Free Office 365 For Columbia University Students: How?

Columbia University students can download Microsoft Office 365 on their personal computers, but eligibility is limited to university officers, support staff, faculty, and specific graduate/professional students at CUIMC and CBS. If you are eligible, you can check your eligibility on the Software Downloads page. If you are not eligible, you will be redirected to a page with additional information. Alumni are also no longer eligible for free Microsoft 365 accounts.

Columbia University students can download Office 365 for free on their personal devices

Columbia University students are able to download Office 365 for free on their personal devices. This is a great resource for students, who can utilise the various applications within the Microsoft suite to aid their studies.

To download Office 365, students must first check their eligibility on the Software Downloads page. Eligibility to download Microsoft Office on Columbia-owned devices is generally limited to University officers, support staff, faculty, and specific graduate/professional students at CUIMC and CBS. Active full-time staff, students, and faculty are entitled to download and install the software on their personal devices.

Once students have confirmed their eligibility, they can follow the steps below to download Office 365:

• Download the installer (this requires a UNI login).
• Save the installer to your hard drive and make a note of where you saved it.
• Start the installation. If you are on a secure Columbia wifi network or connected via Columbia VPN, you may be able to skip the next step.
• Open the .zip file and double-click setup.exe to run it. Read and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
• Activate your Office download by following the steps on the Windows/Office Activation page.

It is important to note that Microsoft 365 at Columbia does not include cloud/web applications or Online Storage. Once students graduate or become inactive, they will no longer have access to the software. Alumni who have no other affiliation with the University are also no longer eligible for free Microsoft 365 accounts.

If students encounter any issues during the download and installation process, they can refer to the relevant IT support team at Columbia University for assistance.

Eligibility is limited to specific graduate/professional students

Eligibility to download Microsoft Office on Columbia-owned devices is generally limited to specific graduate/professional students at CUIMC and CBS, in addition to university officers, support staff, and faculty. If you are looking to install Microsoft Office on your personal device, you must check your eligibility on the Software Downloads page.

If you are not eligible, you will be unable to download the installer and will be redirected to a page with additional information. For more details, you can visit the Microsoft Campus Agreement information page.

Active full-time staff, students, and faculty are entitled to download and install Microsoft 365 Applications on their computers. However, Microsoft 365 at Columbia does not offer cloud/web applications or Online Storage. Access to Microsoft 365 will be revoked once students graduate or become inactive. Alumni who have no other affiliation with the university are also no longer eligible for free Microsoft 365 accounts.

If you signed up for Microsoft 365 directly with Microsoft, you will need to contact Microsoft for any password issues. However, if Microsoft 365 was provided by your school or department, you must contact your school or departmental IT support. For assistance with the software after installation on a home computer, you can seek support from a third-party service provider in your local area.

Alumni are not eligible for free Microsoft 365 accounts

Columbia University offers Microsoft Office 365 to its students, staff, and faculty. However, it is important to note that alumni are not eligible for free Microsoft 365 accounts. This means that once a student graduates or becomes inactive, they will lose access to the free Microsoft 365 Applications provided by the university.

The availability of Microsoft Office 365 for alumni may vary depending on their affiliation with the university. For instance, at Columbia University, if alumni have no other ongoing affiliation with the institution, they will not be able to retain or access the free Microsoft 365 account provided during their time as a student. This is a standard policy to ensure that only currently affiliated individuals have access to the university's resources and tools.

It is worth mentioning that some universities may have different agreements or partnerships with Microsoft, which could extend certain benefits to alumni. However, in the case of Columbia University, the standard practice of revoking access to Microsoft 365 for alumni applies. This is likely due to licensing restrictions and the university's specific agreement with Microsoft.

Alumni who previously utilised the free Microsoft 365 account provided by Columbia University should ensure they have alternative arrangements in place for their software needs. This may include purchasing a personal license for Microsoft Office or exploring alternative software options that are available at no cost.

It is always recommended to review the specific terms and conditions provided by your educational institution regarding access to software and resources, as these may change over time. Additionally, staying informed about any partnerships or benefits offered by your alma mater can help you take advantage of any available discounts or promotions that may be extended to alumni.

Columbia University students can access technical support for Office 365 via phone or email

For comparison, Columbia College Chicago provides technical support for students using Office 365 via phone (312-369-7001) or email (technologysupport@colum.edu). Similarly, Lower Columbia College provides technical support for Office 365 via phone ((360) 442-2520) or email (eLearning@lowercolumbia.edu).

Assuming that Columbia University, New York, provides a similar level of support to its students, it can be inferred that students can access technical support for Office 365 via phone or email. The specific contact details for technical support are not provided on the Columbia University website and may be handled by individual departments or third-party providers.

It is important to note that the availability and accessibility of technical support may vary depending on the specific agreement between Columbia University and Microsoft. The university provides its active full-time staff, students, and faculty with the ability to download and install Microsoft 365 Applications on their computers. However, once individuals are no longer affiliated with the university, they lose access to these applications and are no longer eligible for free Microsoft 365 accounts.

Office 365 includes applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Office 365 is a subscription service that offers Microsoft's well-known productivity applications. It includes Word, a full-featured word processing program; Excel, a spreadsheet program with calculation tools, graphics capabilities, pivot tables, and macro programming language support; and PowerPoint, a presentation program. These applications are available for Windows and macOS operating systems.

In addition to the aforementioned applications, Office 365 also includes Microsoft OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access, and Skype for Business. OneNote is a free-form note-taking program, Outlook is an email program, and Publisher is a desktop publishing program. Access is a database management solution, and Skype for Business is an instant messaging and unified communications application.

Office 365 provides users with robust desktop applications and online versions of Microsoft 365, file storage, and email. It offers both personal and business plans, with the ability to install the applications on multiple devices, such as PCs, Macs, tablets, and phones. Users can also take advantage of extra cloud storage and cloud-connected features that enable real-time collaboration on files.

Columbia University offers Microsoft Office 365 to active full-time staff, students, and faculty. However, it is important to note that the Columbia University Microsoft 365 package does not include cloud/web applications or online storage. Once a student graduates or becomes inactive, they will no longer have access to the software. Alumni who have no other affiliation with the university are also not eligible for free Microsoft 365 accounts through the university.

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