# MS Office for the Mac: STUDENT/TEACHER EDITION -- How do they know?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [September 20, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615 "2005-09-20T22:51:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/1 "2005-09-20T22:51:05Z")
If you have ever purchased the Student & Teacher edition of MS Office for the Mac, I have a question for you…
How does it verify I am either a student or teacher?
- During purchase?
- During installation?
- During registration?
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### Author:  [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/2 "2005-09-20T22:54:21Z")
Basically, they don’t. In a lot of ways the “Student/Teacher” edition is a _de facto_ home addition, and IIRC there are no verification procedures.
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### Author:  [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/3 "2005-09-20T22:59:45Z")
Just remember that everyone is a student in the game of life.
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### Author:  [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)
#### Post date: [September 20, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/4 "2005-09-20T23:59:07Z")
I believe (though I’ve never bought it firsthand) that some retailers will check for some form of student ID when you purchase it, though I’m not sure if they do it for all purchases, or with random spot-checks.
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### Author:  [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/5 "2005-09-21T00:00:35Z")
> [@threemae](#):
>
> Basically, they don’t. In a lot of ways the “Student/Teacher” edition is a _de facto_ home addition, and IIRC there are no verification procedures.
[Yes, we do](http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/office2004/howtobuy/howtobuy.aspx?pid=qualifiedUser).
If you’re a student, you have to show ID that verfies you’re an student at an accredited K-12 or higher institution with at least 6 credit hours if a higher institution. If you’re home schooled the home schooling has to be legally recognized.
If you’re a teacher you have to show ID that verifies you’re a teacher at an accredited school. If you’re part time you have to work 20 hours a week or more.
Registration doesn’t take any of this into account - only when you purchase it.
Installation is the same. The FRI installer has no special verification procedures - the underlying code structure is identical to the FPP. I should know, I wrote it.
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/6 "2005-09-21T00:37:57Z")
> [@Dooku](#):
>
> [Yes, we do](http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/office2004/howtobuy/howtobuy.aspx?pid=qualifiedUser).
>
> If you’re a student, you have to show ID that verfies you’re an student at an accredited K-12 or higher institution with at least 6 credit hours if a higher institution. If you’re home schooled the home schooling has to be legally recognized.
>
> If you’re a teacher you have to show ID that verifies you’re a teacher at an accredited school. If you’re part time you have to work 20 hours a week or more.
>
> Registration doesn’t take any of this into account - only when you purchase it.
>
> Installation is the same. The FRI installer has no special verification procedures - the underlying code structure is identical to the FPP. I should know, I wrote it.
First off, we’ve always known **Dooku** works on Office for Mac – cool, now we know what piece of the pie. But… Microsoft doesn’t check any of that stuff. It’s up to the reseller to do so, and they usually don’t bother. As for ID cards, I’ve never, ever had an ID card indicate how many credit hours I was taking (or otherwise be different from full time vs. part time). And what about semester hours versus credit hours versus those 6 week accelerated 3 credit classes at adult learner schools. So, pretty much, Microsoft (and other software makers) still depends on the honesty of the customer. At least paying for student and teacher version generates some revenue from a less than honest person versus getting it from a peer-to-peer network.
Hey, what’s the “FRI” versus “FPP” stuff? I tried thinking “for richer idiots” and “for poorer pupils” as the two versions, but I’m thinking that’s not right.
And, **Dooku** , I hate (in Word) the damn pallettes that turn translucent for no good reason and take up all that horizontal space on the screen. I’m going to get reamed for saying it, but why can’t it be more like Word on Windows? Formatting tool bars are sooo much more space efficient than those pallettes, and don’t randomly fade away.
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### Author:  [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/7 "2005-09-21T01:43:50Z")
The last piece of software I bought at a student price was an upgrade to WinXP Pro and I bought it through JourneyEd. I had to send them something to prove my eligibility–I believe I wound up emailing them a copy of my class schedule.
Now, it used to be that places like Costco would stock the academic priced software but then not check for eligibility. I don’t know what happened to them, if anything, for doing that.
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### Author:  [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/8 "2005-09-21T01:57:52Z")
> [@Balthisar](#):
>
> First off, we’ve always known **Dooku** works on Office for Mac – cool, now we know what piece of the pie.
Actually I’m a PPT Dev. I just helped out on the FRI stuff b/c I was familiar with the underlying architecture.
> [@](#):
>
> But… Microsoft doesn’t check any of that stuff. It’s up to the reseller to do so, and they usually don’t bother. As for ID cards, I’ve never, ever had an ID card indicate how many credit hours I was taking (or otherwise be different from full time vs. part time). And what about semester hours versus credit hours versus those 6 week accelerated 3 credit classes at adult learner schools. So, pretty much, Microsoft (and other software makers) still depends on the honesty of the customer. At least paying for student and teacher version generates some revenue from a less than honest person versus getting it from a peer-to-peer network.
