On November 5, 2026, Microsoft restructured the licenses for schools and universities, as the overview on Microsoft Learn describes. Office 365 A1 is being phased out, as are the Student Use Benefit program and the free Exchange Online for alumni. For students, Microsoft is introducing the free tier A0.
For individual students and teachers, nothing changes at first. The new model only applies at the first contract renewal on or after January 1, 2028.
What happens to Office 365 A1 and the Student Use Benefit?
The sale of Office 365 A1 through partner channels such as CSP and volume licensing ends on May 1, 2027. A1 will be discontinued as of January 1, 2028. Institutions whose contract began before this date can keep using A1 until the end of the contract and may even purchase additional licenses during this time. After that, A1 can no longer be renewed.
The deadlines at a glance
Microsoft 365 Education: What to expect through 2028, according to Microsoft Learn
- December 1, 2026Tier A2 becomes available
- May 1, 2027End of sale of Office 365 A1 via partners
- January 1, 2028Office 365 A1, Student Use Benefit and free alumni Exchange end
- After January 1, 2028At the first renewal, the 100 terabytes of base storage are removed
Existing contracts continue until their end
Sources: Microsoft Learn, Microsoft Education Blog
The Student Use Benefit and the free Exchange Online for alumni expire on the same day. For former students who still need a mailbox, the institution must book the new, paid alumni offering.
What does the new free tier A0 offer?
A0 is aimed exclusively at students. It includes the Office apps for desktop and web, Minecraft Education, Entra ID Free and Learning Zone. Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Teams are missing. For Learning Zone, you additionally need a Copilot+ PC and access to Microsoft Copilot.
A0 is only free under certain conditions. The institution must license all teachers with A2 or higher as paid licenses, and students must actively use Windows devices for learning. Whether your university can offer A0 therefore depends on how it licenses its teachers.
Tier A2 is available from December 1, 2026 and brings Microsoft Classroom and Copilot Chat. A0, A3 and A5 can be purchased from January 1, 2028, while A7 has been available since October 1, 2026.
What changes regarding storage and prices?
Until the first renewal on or after January 1, 2028, the old storage model continues to apply. After that, the base allotment of 100 terabytes is removed. An institution's shared storage pool then grows only with paid licenses: A2 contributes 4 gigabytes per student and 50 gigabytes per teacher, A3 contributes 8 and 75, A5 and A7 contribute 12 and 150 gigabytes respectively. For A0, Microsoft Learn names no storage contribution.
As for pricing, from May 1, 2027 a uniform price applies across all price levels for all online services in the academic volume licensing program. According to Microsoft, the prices of existing teacher packages with Teams remain the same, though the actual renewal price may differ. For A2 to A5, the Microsoft Education Blog cites discounts of more than 80 percent compared with the price for businesses, and up to 60 percent for A7. Microsoft names neither euro prices nor availability in Germany on either page.
What this means for you
As a student or teacher, you don't have to change anything right now. It's best to ask your institution's IT department when the contract will first be renewed after January 1, 2028 and which tier will then apply.
If you only get A0 in the future, you'll need another solution for email and group work, since Exchange, SharePoint and Teams are not included. Find out early how your university will replace them.
If you still use your university's free email address after graduation, back up important emails and contacts in time and, ideally, set up an address of your own.
In the IT department of a school or university, the first task is to compile the list of all users of Office 365 A1 and Student Use Benefit, followed by planning the switch.
Microsoft announced the changes on November 5, 2026.
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