Dear NMC Students,
If you have previously downloaded the Microsoft Office suite to your personal computer, you may have encountered a message similar to the following:
This message results from recent changes implemented by Microsoft regarding licensing provision for educational institutions. Without delving into technical details, these changes have affected our ability to provide direct access to the downloaded applications for students. Going forward, Microsoft now limits student access to the Office applications through office.com.
While most of you are utilizing the Google suite of applications, there remains a significant number of users relying on the Microsoft download applications. We recommend transitioning to Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides as alternatives to Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. A key benefit of the Google suite is its ability to transfer files from Word, Excel, or PowerPoint to Google Drive, where they can be opened with the appropriate Google applications, saved in the original format, and downloaded as needed.
In certain cases, there may be a necessity to use the Microsoft Office applications locally. We are currently awaiting assistance from a Microsoft licensing specialist to determine the appropriate number of licenses required for these rare instances where using the desktop versions of Word or Excel is essential for coursework.
David Hosler
Director of Systems & LAN Management
Northwestern Michigan College