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License Agreements

UPDATE: Oct. 2003 - Work at home rights change for faculty and staff

Work at Home Rights

The UW-System Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (aka WISC) expired July 31, 2003, and UW-Madison has negotiated a new licensing contract. That new contract may affect your use of Microsoft products. If you have installed a WISC Departmental copies of Microsoft Office on your home computer, please read this important notice.

University Computer

UW-Madison Departments will continue to own perpetual licenses for all versions of Windows up to XP, and Office up to XP for Windows and X for Mac. Faculty and staff who are using a copy that was purchased by their department can continue to use that software indefinitely on their departmentally-owned machines.

Personal Computer

Work-at-home rights for that software expires on October 24th, 2003 for faculty and staff who installed one of the WISC departmental copies of Microsoft Office on their personally-owned computer. They have two options:

  1. If your department purchases Software Assurance for Office for your University-owned system, you are entitled to continue to use Office on your personally-owned home system for work-related purposes only.
  2. If your department does not purchase Software Assurance for Office for your University-owned system, you must remove Office from your personally-owned home systems.

Software Options

If you desire to continue to run an office-type suite and are not covered by Software Assurance for your home systems, some options for Windows computers include:

  • Purchase Microsoft Office software. Office XP Standard version is available now for $140 at the DoIT Tech Store. A new version of Office, Office 2003, is expected to be released sometime in late October, we expect pricing to be similar. If you purchase Office XP now, Microsoft will offer upgrades from Office XP Standard to Office 2003 Standard for $12.95 plus applicable sales tax for purchases made through November. If you desire to purchase the latest version of MS Office, your best strategy may be to choose to wait to purchase until Office 2003 is released.
  • Use StarOffice or OpenOffice. StarOffice is available as a free download (requires high-speed connection ) from the Tech Store. StarOffice CDs are also available for $12 at the TechStore.
  • Purchase Microsoft Works Suite 2004. This is the least expensive way to get MS Word. Works Suite includes MS Word, MS Works, MS Money, MS Encarta, MS Streets and Trips, and MS Picture IT!, and is available at the DoIT Tech Store for $98 (that's before a $15 rebate available through December 31, 2004).
  • Purchase Corel WordPerfect Office 11 Education Edition. This edition includes WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, Presentations and Paradox and is available for $98 now at the DoIT Tech Store.

This list is not meant to be comprehensive. Your department's IT staff may have other options for you as well. The non-Microsoft titles should be suitable replacements for MS Office, but may not be 100% compatible with all MS Office products.

We have been coordinating information and efforts on the licensing changes through the primary IT staff in your department. Please check with your IT staff to see if you are allowed to continue to use your existing copy of MS Office on your home system or if you should pursue another option.

If you have questions about your options, please contact the DoIT Tech Store Showroom at 265-7469, email showroom@doit.wisc.edu or come into the Tech Store Showroom at 1210 W. Dayton St (open 7:45am - 5pm Monday - Friday).