing cloud-based projects. Azure Education Hub is a tool that students can use to manage and offer cloud credit for Azure subscriptions.

Educational Licenses: Functionalities

As mentioned earlier in this article, there are various educational licenses with different purposes. Some licenses have specific purposes, such as Azure Education Hub. Microsoft 365 Education consists of three different versions with different purposes. The various purposes have been mentioned earlier, but the three versions have overarching functions. These functions will be listed below:

• Word
• Microsoft Teams
• PowerPoint
• Outlook
• Excel
• Power BI
• Reflect
• Minecraft Education