Microsoft Campus Agreement
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

Why did The Ohio State University seek to establish the Microsoft Campus Agreement?

Microsoft Office is used by the majority of OSU students, faculty and staff who have personal computers (approximately 30,000 on the OSU main campus). The university wants to have the most cost-effective way to purchase the software and manage the software licenses. Microsoft products are industry standard in nearly all categories: operating systems, desktop productivity tools, and developers tools. The agreement allows The Ohio State University and Microsoft to enter an arrangement which allows the institution to better leverage its expenditures and those of its students and for Microsoft to better serve its university clients. In addition, The university wants students to have access to the most commonly used core software products, facilitating student-faculty interaction on class assignments.

How did The Ohio State University establish this Microsoft Campus Agreement?

This agreement was originally established through direction of the Inter-University Council of Ohio CITC (Computer and Information Technology Committee). Through continued cooperation with the Inter-University Council, OSU has arranged  for a new Microsoft Campus agreement which ends June 30, 2010.

Who is eligible to receive the Microsoft software?

You must be a student, faculty or staff currently affiliated with Ohio State University. Microsoft has strict requirements for verification and tracking of software licenses issued through this Campus Agreement.

Students: Students must be currently enrolled in at least one class that, when completed, will result in the awarding of credit hours verifiable through the Office of the Registrar. To purchase the software at UniPrint, you must provide your OSU BuckID card. Your current enrollment will be verified when you go to purchase the software. You must be enrolled at the time you purchase the software. Enrollment in a previous quarter does not authorize you to purchase the software.

Faculty and Staff: You must be currently employed by The Ohio State University. If you are the primary user of the software licensed in the Campus Agreement on your computer at work, you may use the products on your personally-owned home computer for OSU business only as long as you are currently affiliated with OSU and until the Microsoft Campus Agreement ends. Additionally, faculty and staff are eligible to purchase software on the Personal Use Program for use on their owned computer for their personal use. 

Who is not eligible?

Anyone not otherwise eligible as described above is not permitted to obtain or install the software. For example, the following people are not eligible: anyone enrolled exclusively in noncredit courses; conference attendees; alumni; retired faculty or staff; visitors; parents, spouses or siblings of current OSU students; companies, and their employees, who have been hired by OSU on a contractual basis for services on campus or off campus; and staff of affiliates of OSU, such as the OSU Alumni Association staff, who are not OSU employees. If you have questions about eligibility, please contact the OIT Help Desk at 688-help.

Where can the products covered by the Campus Agreement be used?

Software on the Campus Agreement  may be used on OSU-owned equipment in campus offices and student and research labs on all OSU campuses at Columbus, Newark, Lima, Mansfield, OARDC/ATI and Marion and also on off-campus sites on OSU-owned equipment. Software on the Personal Use Program may be purchased by faculty, staff and students and used on one personally-owned computer.

Can students take the software home for personal use? Can faculty and staff?

Students receive media for the products they purchase for use on one personally-owned computer on the Personal Use Program.

Faculty and staff can use the Campus Agreement software at home on one personally-owned computer as long as they are currently employed by the university, the agreement is in force, and they are the primary user of a campus computer which has the Campus Agreement software installed. However, the use of the software on a home computer must be only for OSU business purposes. Faculty and staff use software purchased on the Personal Use Program on one personally-owned computer for their personal use.

If I had an illegal copy of the software prior to the signing of the Campus Agreement, is my software now considered a legal copy?

No, your software is still considered an illegal copy. To obtain a legal copy on your OSU-owned equipment of software contained in the Campus Agreement, you must install that software from legally acquired Microsoft media, purchased either from UniPrint (Tuttle Park Place, 2055 Millikin Way) or through media from your department for fulfillment of the Microsoft Campus Agreement.

What are the implications of graduating or otherwise leaving OSU?

OSU students who purchase copies of Microsoft software on the Personal Use Program have a perpetual license for the product at the version level purchased.

What if I just graduated or just terminated employment with OSU?

