Elizabethtown College’s new agreement with Microsoft will make students’ penny-pinching less of a necessity for some. Microsoft has started a Student Advantage Program which Etown, like many other institutions, has instituted this year.

This new program allows students to download Microsoft Office for free. Previously, the College had exclusively purchased Microsoft for campus computers due to monetary limitations. The licensing for Microsoft Office covered the systems in place at the College.

The new program allows for Information Technology Services (ITS) to share the product they purchased with students. The licensing agreement, and the download the student installs are specific to each student. ITS covers the licensing agreement from the time a student enrolls at Etown until his or her graduation. Even those students attending for more than four years will have access to free Microsoft Office products. Upon graduation, ITS will offer to let the student purchase the licensing agreement.

The process of downloading the free software is easy. Students can visit the Microsoft website, portal.office.com. Etown login credentials — those used on Jayweb — give students access to the download. Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Outlook are available for Macintosh computers. These and more programs are available for PC users. The software is accessible on tablets and smart phones as well.

Once downloaded, the system can be used on any computer to retrieve files. As easy and convenient as the program is, students may run into minor problems that ITS can address. Formatting of the software will vary between Macs and PCs due to the difference in the operating systems, but the versions of Microsoft Office available are the latest for both types of computer. PC users will be offered Microsoft Office 2013, and Macs will use Microsoft Office 2011. The benefits of the program do not apply to those who have already purchased Microsoft on their own, unless you wish to update your software with the program.

The implementation of this program addresses the campus-wide necessity for Microsoft Office products. Other software programs specific to different departments at Elizabethtown College do not offer the same licensing agreement as Microsoft, though, and a cost may be placed on your software. However, labs in various academic buildings offer the necessary software to complete assignments. Campus-wide use of free programs is not common.

“Information from people asking questions gives us a good understanding of a pretty wide distribution of people using it,” Brian Helm, director of client services for ITS upperclassmen, said. If this information was misplaced, it can be retrieved from the ITS website. Help is also available at the ITS help desk.