Microsoft apps will shift to web-only for select accounts

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This summer marks the end of an era for some members of the University of Oregon community — the era of having Microsoft Office software installed on their computers.

Starting July 16, about 8,300 UO accounts will be able to access only the web versions of Microsoft applications. The change will affect the following UO affiliations and accounts: 

  • Campus associate 
  • Courtesy 
  • Emerit 
  • Retiree 
  • Temporary employee 
  • Role/departmental accounts 

Most people at the UO — including other UO faculty, staff and students — will be unaffected by this change.

“Everyone affected by this — from visiting researchers to contractors — has an important relationship with the university,” said Melody Riley, associate chief information officer for enterprise solutions. “We’re thankful we could provide you with the Office desktop apps for nine years, at no cost to the UO. And now that things are shifting, we’re here to ease the transition for you.”

Microsoft is globally retiring the type of free license — called “A1 Plus” — that has provided affected accounts with desktop apps since 2015. Information Services will transition affected users to the “A1” license shortly before Microsoft pulls the plug.

Everyone affected will keep their access to the online versions of the Office apps, including Outlook, Word, Excel and many others. Those apps are available through office.uoregon.edu. The web versions work for most purposes, except for certain advanced features, such as mail merge in Outlook. Unfortunately, no web versions exist for Publisher or Access.

Anyone using a UO-owned shared computer that’s properly licensed will continue to have access to the desktop apps on that device. The Teams desktop app is also available free worldwide.

“Microsoft’s technology roadmap is ‘web-first,’ so they’ve been steadily improving the web apps,” Riley said. “Eventually our desktop apps will be phased out and we’ll all use the web versions.”

Many universities already use the A1 license instead of A1 Plus.

Riley encouraged people affected by the upcoming change to try using the online Office apps now. If those work for their purposes, then no action is required.

People who need access to advanced features missing from the web versions have several options, such as using a shared computer that’s properly licensed or buying individual upgraded licenses through Information Services. A limited number of such individual upgrades will be offered because they require extensive coordination and processing by multiple UO teams each year.

For retirees or others wanting Microsoft desktop software for personal use only, their UO affiliation qualifies them for a 30 percent discount on personal subscriptions. 

Details are available in an FAQ in the UO Service Portal. 

“UO IT staff are ready to field your questions about this,” said Gary Sullivan, senior director of user support services. “Please don’t hesitate to contact us for help.” 

For tech support, people can submit a ticket at Microsoft Office 365 Support Request, contact the IT staff who support their unit, or contact the Technology Service Desk.

—By Nancy Novitski, University Communications