The University of Central Arkansas recently purchased a site license for the software package Microsoft Office. Now UCA faculty and staff can load the package on their office computer and one home computer.
The change will allow faculty and staff to continue using Microsoft Office applications even when the network is down. Currently, faculty and staff are using a Microsoft Office package that is located on a network server.
?It came to our attention in the fall that the university was out of compliance with its license, so Brent [Herring] did some research and found a remarkably low price for this new site license that will allow employees to download the software to their personal computer at work and at home,? Dr. Sam Buchanan, senior associate provost, said.
The network also will work more efficiently once employees have the software package loaded onto individual computers rather than going through the network to access it.
The Microsoft Office software package includes Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Publisher, Outlook, InfoPath and some additional tools.
The Microsoft Office package will be available for different operating systems from Windows 95 to Windows XP and even for Macintosh operating systems.
Computer Services staff is currently working out the logistics for distributing the software. Herring, assistant director of Computer Services, said they are considering placing the software package on a CD that can be loaded onto office computers by a Computer Services technician, or providing a way for employees to download the software from the network. ?We?re still research how to set it up for employees to put the software on their home computer,? he said.
Downloading the software package to a home computer should be for work and not personal use, according to Herring. He also noted that if there are two UCA employees in a family, and they own two computers, they would be able to download the software onto both home computers.
Employees will not be required to use Microsoft Office; the new site license simply provides an opportunity for employees to have more efficient access to the software.
Employees may access information about the site license agreement and its restrictions via the Computer Services Web page.
Employees may contact Computer Services at 450-3117 for more information about acquiring the software for work or home computers; however, Herring cautioned that it may take time for Computer Services to respond as the staff continues to work on installing the new GroupWise email system on computers across campus.
