Abstract:
Microsoft recently announced adjustments to Microsoft 365 Education products. Microsoft plans to discontinue Microsoft Office 365 A1 subscriptions, student usage rights, and free Microsoft Exchange Online alumni mailboxes. The existing 100TB of free basic shared storage for educational institutions will also be eliminated, with capacity calculated primarily based on the number of paid faculty and student licenses.
These changes will gradually take effect from January 1, 2028 when a school first renews or extends its contract. During the existing agreement period, schools can continue to use the current authorization and rights, so the actual switching time of different schools depends on their respective contractual arrangements.
Free A1 and student use rights will be exited:
Microsoft Office 365 A1 is Microsoft's free product for educational institutions. Schools can use this product to provide Microsoft Office web applications, email and collaboration services to eligible teachers and students. Student use rights allow schools that meet the authorization conditions to obtain student use rights based on licenses purchased by faculty and staff.
According to the schedule announced by Microsoft:
Starting May 1, 2027: Office 365 A1 will no longer be sold through partner channels such as CSP and volume licensing
Effective January 1, 2028: A1, student usage rights and free alumni mailboxes will be suspended
Renew or extend the contract: the relevant old license agreement needs to be converted to the new eligible education version subscription
The 100TB free basic storage is also cancelled, and the capacity is calculated based on a paid license:
Currently, educational institutions typically have a 100TB base shared storage pool for use by services such as Microsoft OneDrive, SharePoint, and Exchange, and some paid licenses will add more capacity to the school's storage pool.
According to the new plan, the 100TB basic storage quota will be canceled when the school first renews or extends the contract on or after January 1, 2028. The storage capacity available to the school is calculated based on the number of paid staff and student licenses. The more paid the number, the greater the storage space available.
Subscription types, paid student licenses, and faculty and staff licenses contribute the following capacity:
Microsoft 365 A2 Subscription: 4GB per student license, 50GB per faculty license
Microsoft 365 A3 Subscription: 8GB free per student license, 75GB free per faculty license
Microsoft 365 A5 Subscription: 12GB per student license, 150GB per faculty license
Microsoft 365 A7 Subscription: 12GB per student license, 150GB per faculty license
Microsoft also launches a new A0 to A7 Education Edition portfolio:
Microsoft will provide educational institutions with educational products such as A0, A2, A3, A5, and A7. These products will be divided into student and staff versions. Schools can combine authorizations according to the needs of different groups, that is, they can subscribe to multiple different versions at the same time.
The A0 subscription is a free option for eligible students and includes basic features such as Microsoft Office desktop and web applications. Applicants to schools need to purchase A2 or higher version licenses for all faculty and staff, which is equivalent to purchasing an A2 subscription and then receiving an A0 subscription as a gift.
Microsoft says the A0 subscription feature set covers basic learning and productivity tools, and schools that need email, SharePoint and Teams will need to evaluate other paid versions. The new A2 subscription will be available on December 1, 2026, and the A7 subscription is aimed at educational institutions that require more AI, security, and device management capabilities.
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