FAQ about the Microsoft Campus Agreement |
A. General License Information
A.1. What is the Campus Agreement?
The Microsoft Campus Agreement is a license agreement that allows Richard Bland College to use Microsoft applications such as Office on all college-owned computers without paying a separate license fee for each computer. Products covered include Office Professional (including Publisher and Outlook). The campus agreement also covers Microsoft operating systems. That is, computers purchased with at least Windows 95 can be upgraded or downgraded to any of Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, or XP. This license also allows faculty and staff to install a copy of any of the covered software products for use for school-related activities on a home use computer.
A.2 When does the license expire?
The current license expires on October 31, 2008. At that time Richard Bland College must either renew the license or remove any software installed under the terms of this license from college-owned computers. Faculty/staff who have taken the software home for use on their personal computers must also remove the software from their computers if they installed the software under the terms of this license and the license is not renewed.
A.3 Will Richard Bland College renew the license?
Our current plans are to renew the license each year. This is our eighth year under the agreement.
A.4 Can I install the software on my home computer?
Faculty and Staff who are primary users of an RBC computer may install any of the products licensed by Richard Bland College (MS Office) on a home machine for work-related purposes. Users are not licensed to use the software at home for personal purposes.
NOTE: Work-study students and other student employees do not classify as faculty/staff, under the terms established by Microsoft.
A.5 Can students install the software on their computers?
Richard Bland College did not purchase the option to allow students to install the software, thus the license does not allow students to install the software on their personal computers.
B. Using the software on Richard Bland College computers
B.1 How do I get the software installed on my office computer?
ITS installs an appropriate MS operating system (version of Windows) and the latest version of MS Office Professional on all new PCs purchased. Currently we are setting up new PCs (or older PCs which are rebuilt) with Windows XP and Office 2003. Older PCs may have Windows 2000 and MS Office 2000 Professional. If you feel you need to upgrade to a later version of the software, please contact ITS support staff. We will review your hardware configuration and advise whether the upgrade is appropriate. If you need Publisher or Front Page, contact your usual ITS academic or administrative support person.
B.2 When will Microsoft Office 2003 be installed on my office computer?
ITS will not automatically upgrade existing computers.
B.3. What versions of Microsoft Office are currently supported?
Microsoft currently supports Office XP and Office 2003.
C. Using the software at home on a personal computer or laptop
C.1 Who can use the software at home?
Full time Staff, Permanent Part-Time (1500-Hour) staff, Full Time Faculty, and Adjunct Faculty
NOTE: Faculty and staff are required to remove this software from their computer when they terminate employment at the College, or if the College chooses not to renew the campus agreement by October 31, 2008 or annually thereafter.
C.2 What software is available for use at home?
MS Office 2007 Professional (usually in stock)
MS Office 2003 Professional (usually in stock)
MS Office (Macintosh) (would need to be ordered)
C.3 What support is provided for home users?
Richard Bland College Information Technology staff will NOT provide support for the installation and use of these products on personal computers. RBC is not responsible for any problems with your computer after you install any Microsoft products.
C.4 How can I get the software?
In order for faculty and staff to use these applications on their home computers, send a request for the media to IT Services. ITS is now required to issue a work-at-home disk (CD) to the qualified user, which the user will keep until the software is uninstalled. There is a simple form which you will be given to sign, accepting the terms and conditions set by MS for the use of this software. For faculty and staff with older PCs that cannot run the latest versions of the software for which disks are not available, please contact ITS to see if there are older versions available that can legally be loaned to you for installation under the same terms. This option will be very limited.
C.5 How do I get the work-at-home disk?
ITS has purchased a limited number of Work-at-home disks which will be issued to you, upon signing the MS Work at Home Agreement. We currently stock Office Professional 2003 and 2007. Other titles may have to be ordered.
C.6 I want to use Office at home for personal needs as well as professional. What is the cheapest way to obtain a license?
For personal use, Faculty/Staff are eligible to purchase the Academic Edition Full Packaged Product, which costs much less than retail software. Visit the Microsoft Web site for information about academic pricing or contact the RBC Bookstore or your favorite educational software retailer. http://www.microsoft.com/Education/AcademicDiscounts.aspx
D. General Office Questions
D.1 What are the new features of Office 2003?
To find out whether the new features of Office 2003 are important to you, visit the Microsoft web site. Note that you can still add products, such as Publisher and FrontPage to your desktop without upgrading to the latest version of Office.
D.2 Are files compatible between Office 2003 and earlier versions of Office?
Word, Excel, and Power Point files are the same in Office 2003, XP, 2000 and Office 97. Documents can easily be transferred between versions with no special save or translation necessary. Access 2003, XP and 2000 databases do require Access 2003, 2000 or XP for proper operation. If you develop an Access database in Office 2000 (or later), you will be unable to access it with Access 97. Once you convert an Access 97 database to Access 2000 (or later), you will be unable to use Office 97 to access it.
D.3 What are the hardware requirements to run Office XP?
The table below show Microsoft's minimum and recommended configuration for each package. Successful and satisfied use, however, generally requires CPU speeds and RAM (memory) greater than the minimum.
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D.4 What programs are included in Office 2003 Professional?
Word, Excel, Power Point, Access, Publisher and Outlook.
Revised: 05/03/2008