On 5 November, Microsoft announced the biggest update to Microsoft 365 Education in years. It gives schools and universities more choice in what they buy, and it gives you a good reason to start renewal conversations early.
What's Changing
- More ways to buy. Faculty and student editions are available with or without Teams, starting with a no-cost student option.
- A new top tier, Microsoft 365 Education A7. It offers the most advanced AI, security, governance and device management in the range.
- More included for faculty. Additional security and device management features are added at no extra cost. This helps institutions protect faculty and institutional data and makes IT administration simpler.
- Storage that grows with the institution. Storage capacity scales with the number of licensed faculty and students.
- Microsoft Classroom. This is a dedicated teaching and learning space for K-12 and higher education. Teams for Education remains available.
The new range runs from MA0 to MA7. A0 is a no-cost student offer for devices running Windows when the institution licenses all faculty users with MA2 or higher. Paid student and faculty offers run from MA2 to MA7.
Key Dates
- 1 October 2026: Microsoft 365 A7 general availability
- 5 November 2026: Office 365 A1 retired from sale via web-direct
- 1 December 2026: Microsoft 365 A2 general availability
- 1 May 2027: Office 365 A1 retired from sale from partner channels including CSP. A new consistent pricing model for Online Services in Academic Volume Licensing programs takes effect at renewal or extension
- 1 January 2028: The new Microsoft 365 Education A0 offer and the replacement Microsoft 365 Education A3 and A5 offers become available for purchase.
Office 365 A1, the Student Use Benefit program, and Exchange Online for Alumni will retire and can't be renewed after the applicable enrollment term; customers that require continued service must transition users to an eligible replacement license at their first renewal or extension on or after January 1, 2028.
Why This Matters For You
Every education customer will need to make a decision, and many will want help making it. That's where you come in.
- Renewal planning. Customers need to know their renewal date, what they hold today, and which new offer fits each group of users. Microsoft is asking institutions to work with their partner on a transition plan.
- Retiring offers. Anyone relying on Office 365 A1, the Student Use Benefit or free alumni email needs a plan before 2028.
- Step-up conversations. The extra security and device features for faculty, and the new A7 tier, give you a clear way to start conversations about security, device management and AI. The new storage model also gives you a reason to review current usage.
- Early advantage. The changes are still a way off, so partners who contact customers now can shape renewal plans before competitors do.
What To Do Next
- List your education customers and note their renewal dates.
- Check each customer's current licenses, benefits, Teams set-up and storage use.
- Open conversations about their AI, security and teaching priorities.
- Use Microsoft's partner resources, which include customisable sales presentations, A7 messaging, FAQs, and separate K-12 and higher education collections. https://partner.microsoft.com/en-au/solutions/education/assets/collection/microsoft-365-education-updates-1
Learn More
Microsoft is hosting two webinars to help you understand what the changes mean for your business and prepare for customer conversations.
- Partner Readiness Webinar
Wednesday 11 November, 2:00pm-3:00pm - Register
Wednesday 18 November, 1:00pm-2:30pm - Register
Join Our OnPoint Webinar
In addition, we will also dedicate our OnPoint Webinar on Wednesday 18 November to allow Microsoft to share the latest information and answer your questions.
Register for OnPoint
We’re Here To Help
For more detail on these announcements visit Microsoft’s Education blog announcement, Portfolio details and Frequently asked questions.
If you'd like to talk about how this applies to your education customers, contact us.
Kind regards,
Dicker Data Microsoft Team