You are not eligible. You must be able to prove current student, faculty, or staff status to receive the software.

How and where can I get the products?

The software is available at UniPrint, 2055 Millikin Way, at Tuttle Park Place. Please check the UniPrint web site for distribution details. This is the normal and usual method for users to get a distribution of the products. UniPrint does keep a stock of products in the Campus agreement at the Wooster campus. Products available on the institutional Select license, such as Visio, Project, etc., for OSU-owned equipment are ordered directly through the reseller, SHI, Inc. See the question "What about products that are not included in the Campus Agreement?"  If you are at a regional campus or a student who is enrolled but not on campus as yet, you can follow a special procedure by contacting the Manager of UniPrint at 614-292-2000:

-The manager sends you an email with instructions and .PDF copies of the paperwork (license and information sheet).
-You fill it out and fax it back.
-UniPrint verifies that you are a student or faculty and staff (at a regional site) through your campus-assigned name.n identifier.
-UniPrint contacts you for payment information.
-UniPrint sends a receipt and media to your office or home.

How long is the Campus Agreement going to last?

The Campus Agreement is planned to last three years effective July 1, 2007 and ending June 30, 2010.

How is the Campus Agreement being paid for?

The Campus Agreement software for use on OSU-owned equipment is being funded through a campus-wide assessment. Faculty, staff and students purchase software on the Personal Use Program with their own funds.

What kind of support is available for the use of these products?

The Microsoft Campus Agreement does not include provision for support in the installation or use of the software. Faculty and staff should contact the OIT Technology Support Center (688-HELP) or their departmental/divisional computer support staff for assistance in the use of the software on university-owned computers. Microsoft's support pages at  http://support.microsoft.com also provide extensive free technical assistance, tips, and add-ons. The Microsoft products also have extensive built-in help within each product.

What happens when Microsoft releases new products or new versions?

Media for new versions of products contained in the Microsoft Campus Agreement will be made available for purchase through UniPrint or media will be provided by your department. Version upgrades are not provided on software purchased on the Personal Use Program. You would obtain an upgrade by purchasing the new version of your product.

Can I exchange older versions of media in the Campus Agreement for newer versions when they come out, or do I have to purchase the new media?

You will need to purchase the media for newer versions of software contained in the Microsoft Campus Agreement at UniPrint (2055 Millikin Way) or obtain it through your department.

What about products that are not included in the Campus Agreement? Can departments acquire additional products for OSU-owned equipment?

Any other Microsoft product that is not included in the Microsoft Campus Agreement can be purchased for use on OSU-owned equipment via the Microsoft "Select" program. To expedite the processing of your order please provide the following:
 
1) Product descriptions, complete with platform (Windows or Macintosh)
2) Microsoft manufacturer part numbers.
3) If possible, please reference the SHI Quotation Number
4) Contact Information (name, phone, email) of the person who you would like to receive the electronic SHI Order Acknowledgement and Microsoft Volume License Key (VLK) for installation*, and the electronic SHI Invoice

*To see which products require a VLK, view this link: http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/vol/default.mspx#EU

Microsoft licenses are a non-deliverable and do NOT come with CD/DVD media kit. If you need media to install the software program you are purchasing, you must order a  media kit. Your invoice from SHI will serve as your proof of purchase for your license.

Departments can purchase products under the Select program through the following Microsoft contacts. Please direct your POs as follows:

SHI
2 Riverview Drive
Somerset, NJ 08873
T: 888-591-3400    use this number for all agents.
Fax: 732-868-8999

Quotations can be obtained from:

Dan Sutton

daniel_sutton@shi.com

-or-

Anthony Ceaser

anthony_ceaser@shi.com

Stephanie Kedziora (908-541-1974)
Stephanie_Kedziora@shi.com
Account Manager

Does the Campus Agreement give me the ability to move to a new version of the operating system when it does come out?

Yes. As Microsoft releases new operating system versions, current faculty and staff can upgrade to these new versions on their OSU-owned equipment with no additional cost except for modest distribution fees for the media.

