Information about the Mircosoft license change at the RWTH

On May 1st, the Microsoft Office licenses at the RWTH will be changed. On this page, we want to explain to you what exactly will be changed, how you can continue to use the Microsoft Office products and what you have to consider, for example, with regard to your data currently stored in OneDrive and OneNote.

The reason for the change is a new agreement with Microsoft at RWTH Aachen University. Currently, you log in to Microsoft by entering your normal RWTH e-mail address as your user name at office.com, for example. Here you can download the office programs for your computer. This will no longer be possible from the first of May, as the license for this account will then be withdrawn. Instead of this access, the RWTH Single-Sign-On will be used from the first of May. However, you must first activate this access. The current Microsoft Office functionality will be maintained or even extended in some places.

Activation of the new Microsoft access

Step 1: First, log in to the RWTH’s Selfservice.

Step 2: Then click on the tab “Accounts and passwords”. Click on the blue pencil icon in the line “RWTH Single Sign-On”.

Step 3: Scroll down to the bottom of the page that appears. There you will find two checkboxes, both of which you need to confirm.

By doing so, you agree to the use of Microsoft Office 365 and give your consent to the transfer of some of your personal data to Microsoft.

Step 4: Then press “Save”.

Please note: It will now take a maximum of one day until you will be able to use your new Microsoft account.

Use of Microsoft products from May onwards

To use the new license, you will have to log in differently than usual. For example, if you want to log in to office.com, students have to enter egal@students.rwth-aachen.de as their e-mail address, RWTH employees use the e-mail address egal@m365.rwth-aachen.de. (you really have to enter “don’t care”) You will now be redirected to the single sign-on of the RWTH.

Afterwards you will be redirected back to office.com with your new RWTH account, from which you will be able to download and install the Office products locally from May 1st. In the meantime, during the transition phase, you may not have the license on either the old or the new account.

OneDrive and OneNote

With the new license, you can of course continue to use OneDrive or OneNote as usual. However, your data will not be automatically transferred to your new account. The IT Center cannot completely guarantee that your old files will still be available during the changeover. Therefore, please backup the complete content of your OneDrive folder locally and export your OneNote notebooks to your local PC before the beginning of May. As soon as the new license is activated, you can upload or import your data via your new account.

More information & contact points

Check out the IT Center Blog for detailed information on the changeover.
The IT Center Help documentation portal provides answers to frequently asked questions.

If you have any further questions or problems, you can contact the IT Center’s ServiceDesk at any time.
The ServiceDesk can be reached by email and also by phone on weekdays.