<p>Students will get free access provided university or school is already paying.</p><p>Microsoft today announced the official launch of its latest program to give students access to Office. Redmond revealed that student attending a school that licenses Office 365 ProPlus or Office Professional Plus for staff and faculty will now be able to access Office 365 for free. Dubbed Student Advantage, Microsoft first announced this program way back in October. Now, Student Advantage is live. As of December 1, a total of 35,000 educational institutes worldwide are running Student Advantage programs.</p><p>Microsoft writes that 97 percent of students using productivity software are Microsoft Office users. What's more, proficiency with Microsoft Office is ranked number three on the list of skills employers look for in candidates for high-growth, high-wage occupations. Proficiency with PowerPoint and World come in at number 11 and number 13 respectively.</p><p>"Microsoft Office skills were sought after five times more than any other productivity tools. Even Google's own job postings require competency with Microsoft Office tools," Microsoft wrote in an official blog post. "Because Office is such a highly valued skillset with employers, students who use Office 365 will have the most up-to-date versions of the productivity tools they need to excel in the classroom and the workforce."</p><p><a href="http://www.tomshardware.com/news/microsoft-office-free-students,25272.html">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/02/microsoft-rolls-out-student-advantage-giving-students-free-access-to-its-office-suite/">Microsoft Rolls Out Student Advantage, Giving Students Free Access To Its ...</a> (TechCrunch)</p><p><a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/teachers-can-now-offer-office-365-to-their-students-for-free-with-worldwide-launch-of-microsofts-student-advantage/">Teachers Can Now Offer Office 365 To Their Students For Free With Worldwide ...</a> (MakeUseOf)</p><p><a href="http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-squares-up-to-google-in-the-school-yard-with-free-office-365-for-students-deal-7000023873/">Microsoft squares up to Google in the schoolyard with free Office 365 for ...</a> (ZDNet)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=doBmDlJqihXA83MkHu9sADFX2hy5M&ned=us">41 additional articles.</a></p>