Microsoft Campus Agreement Purchasing Questions
How will we get products? When can we get products? Where can we get products?
Each UT System institution campus is responsible for handling product distribution to students. Contact your computing services division on your campus.
Departments may use the same on-campus method or order media directly from the Large Account Reseller under the Microsoft Select Program.
Are non-English versions of covered products available?
Departmental Use (for use on University-owned computers)
The Microsoft Campus Agreement (MSCA) includes licensing for Windows Operating System (OS) Upgrades in English/Multilanguage, so departments can purchase installation media for native versions from Dell under the Microsoft Select Agreement (Windows OS Upgrade English CD, Windows OS Upgrade Hebrew CD, Windows OS Upgrade Chinese (Simplified) CD, etc.)
While we are licensed to use these products, installation media is subject to availability. Departments can contact the Dell Account Representative for their campus for pricing and availability of international versions (Select price list likely just has English). For more information on purchasing from Dell under Select, please see our Select page.
Student and Faculty/Staff work-at-home (for use on personally-owned computers)
While the Microsoft Campus Agreement (MSCA) includes licensing for the English/Multilanguage version of Windows OS Upgrade, the foreign language media is typically not available for purchase through Microsoft Student Fulfillment. The version of Windows OS Upgrade that is available runs natively in English, but does have support for a fixed set of foreign languages (fixed by Microsoft). Additional support can be found online.
For more information on international resources for Microsoft products, please see Microsoft's Dr. International Web site.
Do departments have to purchase an individual copy of the media for each machine?
No. Departments may purchase one copy of the media (either from their local media distribution point on campus or from our Large Account Reseller and use that single copy of the media to install software onto multiple university-owned machines.
Do departments have to purchase individual Client Access Licenses (CALs) for 2000/2003 Server, SQL Server or Exchange Enterprise Licenses?
Server products purchased between 9/1/1998 and 8/31/2002 that are covered under BackOffice CAL (products listed below) are permanently licensed for the necessary number of CALs for the version of the server that was licensed as of 8/31/02.
Server products purchased after 9/1/02 receive the necessary number of CALs only if:
- They were covered under the BackOffice CAL and version is less than or equal to the version licensed under the BackOffice CAL as of 8/31/2002. These CALs will be permanently licensed.
- or - - They are in the list of Core CAL server products (products listed below). These CALs are not permanent and expire at the end of the Campus Agreement (August 31, 2008).
Departments will be required to purchase client licensing (CALs, per-processor, or External Connector) for new or upgraded servers that do not meet any of the conditions above (for example SQL Server version greater than 2000).
BackOffice CAL (through 8/31/2002)
- Windows Server 2000
- Exchange Server 2000
- Systems Management Server 2.0
- SQL Server 2000 1
- ISA Server 2000
- Host Integration Server 2000 (HIS)
Core CAL (beginning 9/1/2002)
- Windows Server
- Exchange Server
- Systems Management Server
- SharePoint(TM) Portal Server
- Live Communications Server (version 2003 only) 2
1 See SQL Server CAL Note below
2 Live Communications Server (aka Real-Time Communications Server) 2003 Device CAL licensing is not actually part of the Core CAL but is covered under the MSCA under a separate promotion. These CALs are permanent for version 2003 only; new CALs will need to be purchased under the Select Agreement for any subsequent releases of LCS. Refer to Do I need to purchase client licenses for more information.
Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server CALs
In addition to the the Microsoft Core CAL, Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server CALs are also fully covered under the MSCA as part of the Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services Transition Plan. With previous versions of Windows Server, the TS CAL was included as part of the Windows Server CAL. However, this changed with Windows Server 2003. Please see our Windows Server 2003 Frequently Asked Questions for more information.
SQL Server CAL Note
Under the Microsoft Campus Enterprise Agreement (MSCEA) which expired August 2002, the UT System is fully covered for SQL Server Client Access Licenses (CALs) through version 2000 of SQL Server. There is currently no coverage in place for subsequent versions of SQL Server.
When departments purchase the next version of SQL Server, they may have to purchase either individual SQL CALs or per-processor licensing for SQL Server. While per-processor licensing is substantially more expensive, ITS is recommending this route to avoid the need to purchase, maintain, and track CALs.
Does this contract mean we can omit buying Operating Systems for new hardware the university buys (or we as individuals buy) in the future?
No. Microsoft’s licensing of its desktop operating systems is such that you must still acquire a fully licensed copy of Windows when you buy a new computer. Essentially, you can not omit the OS from any machine you purchase, nor receive credit from Microsoft or its distributors as a result of the MSCA. You can, however, upgrade any copy of an older OS under the new MSCA.
This rule does not hold true, however, for the applications covered by the MSCA.
Does this contract mean we can omit buying the Applications (Office Suite) for new hardware the university buys (or we as individuals buy) in the future?
Yes. There is no requirement that you have a previous version of any of the applications covered under the MSCA on your machine before installing the current MSCA application versions. So, you should now be especially careful of hardware vendors who sell ‘software packages’ that include any of the applications covered by the MSCA at a "reduced price" along with a new computer purchase. When negotiating a purchase, be sure to tell them to omit the MSCA covered applications and lower the price accordingly, since you can get software under the MSCA at no additional charge. This is true for both institutional and personal purchases.
