Microsoft has offered its Microsoft Office suite of productivity software tools to college students at a greatly reduced rate for a while now. The current student SKU includes Word 2010, Excel 2010, PowerPoint 2010, OneNote 2010, Outlook 2010, Publisher 2010, Access 2010, and Office Web Apps for a price under $100. However, some non-students have gotten access to this version of Microsoft Office simply by borrowing the SKU"s product key.
Now Microsoft is cracking down on who can access this version of Microsoft Office. According to ZDNet, Microsoft has now replaced the old student version, titled Office Professional Academic 2010, with a new version called Microsoft Office University 2010. This version has been designated just for college and university students, and faculty.
Microsoft has decided to ditch the product key verification route for people who want to purchase and use Microsoft Office University 2010. Instead, people must type in their "school email address, sign-in ID, or international student identity card" when Microsoft asks for it. That should cut down the number of users for the product that are not college students or faculty members. The story claims there will be a new version of Microsoft Office University when the upcoming "Office 15" product is released.