By Aytun Çelebi
Publication Date: 2026-11-11 08:31:00
Microsoft will retire its free education email service from January 1, 2028, requiring schools, colleges and universities to buy replacement licenses to retain student mailboxes.
The changes cover Office 365 A1, the Student Use Benefit program and free Exchange Online for Alumni. They generally apply when an institution first renews or extends an agreement on or after January 1, 2028.
Office 365 A1 currently gives eligible institutions free access to web-based Office applications, Teams and email. Its replacement, Microsoft 365 Education A0, does not include Exchange Online, SharePoint Online or Teams.
Eligibility for the replacement free tier also depends on institutions holding paid faculty licenses and students…