M365 Licensing

Temporary accounts for staff, contractors and visitors

Almost all permanent staff and all current students get the full M365 A5 license when they join. Fixed term employees who are contracted through HR will usually also get a full M365 A5 license.

Some categories of staff will be given an “external” M365 A1 license. This is generally for those staff undertaking roles that do not need regular access to a University PC, MS desktop applications and VPN. Examples of these are:

• Temporary staff hired through an agency (contractors, temps, agency staff),
• Visiting academics (such as conference attendees or external speakers), 
• Staff who have had their account disabled (e.g. extended leavers), 
• Staff who no longer do paid work at the university but who wish to retain their email address (e.g. retired, honorary).

Limitations of the "external" license

The following restrictions apply to external A1 staff accounts:

• Cannot be allocated a staff laptop from stock (can use tech tables, Library PCs, PC lab or desktop PCs set up for shared access). 
• Not able to install MS Office applications locally onto a computer, whether on a UoR device or on a personal device. They will have access to M365 online tools (see M365 license differences for further details)
• Mailbox storage limit of 50GB (100GB for A5) and OneDrive for Business storage limit of 100GB (1TB for A5).
• No access to advanced M365 features such as MS Bookings, Teams Calling (i.e. calls to/from external numbers), Power Apps and MS Defender. See M365 license differences for further details.

If an external staff account requires a University assigned Windows device, or any of the other features not available on the A1 license, an uplift to an A5 license can be requested from DTS by the sponsoring department. 

Upgrading from an A1 to A5 license

Apply for an A5 license

We are currently unable to allocate an A5 license in advance, and to meet license requirements the license must be requested by the individual to be using it. There is a cost to the University of approx. £100 per license, which we reserve the right to cross charge. Please ask your new starter to complete this form Microsoft Licensing for External Employees (form only visible to A1 licensees).

Do you need an A5 license?

Historically, A5 licenses have been requested for a variety of reasons, but often to get Teams Calling or access to Wi-Fi. In fact, an A5 license is not required for either. 

Apply for a telephone number

If you only need a phone number or a dial pad for external calls, please ask your new starter to complete this form: New Staff Telephone number We can allocate telephone numbers separately. 

Apply for Guest Wi-Fi

Many visitors to the University only requiring Wi-Fi access currently get issued with an external account, but this is no longer necessary if just Wi-Fi is required. Use the Guest Wi-Fi account form to request this. 

Created by lm920207 on 19/02/24