You could be right - I only know what rules are in place and what the retailer is supposed to do. I’ve never had to deal with the other side of it personally.
> [@](#):
>
> Hey, what’s the “FRI” versus “FPP” stuff? I tried thinking “for richer idiots” and “for poorer pupils” as the two versions, but I’m thinking that’s not right.
FRI = First Run Installer. It’s what activates if you’ve acidentally deleted something important - it just puts it back so your apps will run properly. FPP - Full Package Product .
> [@](#):
>
> And, **Dooku** , I hate (in Word) the damn pallettes that turn translucent for no good reason and take up all that horizontal space on the screen. I’m going to get reamed for saying it, but why can’t it be more like Word on Windows? Formatting tool bars are sooo much more space efficient than those pallettes, and don’t randomly fade away.
You can always go to Tools | Customize Formatting Palette… and disable it, then goto View | Toolbars and enable the Formatting toolbar. You can also prevent it from fading by changing the Fade percentage to 100% (Also in Customize Formatting Palette).
As to why do we do have the Formatting Pallete? Let’s just say that Mac-like applications that are good citizens have a pallette-type floating toolbar (ie. the Inspector in Keynote, the floating toolbars in Photoshop) rather than a docked toolbar. And we want to be Mac-like, not just a Windows-looking port. MacWord 6 anyone? 🙂
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/9 "2005-09-21T02:13:15Z")
> [@Dooku](#):
>
> You can always go to Tools | Customize Formatting Palette… and disable it, then goto View | Toolbars and enable the Formatting toolbar. You can also prevent it from fading by changing the Fade percentage to 100% (Also in Customize Formatting Palette).
>
> As to why do we do have the Formatting Pallete? Let’s just say that Mac-like applications that are good citizens have a pallette-type floating toolbar (ie. the Inspector in Keynote, the floating toolbars in Photoshop) rather than a docked toolbar. And we want to be Mac-like, not just a Windows-looking port. MacWord 6 anyone? 🙂
D’oh! And _Thanks!!!_. I should explore my preference more often. I’m hooked on unchecking just the “select whole word” crop and “tabs set indents” crap and “autocapitalize” crap. So, the problem is between the user’s ears in this case.
And… you’re right. It’s Mac-like instead of Word-like – it’s just that I’m used to Photoshop et al having all those palettes. So, at 33 I’ve turned into an old klodger. :smack:
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### Author:  [@Kiminy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiminy)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/10 "2005-09-21T04:25:33Z")
I doubt that many retailers check qualifications for those who purchase the “Student/Teacher” version of Microsoft Office. In fact, I can’t tell any real differences ecept price between the Student/Teacher edition and the Standard edition, based on the comparison website. From a marketing point of view, the Student/Teacher edition is probably meant to help Microsoft squash [WordPerfect Home Edition](http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Corel3/Products/Display&pid=1047023967401) a little more completely.
However, “academic” versions of Microsoft Office normally do require proof of student or teacher status, and are sold only through businesses that are prepared to check qualifications. They tend to be very inexpensive, though.
If you are a college student, ask your bookstore about pricing for Microsoft Office Professional. Large universities often sell it to currently-enrolled students for not much more than the price of the CD itself, and even small universities may be able to give you a better price than the retail “Student/Teacher” edition. As an example, the local state university sells Office Professional to students for less than $10 (at last check), and the small, private university I work for sells it for less than $250 (cf. $500 for new users for the retail version). However, you have to be enrolled in at least one course at the institution to qualify for the price.
If you’re a Mac user, you can always ask about Virtual PC for Mac, which will allow you to run the normal Office for Windows (albeit not without a few glitches here and there). There are often licensing agreements that allow software to be distributed in ways other than selling CDs at the bookstore.
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### Author:  [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/11 "2005-09-21T05:24:11Z")
> [@Kiminy](#):
>
> If you are a college student, ask your bookstore about pricing for Microsoft Office Professional. Large universities often sell it to currently-enrolled students for not much more than the price of the CD itself, and even small universities may be able to give you a better price than the retail “Student/Teacher” edition. As an example, the local state university sells Office Professional to students for less than $10 (at last check), and the small, private university I work for sells it for less than $250 (cf. $500 for new users for the retail version). However, you have to be enrolled in at least one course at the institution to qualify for the price.
True. I picked up the Macromedia Studio MX suite from my college for $99. It’s currently on Amazon for $979.
