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Microsoft 365 Accounts for Students

June 2, 2022

On Tuesday, May 31st, ITS will begin creating Microsoft 365 accounts for all current students.  After May 31st, student accounts will be auto-provisioned when their affiliation switches from ‘future’ to ‘current’.  This occurs at different times depending on when a student is admitted (in addition to other variables), but for the majority of fall registrants this occurs at the beginning of July.  When the account is created, ITS will send the attached email message to the newly created Microsoft email account as well as the email address the university has on file.

 

On day one, students will now be able to utilize the suite of applications available in the Microsoft 365 environment. Providing access to applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Exchange Online, Teams, and OneDrive will give students the tools to succeed in their academic careers.  Student email addresses will be formatted as EID@my.utexas.edu.  These accounts and email addresses will not be required for students to use.

 

Over the past academic year, ITS has worked with several CSUs to pilot this process, with great success!  We’d like to thank Cockrell School of Engineering, School of Information, McCombs School of Business, College of Natural Sciences, Moody College of Communication, School of Law, and College of Fine Arts.  Your partnerships are much appreciated.

The University of Texas at Austin is excited to offer students a Microsoft 365 account. Currently, students are required to manually create an account using the Microsoft Web Portal to take advantage of these accounts and the suite of applications available in the Microsoft environment. To reduce this barrier to entry and provide access to Microsoft tools on day one, this project will allocate a Microsoft 365 account to all students before class instruction begins (by August 1st, 2022). Providing access to applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Exchange Online, Teams, and OneDrive will give students the tools needed to succeed in their academic careers at the university. 

Learn more about your Microsoft 365 account

Some of the benefits of Microsoft 365 for students include:  

  • Enhanced faculty/student and student/student collaboration: Most faculty are already using Microsoft 365 in some capacity and some have begun integrating these tools into their teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Students can also experience the positive impact that enhanced collaboration can have on student group work and official student organization work. 

  • Canvas/Teams integration:  Canvas and Microsoft have announced a partnership to develop an enhanced integration between the two platforms.  By onboarding students to Microsoft 365 and Teams now, students will have a more streamlined experience as these two platforms come together.  

  • Marketable skills: The ability to use the full power of Microsoft 365 alongside the Microsoft Office suite (the default productivity suite for most public and private sector employers) will help better prepare students for the technology skills required in the workforce.  

  • No Additional Cost Access to Microsoft 365: By claiming your Microsoft 365 account, students can access all of the Microsoft tools for no additional cost. This includes the online versions of these tools so students can log in and access their tools and files from any device.  

Goals

The primary success criteria for auto-provisioning student Microsoft 365 accounts will be:

  1. Successfully provision Microsoft 365 accounts for Engineering students in the Fall of 2021 

  1. Provide a management platform giving students the ability to identify and edit their Microsoft 365 accounts

  1. Establish policies and workflows including but not limited to account creation, decommission, and information barriers

  1. Develop an online resource hub for stakeholders to educate them on the service

  1. Create a recognized brand for Microsoft 365 accounts making it easy to identify

  1. Extend Pilot of Microsoft 365 accounts to additional colleges in Spring of 2022 

  1. Successfully provision Microsoft 365 accounts to all students during New Student Orientation for Fall of 2022

Timeline

The pilot begins with Cockrell School of Engineering in Fall 2021 and expands to other colleges and units through Spring of 2022. Launching campus-wide during New Student Orientation for Fall of 2022.


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