I know we're all sick of the whole Office cheating campaign here, and I wasn't going to revisit it, but I figured it was only fair that I acknowledge what Microsoft is doing to help notify students about the offer, especially at Monash Clayton, seeing as that was one of my main whinges.
I got a global email (i.e. went out to all students) from Monash's ITS department today telling students about the offer.
"Microsoft is offering the top of the range Ultimate 2007 version of Microsoft Office to all Australian university students at a low price for a limited time.
This offer is available from Monday 12th March to midnight Monday 28th May."
The email goes on, explaining the pricing structure, conditions of purchase, and gives the link to the site.
This is a great move as it adds a lot more authority to the offer (i.e. students assume that Monash University has checked it out and won't be passing on dud offers). I've already had a mate tell me about the offer today from the email, so it's definitely working - he agreed it was a great deal.
More could be done, especially given the number of people who don't check their uni emails, but this is a good start and at least gets people talking about it. Some free trial version CDs (along with an insert directing them to the site to purchase it) and posters are other quick ways to make it better. It's hard for Microsoft to get traction at Clayton though when they don't have any student partners to help them out, like they do at
QUT.
P.S. Berno, if you're reading this - check your email.