Microsoft Volume Licensing for Academic Organizations

Microsoft Volume Licensing offers customized programs designed to meet the needs of your organization. Microsoft provides simple, flexible, and affordable solutions, tailored to the size and purchasing preference of your organization, to enable you to manage your licenses with ease.

Microsoft is committed to providing the best licensing solutions for education customers. The latest Academic Volume Licensing programs are designed to reduce the costs of acquiring, upgrading, maintaining, and managing software for multiple computers. They provide simple yet flexible volume-based pricing.

Microsoft offers four Volume Licensing programs for educational institutions. The one that is best for you depends on the size and type of your institution and how you want to acquire Microsoft software.

Campus Agreement is a simple, subscription-based program that enables higher education institutions to purchase software licenses based on an annual count of full-time equivalent (FTE) employees.

School Agreement is a subscription-based program for K–12 schools and preschools. This program makes it easy to license all of a school's computers by counting them just once a year.
Academic Open License is a flexible, cost-effective way for schools or colleges of any size to purchase software, starting with as few as five licenses.
Academic Select License is a flexible, volume-based program designed for institutions that have 250 or more computers and that can forecast their software needs during a three-year period.

Academic Licensing Comparison

Program name

Campus Agreement

School Agreement

Academic Open License

Academic Select License

Customer profile

Higher education institutions that need a simple, flexible subscription licensing agreement

K–12 schools and districts and preschools that need a simple, flexible subscription licensing agreement

Academic institutions of any size that want easy, one-time transactions and the flexibility of acquiring licenses in small quantities

Mid-sized to large institutions with 250 or more computers and the ability to forecast license acquisitions

Available products

View the Volume Licensing Product List

Agreement term

•	The master Campus and School Agreement has no expiration date
•	Campus subscription enrollment designates a one- or three-year licensed period
•	Software orders are placed annually

•	The master Campus and School Agreement has no expiration date
•	School subscription enrollment designates a one- or three-year licensed period
•	Software orders are placed annually

Two years from the time of initial order

Three years with the option to renew for one or three additional years

Software Assurance benefits

Software Assurance included, which provides product updates and upgrades, support resources and tools, Microsoft E-Learning courses, and more.

If you include Software Assurance with license purchases, you receive product upgrades released during the agreement term and Microsoft E-Learning courses.

If you include Software Assurance with individual license purchases, you receive product upgrades released during the agreement term and Microsoft E-Learning courses.

If you include Software Assurance on a product pool, you receive additional benefits.

Student licensing

Student Option licenses all students to use products on their personal computers.

Student Option licenses a specific number of students to use products on their personal computers.

Not currently available.

Student licenses available through Student Select.

How to buy

Through all Authorized Education Resellers (AERs)

Through all AERs

Through Authorized Education Large Account Resellers (LARs)

For more information

Visit the Campus Agreement page

Visit the School Agreement page

Visit the Academic Open License page

Visit the Academic Select License page

Types of Academic Volume Licensing Programs
Microsoft offers subscription and transactional licensing options for education customers.

Subscription Licensing
Through the subscription licensing programs, you have the right to license a selection of Microsoft software products, and any upgrades or downgrades of those products, throughout your one- or three-year license period. Even if the number of computers or users at your institution increases, you remain fully licensed for the term. You can also license students to use selected products on a personally owned computer or on an institution-owned computer checked out to a student for the school year. As an added benefit, you automatically receive Microsoft Software Assurance with the subscription licensing programs.

There are two subscription Volume Licensing programs: School Agreement and Campus Agreement.

Benefits of the subscription licensing programs include:

• Easy compliance. Because all of your institution's computers or your faculty and staff members are covered throughout the subscription term, it is easy to ensure that your institution is fully licensed to use the software products you have selected.

• Low administration. With subscription licensing, there is no need to track licenses for individual products on every computer. This saves time and makes it easier to manage software assets, especially in a decentralized office.

• Current technology. Subscription licensing gives you the license to run the most current version of the software products in your agreement. As an added benefit, Microsoft will automatically send you the installation media for products that upgrade during your licensed term.

• Simple budgeting and purchasing. One easy annual payment covers all of the products you have selected for the year.

• Excellent value. By standardizing your software with Microsoft products, you can reduce your total cost of software ownership while helping increase your productivity and access to current technology. You also get the benefits of Software Assurance and one complimentary MSDN Academic Alliance (MSDNAA) departmental membership (Campus Agreement) or MSDNAA High School membership (School Agreement).

Learn more about Campus Agreement
Learn more about School Agreement

Transactional Licensing
With the transactional licensing programs, you can purchase perpetual rights to the licenses, meaning you own the licenses without paying for the costs and packaging of retail software. You also have the option of enrolling your licenses in Software Assurance, which entitles you to product upgrades that release during the agreement term, Microsoft E-Learning courses, and more.

There are two transactional Volume Licensing programs: Academic Open License and Academic Select License.

Academic Open License
Academic Open License is a widely accessible and cost-effective way for education institutions to license Microsoft software starting with as few as five licenses. This easy, user-friendly licensing program includes benefits such as:

• Simplicity. No confusing legal language. The Academic Open License is easy to understand and administer because it has simple, clear terms for getting your software licenses.

• Flexibility. Get exactly what your institution needs—as many or as few licenses as you want. This license also gives you an expansive choice of some of the best Microsoft software products. And you can begin with an order of only five licenses; then you can reorder as few as one license at your convenience.

• Availability. With Academic Open License, getting your preferred Microsoft software is as easy as finding an Authorized Education Reseller.

• Compliance. Quickly and easily view your license purchase history by using eOpen. Academic Open License provides you with simple tools so you always know exactly what licenses you currently own.

Academic Select License
Academic Select License offers volume licensing for institutions that have 250 or more computers and can forecast license needs during a three-year period. This license offers extra value because you can also pass the savings on to your students. For program details, contact an Authorized Education Large Account Reseller or visit the Student Select Web site.

This extensive Volume Licensing program includes benefits such as:

• Convenient licensing. Academic Select License uses a simple monthly transaction model that regularly confirms your new licenses, so you always know what you have.

• Easy to understand and follow. You can easily pay for and receive software licenses and the benefits of Software Assurance when it is convenient for you and your institution.

• Software for training purposes. Choose from a selection of Microsoft software—up to 20 copies—for evaluating and training your institution's staff and students.

• Investment value. With the benefits of Software Assurance, you can be current with Microsoft technology, receive product upgrades released during your agreement term, and participate in Microsoft E-Learning courses.