Microsoft Enrollment for Education Solutions
UW-Madison's Microsoft Enrollment for Education Solutions (EES) extends through 10/31/2025. The EES licenses:
- the latest versions of Microsoft Office and Windows on departmentally-owned computers through 10/31/2025.
- Core Client Access Licenses (Core CALs) for faculty, staff, and students. Those Core Client Access Licences include:
- Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for all UW-owned machines.
The EES is a lease for the term of the agreement. UW-Madison does not acquire any permanent software licenses as a result of the contract. When the EES ends on 10/31/2025, we expect to renew it. If we do not renew it, any installations of Office or Windows licensed under its terms will need to be removed. The UW-Madison has permanent license to Windows XP, Office XP (win), and Office v.X (mac) as a result of the terms of our exit from the Microsoft custom Enterprise Agreement that ended in 2003.
Under the EES, we have the right to install and use any version of Office for Macintosh or Windows. Installers for both platforms are available to IT Staff on the Campus Software Library (for UW-owned computers only) and through Microsoft 365 (for UW- or personally-owned computers).
The EES also gives us the right to upgrade any UW-owned computer to any version of the Windows operating system, and includes the Windows 10/11 Enterprise, Education, Pro, and Pro for Workstations editions. Installation media for Windows is available from the Campus Software Library. Please contact your IT staff before upgrading your operating system.
The operating system license we have under the UW-Madison's EES is an upgrade license. Any computer you upgrade must already have a full license for one of the qualifying operating systems. Full Windows desktop licenses are not available through any Microsoft volume licensing program. Microsoft is committed to providing full versions of its operating system in only two ways: when purchased from an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) with a new computer; and as Full Package Product (FPP or shrinkwrap).
Microsoft software not covered under the EES includes most Microsoft servers, such as Exchange, SQL, Windows Server, Windows Remote Desktop CALs, Sharepoint, and the components of System Center not mentioned above. Microsoft software not covered under the EES is available for purchase from the Software Order Form under our Microsoft Select agreement. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, please send an email to licensing@doit.wisc.edu.
Personal Use
Faculty, staff, and students can install Office on up to 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets (Windows, iPad, and Android), and 5 phones, any or all of which can be personally-owned. All installations on devices owned by faculty, staff, and students must be done through the Microsoft 365 portal, and cannot use the Office installers from the CSL.
The Windows operating system is not available through the EES for installation on computers owned by faculty and staff.
Windows 10 Education is available for no charge to students for installation on personally-owned computers, and can be downloaded after going to the Microsoft for Personally-owned Computers page on the Campus Software Library. They can then upgrade to Windows 11 if they want to.
Please send any questions you have to licensing@doit.wisc.edu.
FAQ
Q: Under our EES agreement with Microsoft, is Windows Server covered? If so, which Server versions are available for departmental use? Finally, do the Core CALs cover accessing a Windows Remote Desktop Services Server?
A: Windows Server licenses are not included under the EES. All Microsoft servers can be purchased from the Software Order Form under the Microsoft Select program.
If you can't find what you're looking for in the catalog, please email licensing@doit.wisc.edu.
The Core CAL to which we have rights as part of the EES does not include Terminal Server or Remote Desktop CALs.
Q: At the beginning at the document it says we can install products including windows on all department owned desktops.
Later it says -
Initial or full Windows desktop licenses are not available through any Microsoft volume licensing program
So if I have a computer with no windows OS to start with, do we need to purchase through other means? This is usually coming up for people that are getting new Macintosh computers and installing Parallels software.
A: Under the terms of our Microsoft EES, you can run Windows on a UW-Madison-owned Macintosh running Parallels.
Windows PCs do need to already be associated with one of the qualifying Windows operating system licenses before they can upgrade to the current Windows operating system under the EES.
Q: Is home use of Microsoft software covered under the EES?
A: In most cases, UW-Madison faculty, staff, and students can download and install Office on up to five of their personally-owned devices through Microsoft 365. Facstaff do not receive a Windows license for their personal computers.
Q: Does the EES include license to the full version of the Windows OS?
A: No, our EES covers Windows Operating System upgrades only. Initial or full Windows desktop licenses are not available through any Microsoft volume licensing program. Microsoft is committed to providing full versions of its operating system in only two ways: when purchased from an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) with a new computer; and as Full Package Product (shrinkwrap).
Q: What's the end date of the EES?
A: October 31, 2025
Q: Can faculty/staff use departmental Office media for work at home purposes?
A: No, Office cannot be installed on personal computers using departmental installation media (such as that available from the Campus Software Library). In most cases, UW-Madison faculty, staff, and students can download and install Office on up to five of their personally-owned devices through Microsoft 365.
Q: I built a computer to replace my Dell, which came with a Windows license. I'm about to retire the Dell and send it to SWAP — can I transfer the Windows OS license from it to the computer I built?
A: No. Windows desktop OS licenses purchased with a computer from an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) such as Dell cannot be transferred between computers.
1. Since System Center 2012R2 only requires licenses for the clients being managed (and none for the servers doing the managing), you do not need any additional licenses to manage non-server clients with System Center Configuration Manager, System Center Virtual Machine Manager, or System Center Endpoint Protection. Please email licensing@doit.wisc.edu for more information. back