License Agreements

Feb. 2004: Microsoft retracts work-at-home media requirement

UW-Madison entered into a 3-year Microsoft Select Agreement on August 1, 2003. This agreement allows for Work At Home (WAH) rights for Office only. Microsoft's stance has been all along that faculty/staff would need to install using special serialized Microsoft ORW (Office Registration Wizard) media at home to use Office for WAH.

Microsoft has retracted that particular requirement for now.

Faculty and staff will now be able to use their departmental Office media for Work At Home use, assuming, as before, that they have enrolled a previous Enterprise Office license (one of the perpetual licenses from the old contract) under Software Assurance, or if they purchase a new Select Office license during the contract term.

It will still be important for departments to keep accurate records of their Work At Home software use/distribution, and ensure that their faculty/staff understand that the software is available for WAH use for the term of the contract only, and that it will need to be removed at the end of the contract term. If a faculty or staff person's employment at the UW-Madison ends, they will need to remove the software as well.

Institutions that signed a Microsoft Campus Agreement (not UW-Madison) will still be required to issue the special ORW media for their faculty/staff to use for their WAH.