Microsoft helping Canadian students save up to $200M with free Office software

Canadian students from Kindergarten to Post-secondary are now empowered to do more

TORONTO, March 16, 2015 /CNW/ - Microsoft Canada today announced that over 4 million Canadian students and their families – from Victoria to St. John's are eligible to access Office at no cost from their schools through their Office for Students program.

With Office for Students, Microsoft will help Canadian students and their families save up to $200 million, providing an unparalleled degree of access to the tools that Canadians students need to succeed, both at learning and as they prepare to enter the workforce.

A recent IDC study, Skill Requirements for Tomorrow's Best Jobs, concluded that proficiency in the use of Office is seen as a fundamental skill by top-grossing, high-growth employers making Microsoft's commitment all the more meaningful. 

"We know that students who are proficient in Microsoft Office have a leg-up when entering the job-market," said Marc Seaman, VP of Education at Microsoft Canada. "Our goal, with this offer, is to provide students with the tried and tested tools they need to help be successful today and in the future."

Any student enrolled in a district school board or individual school which has purchased Microsoft Office for use by its faculty and staff can now log on and can download the full Office functionality across PCs and Macs, iPads, Android tablet, iPhones, and Android phones – at no cost for use at home and in the classroom. Parents and students can check their eligibility and download Office today by visiting Microsoft.ca/freeoffice.

"Microsoft recognizes that in today's environment, barriers – whether they are technical or financial – that separate students from such tools must be overcome," says Seaman. "By making Office for Students free of charge, we are removing that barrier and freeing students to choose the technology platform they want, based solely on preference."

With the goal of arming their students with the Office advantage, several schools are already offering their students Office at no cost. One school district that made Office available to their students is Louis Riel School Division. Officials at this Manitoba board have noted that Office is changing the way their 10,000 students engage with technology.

"Hands down, Microsoft's OneNote is probably one of the best programs for education," said Clarke Hagan, Director of Information Systems at Louis Riel School Division.  "It's a real game changer for our classrooms, the software allows real time and non-real time collaboration that can actually be used to customize the instruction and provide for better learning."

Another such school board is School District No. 42 in Maple Ridge, British Columbia - where they use Office to level the playing field for all students.  "We have such a broad base of students from different socio-economic backgrounds," David Vandergugten, Director of Education with School District No. 42.  "The Office for Students program provides true equality of technology and of program delivery for every student."

"We congratulate those schools and boards who have joined with us on this initiative," said Seaman. "It builds on the longstanding commitment of Microsoft's partnership with educators to help students in and outside of the classroom to realize their full potential with the benefit of the very best tools and technology."

The Office for Students package that Microsoft provides to Students and Educators includes the latest version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access, Publisher, 1TB of storage on OneDrive as well as Office Online for in-browser editing.

Students and parents may check their eligibility or encourage their school to opt-in at microsoft.ca/freeoffice or microsoft.ca/officegratuit.

About Microsoft Canada
Established in 1985, Microsoft Canada Inc. is the Canadian subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ "MSFT") the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. Microsoft Canada provides nationwide sales, marketing, consulting and local support services in both French and English. Headquartered in Mississauga, Microsoft Canada has nine regional offices across the country dedicated to empowering people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. For more information on Microsoft Canada, please visit www.microsoft.ca.

SOURCE Microsoft Canada Inc.