The Campus Agreement comes with Office 2007 for Windows. I want to continue to use Office 2003 for now; can I do this?

You can use a copy of any prior version of a software product in place of any software product contained in the Campus Agreement. This means you can use Office 2003 instead of Office 2007, or Windows XP instead of Windows Vista, etc. You may install and use any number of copies of Office and any prior version of Office on a licensed device on OSU-owned equipment (the departmental software) for either the Windows or Macintosh platform. For example, for Office, you may choose to run Office 2007 and Office 2003. This does not apply to the "Personal Use Software". Choosing an older version of a product may incur a nominal media copy fee.

Does the Campus Agreement mean I can omit buying Microsoft Office software when I purchase a new OSU-owned computer?

Yes. You are allowed to install the applications in the Campus Agreement on a newly purchased machine. There is an exception that applies to operating systems. Your new computer must be purchased with a full operating system license. The operating systems in the Campus Agreement are licensed as an operating system upgrade to an existing full operating system. As such they can only be installed as an upgrade to a computer with a qualifying full operating system license. Any Windows full operating system license is a qualifying license for a Windows upgrade. In addition a Macintosh Mac OS operating system is a qualifying full operating system license for a Windows upgrade license. Important note: since you must order your computer with a full operating system license on it, you can save the university money if you arrange with your department to order your computer with the least expensive operating system (Windows XP Home edition, for example) and then upgrade to Windows Vista Enterprise or Ultimate at OSU. Additionally, you save OSU money if you order your computer without Office on it. Install Office on it from the Campus Agreement media after it arrives.

What media do faculty and staff need for Work-at-Home installation of Campus Agreement software?

Faculty and staff need to purchase the "Take-Home" media for installation in their home on a user-owned home computer. This media has a unique license key for every copy of the media. This is the same media as is used for the Personal Use Program. Microsoft Select volume licensed media used for on campus installation may not be taken home by faculty and staff for home installation. Faculty and staff Take-Home media is purchased at UniPrint with a 100-W or PC card.

Will users be required to register their Personal-Use-Program media version of software to insure that the software does not stop running after 50 uses?

Yes.

If the user does not register software on Personal-Use-Program media before the 51st launch of the software, what options are there?

If the user does not register the software and enter a confirmation number by the 50th launch, the program will not start again until a confirmation number can be entered. The user does not need to purchase new media if this happens, but the registration process must be completed.

Will a user be allowed to receive more than one copy of Personal-Use-Program media in the event of media corruption, etc.?

The user can work with UniPrint for a determination in case of corruption. However, note that the manufacturer of the media treats each case based on the specific circumstances. The manufacturer will not consider a replacement for damaged media in cases where the damage was caused  by the apparent mistreatment of the product (scratches/breakage). You must keep a receipt for all products purchased from UniPrint. Microsoft's policy is that you are allowed one media set per license purchased.

What do I do if I have a licensing key for Personal-Use-Program media that is invalid?

The user can work with UniPrint again in this case. Make a photocopy of the invalid key and take it to UniPrint. If the key can be replaced by the manufacturer it will not be mailed to the user but to UniPrint. UniPrint will contact OSU's reseller and they in turn will contact the manufacturer for a key.

Can users register Personal-Use-Program media products with Microsoft in any way other than online?

Yes. By mail or by phone (1-888-652-2342). The user will then receive a confirmation number that must be entered into the program.

What about computer upgrades within the same platform? Will the Personal-Use-Program media have to be reordered?

If you upgrade to a newer computer, you will not be able to move your Windows software to it with personal-use media. Under the Microsoft Volume Licensing program, a Windows Upgrade license purchased on the Personal Use Program is tied to the original machine on which it is installed and they will not re-register your Windows key. If you are moving Office or other software purchased on the Personal Use Program you should call 800-936-5700 and when the phone answers press 0 for a customer service representative. You must have you original license key to get any help for installation or re-installation of your software. The same media can be used on the new computer after re-registration.

return to top