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Office 365 ProPlus for Faculty and Staff

This article applies to: Software Licensing


All current Cornell faculty and staff can download and install the latest version of Microsoft Office for Cornell business use on Cornell-owned computers. The Office ProPlus license remains active until you leave the university. (Alumni and retirees are not eligible.) At that point, you'll be prompted to pay a license fee to Microsoft or stop using Microsoft Office.

Cornell's Office 365 licenses for faculty and staff come in two flavors: A1 and A3. Faculty and staff with regular NetIDs (not affiliates, sponsored, or temporary) receive A3 licenses.

  • A1: 50GB mailbox quota, can use Office Online apps (cannot download apps)
    Sign in at office.com for quick access to the online apps; they appear in the left column.
  • A3: 100GB mailbox quota, ability to administer MS Bookings sites, can download and install MS Office apps on computers used for Cornell business.

To determine which license you have,

  1. Using a current version of any major browser, go to
    http://outlook.cornell.edu
    Note: If you type/tap the URL manually, be sure to use http, not https.
  2. For user name, enter your NetID@cornell.edu address. The password is your NetID password.
  3. At the right end of the Office 365 toolbar, click the icon of your photo or initials.
    (When you hover over the icon, it will show your name.)
  4. From the menu that appears, click View account.
  5. On the My Account page, in the left navigation column, click Subscriptions.
    You'll see either Office 365 A3 or Office 365 A1.

If you have an A1 license and believe you have a business reason to receive an A3 license, see our A3 License Request article. The justifications for an A3 license are if you need one of the following for Cornell business purposes:

  • larger mailbox
  • ability to administer a Bookings site
  • downloaded apps (rather than use the online versions available to everyone)
The instructions below are for computers that are used for Cornell business, but owned and administered by employees themselves.

You may not install Office 365 on a personal computer used for personal purposes. Our license does not cover this use.

For Cornell computers, please contact your local technical support provider. They will install Office using the most appropriate license option.

Students should use the procedure described on our Office 365 ProPlus for Students page.
  • Microsoft Office for Windows, which is supported on Windows 10 and Windows 11.
  • Microsoft Office for Mac, which is supported on the three most recent versions of macOS (that is, the newest release, plus the two versions previous to that).

(More information from Microsoft about Office 365 ProPlus.)

For information on how to install Microsoft Office applications on up to five laptop or desktop computers through Outlook on the web, visit the Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise page. If you have an earlier version of Office installed, you should uninstall it before following these steps.

  1. Using a current version of any major browser, go to office.com.
  2. At the upper-right, click Install apps, then Microsoft 365 apps. Microsoft will offer to download the installer.
  3. Accept download of the Office Installer file.
  4. Run the installer. 

About this Article

Last updated: 

Wednesday, March 15, 2023 - 8:45am

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