Microsoft Office... for free?
I heard that, since I belong to UCR, I get free access to many of the Microsoft Office programs.
I like free -- How do I get this?
Answer
Well... kind of...?
As of August 1, 2024, Microsoft Office programs that you can download onto your computer will no longer be offered by UCR.
Instead, going forward, UC Riverside will provide students, faculty, and staff with a complimentary Office 365 A1, cloud-based license for their learning, teaching, and work needs. The A1 license does offer core features like email, document collaboration, and online storage; it also provides access to Office 365 applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) via office.com. However, as mentioned above, it does not include access to the desktop version of Office 365 applications.
Please note that while this is the Office suite of programs you are familiar with on the desktop version, the cloud-based offering UCR will now provide does not offer some of the functionality that lots of desktop Office fans love, like keyboard shortcuts. In addition, some of the functions that you can do on the desktop versions do not carry over in the cloud-based version.