Microsoft Campus Agreement

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Microsoft Campus Agreement (MSCA) is a discount program for students, faculty, and staff at participating universities. Universities sign a yearly contract with Microsoft, and people at those schools can buy Microsoft products at large discounts. For example, Windows XP Professional could cost as little as $10 at some campus stores. Each MSCA software title can be bought only once. After graduation, students can usually keep using the software they bought (perpetual licenses).

MSCA covers Windows XP Professional, various Office programs, and the Visual Studio .NET developer tools. To buy Windows under MSCA, you must already have a Windows license, and Office can be installed on up to two computers.

Before 2003, MSCA software often came on non-holographic CDs, and some products didn’t require activation or a valid license key.