A BTS student trying to open an Excel file received by email on their personal computer is often met with the same disappointment: the app asks for a licence. Yet Microsoft offers an education plan that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint and other tools at no cost. The catch is that the institution must have an agreement with Microsoft, and the email address provided must be recognised by the platform.
University email address and licence: what really prevents access
The most common source of confusion is the difference between an institution being recognised and a licence actually being assigned to a student account. An institution may appear in the Microsoft Education directory without every student automatically receiving an activated licence.
In practice, when you enter your .ac.fr, .univ- or .edu address on the Microsoft Education sign-up page, one of two things happens. Either the licence is provisioned automatically, or the institution’s IT administrator has to approve the account manually. In the latter case, contacting the institution’s IT department is the only option.
One point that is often overlooked: not all education licences offer the same features. The A1 plan, the most common option at French universities, provides access to web apps only (Word, Excel and PowerPoint in a browser).
To install the software on a computer, the institution must have an A3 or A5 licence, which is not always the case. If Word works in a browser but won’t install, there is nothing wrong with the account: the licence simply doesn’t cover desktop installation.
For more information about the exact requirements, see the free Microsoft Office student package, which explains the process for different types of institutions.
Activating a Microsoft 365 Education account: step-by-step instructions
The process always starts on the same page: microsoft.com/education/products/office. Enter your school email address, then follow the instructions on screen.
- Enter the email address provided by your institution (usually in the .ac.fr, .univ- or .edu format). Personal Gmail or Outlook addresses won’t work.
- Select the “Student” profile when prompted, then enter the verification code sent to that same address.
- Once your account is set up, sign in at portal.office.com to access the web apps: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Teams.
- Check your account settings to see whether desktop app installation is available. If the option isn’t shown, your licence is limited to the web versions.
The whole process takes a few minutes when everything goes smoothly. The problem usually occurs at the first step, when the email address isn’t recognised. This means the institution hasn’t activated its partnership yet or hasn’t provisioned licences for student accounts.
OneDrive storage and limitations of the free education version
The education plan includes OneDrive storage, which can offer substantial capacity. This storage is shared across OneDrive, SharePoint and Exchange at the institution level. If the tenant’s overall storage is full, individual student accounts may be affected, even when their own quota appears to have space available.
If OneDrive sync fails, the first useful check is to ask the IT department whether the institution’s overall storage is full.
What the free licence doesn’t include
The free education version (A1) excludes several features students may expect:
- Microsoft Copilot integrated into Office apps isn’t included with free education licences. Access to Copilot requires a separate add-on licence.
- The desktop version of Outlook isn’t included with the A1 licence. Email is available through a browser only.
- Desktop apps (Word, Excel and PowerPoint installed on a computer) are available only with A3 or A5 licences, generally reserved for institutions with an extended agreement.
BTS students and non-partner institutions: what are the alternatives?
BTS students at public high schools are generally entitled to the same access as university students, provided their local education authority has activated the Microsoft Education partnership. However, some high schools use email addresses that aren’t recognised by the sign-up platform.
If the institution isn’t a partner or the email address is rejected, free web versions are still available to everyone through a personal Microsoft account at office.com. Word, Excel and PowerPoint are available in a browser, with fewer features than the full versions, but enough to write a report or prepare a presentation.
Google Workspace for Education is another option if the institution has rolled it out. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides cover everyday needs and let you export files in Office format.
Almost all French public universities are partners in the Microsoft Education programme. For BTS courses and private institutions, access depends on the agreements each organisation has signed. The most reliable approach is to try your email address on the sign-up page, then contact the IT department if it isn’t accepted.
