Office 365 Licensing

Periodic License Renewal

CWRU periodically renews our Microsoft contract. As a result, people using the desktop versions of Office products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) may need to refresh their license for Microsoft 365. To do this, individuals will need to go to portal.office.com and sign in using their CWRU email address (i.e. abc123@case.edu) and passphrase. Then within a couple of hours, the new Office License will take effect and they will be able to continue to use the desktop applications.

All faculty, staff and students have access to the web-based version of Microsoft 365 available at portal.office.com. This can be used until the desktop version is available.

Users who are off campus may need to sign into the VPN before opening Microsoft Office 365 products from their desktop. University computers that are not routinely on the CWRU network need to "check in" via VPN every few months to verify access to the Microsoft Office apps. For more information about the VPN, visit case.edu/utech/help/forticlient-vpn.

Users whose primary affiliation is with a hospital

Microsoft does not permit CWRU to provide the desktop versions of Office (i.e. “A5” licenses) to individuals whose primary affiliation is with a hospital, i.e. individuals who are paid by a hospital rather than CWRU. Microsoft stipulates that faculty or staff who are employed by a hospital should receive their Office license from that institution. Staff or faculty whose primary affiliation is with a hospital, but collaborate with CWRU employees or do work for CWRU on a secondary basis, have the options below for using Microsoft Office.

1. Use Microsoft Office provided by the employing hospital. UTech can allow CWRU staff, faculty, and students to collaborate with Microsoft users from other institutions. Contact the UTech Service Desk to inquire about options and ask for assistance.
2. Use the online only version of Microsoft Office provided to individuals who have a secondary affiliation with CWRU. Individuals who are not employed by CWRU but have an affiliate account with the university have access to https://portal.office.com, which has online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. When using office.com with a CWRU email address and passphrase, you have full access to collaborate with other members of the CWRU community.
3. Use a virtual Windows computer with Office at https://myapps.case.edu. The MyApps website allows individuals with CWRU accounts to log into virtual PCs and use the client versions of Office via lab/classroom licensing. After logging in, click on the “Desktop” tab and click on “CWRU Desktop”.
4. Use the streamed Office applications at https://myapps.case.edu. The MyApps website allows individuals with CWRU accounts to open streamed versions of the standard office Clients. After logging in, click on the “Apps” tab and search for the Office application you would like to use.
5. If available, use a computer provided by the sponsoring department at CWRU. Some departments have physical computers for shared use that have a special lab/classroom version of Office installed on them. Inquire if the department you collaborate with has this option.