As of July 2013, UofT has entered into a licensing agreement with Microsoft called the Campus Agreement, covering current versions of the Windows Operating System (v.7, 8 or 10), Forefront Endpoint Protection (antivirus), and Microsoft Office for all university-owned PCs.

The program provides licenses at no cost to the end user; it is centrally funded by Simcoe Hall's Office of the CIO.

The MSCA terms provide upgrade licenses for MS Windows; any PC where you will install Windows under the MSCA license must already have a “base” license for MS Windows. Major brand names like Dell and HP include the base license with each PC purchase. You can see that a PC has a base license assigned by the Microsoft product sticker on the case. The sticker can be either a long rectangular “Certificate of Authenticity” (“COA”) with hologram and install key, up to Windows 7, typically on the back, top or side of the case; or for Windows 8 simply a smaller, square Microsoft “badge”, typically on the front of the case.

PCs ordered from smaller retailers such as College St. stores may be 'bare' boxes with no included base license for Windows. Such PCs are not eligible to use Windows under the MSCA unless you first purchase a base license and assign it to that PC. Some local retailers sell Windows separately. When ordering new PCs from such retailers, to qualify for MSCA, consider ordering the Windows license in the initial purchase rather than buying the PC 'bare' without the license.

An alternative to license Windows for bare-box PCs without COA is for a current student to access the MSDN Academic Alliance program. Current ECE grad students can contact ECF to activate their access to MSDN; they then receive an email with their MSDN login for the DreamSpark website. Use this login to request a license for Windows 7 (or 8) Professional edition. You 'order' the software (price $0) and when you 'check out' they link you to a page with your individual MSDN-AA activation key. Save this 25-character text and use it to allow installing Windows 7 Professional on any one UofT PC. MSDN-AA provides a different Windows installer than the MSCA one; an MSDN key only activates the MSDN version. (The key cannot be re-used except for a single time to reinstall the same PC after a crash or upgrade.) This key is valid until the student graduates; after that a new student should acquire their own key for that installation of Windows; in System Properties you can click on “Change product key.”

Personally owned computers do not qualify to use Windows under MSCA, but UofT faculty and staff may order one license for MS Office (good for two computers) for personal use at just $11 through the “Home Use Program” via the UofT MSCA website. Versions for OS X and for Windows are offered, but each user can order only one platform through the Home Use program.

The following table sets out your options for using MSCA licenses:

For ECE PCs without a base license (COA), you need to buy a base Windows license through a retail channel. Neither the Campus Computer Store nor UofT's Licensed Software Office offer base Windows licenses, only upgrade licenses. Also, you cannot use an MSDN-AA copy of Windows as your “base” license for the MSCA.

UofT-owned Apple computers with OS X qualify to use MS Windows under the MSCA - Microsoft treats OS X as the “base” license. You can run MS Windows on an OS X system via either Boot Camp, Parallels, VMWare or VirtualBox.

If you want to run Windows in a VM under Linux (or via dual boot), the hosting PC must still have a 'base' license to qualify for an MSCA license for this. A Dell that came with Windows but on which you are running Linux has a 'base' license. A 'bare'/'white box' PC 'from College St.' running Linux does not; you would need to buy a retail license to assign to that PC to permit running Windows in a VM.

Every install of Windows needs security software – Forefront EP, MS Security Essentials or other antivirus – even when virtualized. The viruses and trojans will happily infect the Windows VM just like a physical PC.

Our staff will be using the MS Campus Agreement licenses on Windows PCs we manage under “tier 1.” New O/S installs will use Windows 7 from the MSCA (each PC must have a base license for Windows to qualify.) New installs will include Forefront EP Protection and the latest version MS Office provided under MSCA - currently Office 2013. Office 2013 will be deployed on existing tier 1 Windows PCs on request.

Note that Microsoft will cease issuing security patches to Windows XP in Spring of 2014. It is important to migrate off of XP before then. Our staff will be contacting owners of Tier 1 PCs still running XP to discuss upgrade or replacement options.

UofT faculty and staff (but not students or postdocs) are eligible to license Microsoft Office 2013 for Windows, or Office 2011 for Mac, at just $11 through the MSCA Home Use program. The license can be installed on two PCs or two Macs (but not one of each). Log in to http://microsoft.utoronto.ca with your UTORid, check “agree to terms,” and click the lower button titled “Home Use progam downloads” to order online. You'll receive your personal activation key and links for downloading installers.

Another new option is Office365 through the Microsoft Advantage program, available free to students MS Student advantage and at a deep discount to faculty and staff:Microsoft University Office365, a cloud-based program that includes use of current versions of all Office applications on up to five computers (PC or Mac, or both) plus five mobile devices, plus cloud storage and Skype credits; a four-year subscription costs $79 for faculty and staff. This covers more devices and version upgrades for a lower price compared to the staff/student pricing for Office 2013, though faculty and staff may prefer the MSCA Home Use program at $11. (Version upgrades require a new $11 MSCA Home Use purchase.)