Microsoft (Office) 365

Microsoft has renamed some of its Office / 365 offerings. Microsoft 365 (M365 for short) is an all-in-one cloud-based service. Office is now the name reserved for the standalone apps. Currently enrolled students and full-time faculty members may install free versions of the Office desktop apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) on their personal devices. Read on to find out more.

 

*Note: Students will not have access to Office apps or their @gcccd.edu email until the day their classes begin. Employees will not have access until their employee start date.

 

M365 vs Offline Apps

There are some subtle, yet important differences between the two types of apps.

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What's the difference between the cloud and the offline apps?

Office.com provides access to 'lite' versions which will handle 99% of typical user needs. The following M365 apps can be used through your web browser:

  • Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneDrive

The offline apps include full-featured versions of everything above, plus:

  • Microsoft Access, Publisher, and OneNote
Who can use the offline apps?

Any student or employee may use the cloud versions of Office (Microsoft 365) apps. Your ability to use the offline apps depends on three things:

  1. Location - are you on or off campus?
  2. Device - what type of device are you using?
  3. Licensing - which license are you granted?

 

Location Matters

How you access Office apps differs when you're on- versus off-campus.

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On Campus

To use any Office apps while on campus, simply log on to any campus PC. All campus PCs have Office installed by default.

If you prefer to use your own device, however, you may:

  • use the M365 apps through your web browser at office.com
  • follow the directions further down this page to install the Office desktop or mobile apps (only for A3 license holders)

*Note: If you are off campus, you will need to first setup the Authenticator app on your smartphone. See the off-campus instructions below.

 

Off Campus

If you are off campus, please follow this step-by-step guide to download and setup Microsoft Authenticator. You will need to use the Authenticator in order to access any resource when off-campus.

*Note: If you are unable to login after setting up the Authenticator app, contact the Help Desk.

 

Once you've setup the Authenticator app, you may use Word, PowerPoint, etc. online through office.com. Full-time faculty and all students may additionally install offline apps using the instructions below.

 

*Note: Access to student email and Microsoft 365 is restricted to the United States and Mexico only. Students, faculty, or staff traveling outside of these countries will need to request an Out-of-Country accommodation before leaving the country.

 

Device Type

Not every app is available on every device. Microsoft has no Office option for Chromebooks -- you must use the M365 cloud apps.

 

In addition to Windows and MacOS, Microsoft produces some Office applications for both Android and Apple Devices. You may obtain the Office Apps from Google Play Store or the Apple App Store Office Apps.

 

Once installed, simply login with your @gcccd.edu email address and password.

 

*Note: If you haven't setup the Authenticator, you will be prompted to do so when signing in.

 

Licensing

As of January 2023, the District must remain in compliance with new M365 / Office Licensing guidelines. Please verify your license type/access below.

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A3: Current students, full-time faculty and employees

Students, full-time faculty and employees all receive the A3 license. You may use the M365 cloud apps or download and install offline Office apps on up to 5 devices. See instructions below.

A3 users also receive an @gcccd.edu email inbox and 100 GB of cloud storage.

A1: Adjunct faculty and student workers

Part-time faculty may only use M365 cloud apps through their web browser. See the cloud apps section below.

A1 users also receive an @gcccd.edu email inbox and 100 GB of cloud storage.

Alumni: Graduates and Retired employees

Students that are no longer enrolled, and faculty or staff that have retired, are granted an Alumni license. You may only access your @gcccd.edu email and 100 GB of storage.

Login with your @gcccd.edu email credentials here: https://outlook.office.com.

For further information, please see the District Software Licensing page: https://www.gcccd.edu/it/software/software-licensing.php.

 

Access M365 Cloud Apps

All current students and employees have access to the cloud-based 365 apps. Retirees and Alumni only have access to Outlook email online.

 

*Note: Cloud apps may have feature differences compared to their desktop counterparts.

 

To utilize Word, PowerPoint, Excel, etc. please login to office.com with your @gcccd.edu email credentials. If you haven't completed the Authenticator guide, you'll need to do so first (unless you're on the school's Wi-Fi).

 

Documents you create in the online apps are automatically saved in the cloud, to your OneDrive storage. These are accessible from any device with a web browser. Simply sign in to office.com from the new device to continue working.

 

Office (Offline) Apps

Only users with an A3 license (see above) may download Office desktop apps. An A3 license grants you the ability to install Office on up to 5 different devices.

 

The installer includes all of the available apps previously mentioned. You cannot pick and choose what to install.

 

*Note: Microsoft Publisher and Access are only available to install on PC. There are no Apple, Android, or cloud-based versions of these apps.

How to Install Office Apps

The process isn't complicated, but can take a while. Ensure you have set aside significant time for the download and install. You will need to remain connected to the Internet while installing.

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Part 1 - Prerequisites

You must meet the following criteria to install M365 on your device:

  • have an A3 license as explained above
  • have successfully setup Microsoft Authenticator
  • your device is an Apple Mac or Windows PC or Laptop.

*Note: Offline apps are not available on Chrome OS. Chromebook users must utilize the cloud apps described above.

 

*Note: iPhone, iPad or Android smartphone users, refer to Device Types, above.

 

Part 2 - Login and Download

After meeting the prerequisites above, you may download and install M365 directly from Microsoft:

  1. Open Google Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge and create a New Incognito or New Private Tab
  2. Visit Microsoft's Office install shortcut at https://aka.ms/office-install
  3. Login with your @gcccd.edu email credentials (see the FAQs page if you need a reminder).

*Note: If you haven't setup the Authenticator app, you will be prompted to do so now.

 

  1. Select the orange Install Office button on the page:
Orange button showing Install

*Note: You may be asked to save the installer, or it may begin downloading automatically.

 

Part 3 - Install and Activate

You will need to execute the file/package to install the programs on your computer. Afterwards, you will sign in with your @gcccd.edu credentials to activate the software.

 

*Note: Be sure to activate the programs after installing; if you skip the activation process, you will not be able use them.

 

To install:

  1. Locate the setup file on your computer. This is likely in the Downloads folder or another folder of your choosing
  2. Install the Office apps by double-clicking on the the downloaded file.
  3. You must accept or allow the installer to make changes to your computer, if prompted. After which, M365 / Office will install like any other program.

*Note: Please be patient. This is a large software package and may take several minutes to download or install, even on modern computers.

 

  1. Once the installer has finished, close the dialog box (Windows). You may answer Yes on Mac to Trash the installer.
  2. Locate and run Microsoft Word on your computer -- it should appear in your Start menu (Windows) or your Applications folder (Mac)
  3. Opening Word should prompt you to activate Office. Please choose to sign in with a school or work account
  4. Login with your @gcccd.edu email credentials, and confirm the login using your Authenticator
  5. Once activated, you should have access to all features of the M365 apps as expected

You are finished. Congratulations on installing Microsoft 365 offline apps. You may repeat the procedure on up to 5 different devices.

 

OneDrive (Cloud Storage)

Current students, faculty, and staff receive 100 GB of cloud storage through Microsoft OneDrive. Documents you create and edit online in the cloud apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) are saved in OneDrive by default.

 

*Note: You may also save to OneDrive within any of the offline apps (after signing in).

 

To access your OneDrive storage, choose the OneDrive icon in the waffle menu, after logging in to Office.com. Alternatively, you may visit onedrive.com and sign in with your @gcccd.edu email credentials.

 

*Note: Users are advised not to utilize OneDrive to store sensitive information or for long-term storage. Privacy and availability cannot be guaranteed.

 

 

Need further assistance?

If you have questions or need clarification about this guidance, please reach out to the Technology Help Desk.