If you are a student, do you know you can purchase pricey academic software for almost half its retail price? That is, you can if you take advantage of the so-called ‘academic discount software’ for students and educators. Now you might ask, “What is an academic software discount?”
Academic software is exactly what its name suggests – software specially priced for the students, faculty and other academic members. This program provides software products to the academic community at an intentionally discounted price. Many top software developers and publishers recognize the academe as opinion leaders for their software products, and so provide discounts for universities and schools.
There is absolutely no difference between academic discount software and the commercial version of the product. They are identical with no features disabled, including registration cards and manuals, and they are also upgradeable, like the regular software pack. Educational institutions, staff members, students and faculty are all eligible to buy licensed software discount packages as long as they can present their proof of academic status.
Many educators and students get discounts on educational software from specific manufacturers or retailers their college or school has bought a license for. These huge discounts are created since software developers understand the need of educational institutions to have the latest computer programs to remain highly competitive. Being updated with computer technology is particularly necessary in business software and applications in the actual work environment.
The software discount can be observed by doing price comparison between the academically priced software and the regular retail price. For instance, the price of a certain piece of academic software is $150. Given that a college has over 5000 students, you can clearly see the total savings, which are staggering.
If every student gets the same software at a retail price, the total cost would be far higher. The software in question would normally cost $500. However due to the discount, it will be reduced to $200, with the software at $150 and the academic license, which costs $50.
To be qualified to receive academic discount software, you have to prove that you are a bona fide student in an educational institution by completing an account online or faxing your proof of identity. This includes your college student identification card or class schedules. You can also present a letter from your university or college stating your right to this type of software discounts.
Common academic software manufacturers include Corel, Adobe, Microsoft, Inspiration and Macromedia. The software offered to the students and teachers by these companies are versatile and kept updated as per licensing requirements. Teachers benefit in particular, because they get to educate their students with the most updated and advanced technologies.
To be eligible for the license and the software, a verification process has to be undergone. It is then passed on to college level, but only to accredited learning institutions. This licensing verification process for academic discount software ensures parents that their students are not using illegal software.
Keep in mind that academic discount software is fully licensed and that the ones used by eligible institutions are not OEM copies. They are also delivered in factory-packed retail boxes with features identical to their commercial counterpart. You will also be able to register such software and receive tech support from the software manufacturer support groups.