Microsoft plans to retire free education email and student benefits

Microsoft plans to retire three education offers, including a free service that provides student email. Schools, colleges and universities that want to keep students’ Microsoft-hosted mailboxes will need paid licenses, The Register said.

Office 365 A1 currently gives eligible institutions web-based Office applications, Teams and email at no charge. Its replacement, Microsoft 365 Education A0, excludes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Teams. A0 eligibility depends on paid faculty licensing and students actively using Windows devices for education.

Which benefits are ending and when

Microsoft also plans to retire Student Use Benefit, which supplies student licenses at no extra charge when institutions buy qualifying faculty licenses. Free Exchange Online for Alumni, which lets graduates keep their mailboxes, is also ending; Microsoft plans a paid replacement for alumni.

New web-direct orders for Office 365 A1 stopped on 5 November 2026, and sales through partners are scheduled to end on 1 May 2027. The changes generally take effect at an institution’s first renewal or extension on or after 1 January 2028. Existing agreements remain valid through their current terms. Institutions needing continued service must move to replacement licenses at the applicable renewal or contract expiry.

Transition concerns

Microsoft said institutions increasingly consider superintelligence (SI), security, privacy, governance and education together. It said the changes are intended to provide a clearer path from basic access to more advanced capabilities.

The UK’s Department for Education said it was disappointed by the decision but had negotiated additional concessions to give institutions time to transition. An unnamed organization raised concerns about affordability, equitable treatment across the education sector and the longer-term effects of the changes.