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Microsoft (Office) 365

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Microsoft (Office) 365

This page provides information about Microsoft 365 (M365) and Office apps. Find detailed information on access for students and faculty, differences between cloud and offline versions, licensing requirements, and installation instructions for Office apps on personal devices.

Office, Copilot, or Microsoft 365?

Microsoft sometimes changes their offerings, altering the name or feature set. Copilot or Microsoft 365 (or M365 for short) is an all-in-one cloud-based service. Office is the name often used for the standalone, downloadable 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. Learn the requirements and procedure below.

*Note: Students will not have access to Office apps until their classes begin. Employees will not have access until their employee start date.

Online vs. Offline Apps

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

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Differences 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 May 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: You must have multi-factor authentication on your smartphone. See the instructions below.

Off-Campus

Most off-campus users may access the Office apps online. You will need to have multi-factor authentication set up (if you have not already done so).

*Note: If you are having trouble setting up multi-factor authentication, please contact the Help Desk.

You may access Word, PowerPoint, etc. by logging in to office.com with your @gcccd.edu SSO credentials (same as Self-Service and Canvas). Full-time faculty and students may additionally install the apps for offline use, following the instructions below.

*Note: Access to GCCCD resources (including Microsoft 365) is restricted to the United States and Mexico only. Students, faculty, or staff traveling outside of these countries will need to 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 Mac laptops and desktop computers, Microsoft produces some Office applications for smartphones. For Android or Apple phones, you may obtain the or the

Once installed, simply log in with your @gcccd.edu SSO credentials.

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 five 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.

Log in to your @gcccd.edu email inbox through

For further information, please see the

Using or Installing Office Apps

As explained above, users either have access to download and install Office apps, or use the cloud versions.

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Accessing 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 with your @gcccd.edu SSO credentials - same as Self-Service and Canvas.

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.

Installing 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 five 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 One - Prerequisites

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

  • You must be assigned an A3 license as explained above.
  • You must have multi-factor authentication.
  • Your device is an Apple Mac or Windows PC or Laptop.

*Note: iPhone, iPad or Android smartphone users, refer to Device Types, above. Chromebook users must utilize the M365 cloud apps described above. Offline apps are not available on Chrome OS.

Part Two - Log In and Download

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

  1. Open Google Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge and create a New Incognito or New Private Tab.
  2. Visit Microsoft's at https://aka.ms/office-install.
  3. Log in with your @gcccd.edu SSO credentials (same as Canvas and Self-Service).
  4. Select the Install Office button on the page:
Screen of button used to install Office

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

Part Three - 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 SSO 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. Log in with your @gcccd.edu SSO credentials, and complete multi-factor authentication.
  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 five different devices.

  • If you'd like to view the steps in more detail, consult the

Additional Benefit - 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 SSO 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.