Trent students are enjoying a major technological advantage, now that the University has made Microsoft Office available, for free, to all registered students.

Provided under the University's Microsoft Office 365 Education plan, the Microsoft Student Advantage Program allows all students to download and install Office 365 ProPlus (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more) on up to five devices.

“We wanted to give our students the best advantage – equipping them with the latest collaborative tools and providing them with an important break financially at the same time,” said Tariq Al-idrissi, associate vice president of Information Technology at Trent. “Our hope is that having this suite of programs available to all students will allow them to be more productive and will better equip them to achieve their academic goals.”

Speaking about the benefits of the new program, Braden Freer, president of the Trent Central Student Association (TCSA) said: “With students having free access to the suite of software, another barrier has been removed, giving more students access to higher education. With the costs of textbooks growing, and students having a harder time finding employment, every bit of savings that we can come by is important. Having access to Office 365 ProPlus also ensures that students have the proper equipment to complete their work at their own pace and timing rather than rely on the often packed computer labs.”

The Office 365 ProPlus is made available for multiple platforms, including Windows and Mac. It is also available for multiple mobile platforms, including iPhone, iPad, Android, and Windows Phone. For more information on installation, eligibility, software availability on different platforms, minimum system requirements, and benefits, visit: http://www.trentu.ca/it/o365proplus.php.