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### Author:  [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/12 "2005-09-21T05:30:23Z")
I bought student/teacher editions of Office & Norton AV off-the-shelf for my (teacher) mother. Neither caused me to be checked - and in any case, teachers in Britain generally don’t _have_ any ID to show!
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### Author:  [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/13 "2005-09-21T10:02:23Z")
-
-
- This would depend a lot on what country you were in I suppose. When I was going to college, the bookstore just wrote down your student ID on a form when you bought or ordered the software. A small number of programs actually had particular requirements: to be sold to “full-time” students only (those with a minimum of some-amount of hours of courses each day). I remember seeing that the student version of Autocad was only supposed to be sold to people who were in the architechtural or engineering programs (and the amazing thing _to me_ was that the student-version was crippleware and still cost $350; I’d have thought that they would have been glad people wanted to pay for it at all).
~
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### Author:  [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/14 "2005-09-21T10:07:21Z")
> [@Dooku](#):
>
> …we want to be Mac-like, not just a Windows-looking port…
This surprised me a bit, but I’m sure it isn’t a decision that has been taken lightly.
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### Author:  [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/15 "2005-09-21T11:41:06Z")
Something else to keep in mind (I’m lookin’ at YOU Garfield226!) is that, should you decide to go into business for yourself after college–i.e., you buy the student version of Flash and want to become a freelance Web developer after you graduate–you’re supposed to buy the real version. Using the student versions for commercial purposes is usually a violation of the user agreement. My business partner and I went through a pricey period after college when we went legit (and also discarded any other software that may have, um, found its way onto our hard drives…).
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### Author:  [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/16 "2005-09-21T13:12:12Z")
> [@](#):
>
> …Something else to keep in mind (I’m lookin’ at YOU Garfield226!) is that, should you decide to go into business for yourself after college–i.e., you buy the student version of Flash and want to become a freelance Web developer after you graduate–you’re supposed to buy the real version…
-
-
- This depends on the software, and if the license says as much. I asked on the Adobe forums about a software bundle I got as a student, and got no official response from there or from an email on the matter, and nobody else on the forums there had ever gotten an official reponse either, or had found anything about the issue mentioned on the website. Apparently the only restriction of the Adobe student software is on _purchase_, not use.
…Of course the student versions are missing some workgroup/collaborrative features, and anyone using the stuff in a professional manner would want to keep their software updated, so I guess at best (if I’d have started a real graphics business) I’d have bought the newer full verison within a couple years anyway.
~
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### Author:  [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/17 "2005-09-21T13:30:17Z")
> [@Kiminy](#):
>
> If you’re a Mac user, you can always ask about Virtual PC for Mac, which will allow you to run the normal Office for Windows (albeit not without a few glitches here and there).
Just for the record, there won’t be any glitches. It will run _exactly_ as it would on a similarly-equipped (slow) PC. (In an effort to remove “slow” from the equation, I will be first in line for my Intel Mac and the yet unannounced VMWare Client for the Mac).
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### Author:  [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/18 "2005-09-21T13:37:15Z")
> [@Balthisar](#):
>
> As for ID cards, I’ve never, ever had an ID card indicate how many credit hours I was taking (or otherwise be different from full time vs. part time). And what about semester hours versus credit hours versus those 6 week accelerated 3 credit classes at adult learner schools.
Hell, my university’s student ID cards don’t even have a _year_ stamped on them. You get you card when you arrive, and it’s good for the duration of your stay. The only way for anyone to tell whether it’s a current, active card or an old, inactive one is to try to borrow books with it at the library, or swipe it to get into the computer labs, etc.
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### Author:  [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/19 "2005-09-21T17:47:57Z")
Realistically, is it even possible for retailers to police this?
If I walk into Target and pick up a copy for my kids (grades K, 3, and 5), how can I prove that I have a qualified K-12 student? My kids don’t have student IDs, and I don’t have a “parent of a K-12 grader” ID. I assume Target would just sell it to me, or would they?
Not that this matters to me anyway… I broke down an dropped 300 bucks on the Office Pro (Windows) version so I could have Access. What was I thinking? I’ve used it at home like twice.
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### Author:  [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2005, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-office-for-the-mac-student-teacher-edition-how-do-they-know/322615/20 "2005-09-21T20:17:35Z")
> [@Kiminy](#):
>
> If you’re a Mac user, you can always ask about Virtual PC for Mac, which will allow you to run the normal Office for Windows (albeit not without a few glitches here and there). There are often licensing agreements that allow software to be distributed in ways other than selling CDs at the bookstore.
Which is of course a part of Mac Office now and comes with Mac Office Pro. (I’m not sure what glitches you’re referring to).
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