Question Regarding Student Use Benefit Activation After Purchasing A3 Faculty License

Question

Question Regarding Student Use Benefit Activation After Purchasing A3 Faculty License

SIBE Admin 25

Education support

I would like to ask for clarification regarding the Student Use Benefit (40:1) after purchasing Microsoft 365 A3 for Faculty.

I have already purchased a test A3 Faculty license, and I would like to understand the required steps to ensure that the Student Use Benefit is correctly activated.

Could you please clarify the following:

After purchasing an A3 Faculty license, what configuration or activation steps must be performed in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center to enable the Student Use Benefit?

Is the Student Use Benefit automatically provisioned once the tenant has at least one valid A3 Faculty license, or must this be manually requested or enabled through a specific program?

How can we verify that our tenant is eligible and that the system has allocated the 40 free A3 Student licenses per Faculty license?

Where in the Admin Center can we view, assign, or manage the automatically granted Student A3 licenses?

Thank you for helping us ensure that we configure the licensing correctly

Ryan-N 15,920 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-13T20:43:01.67+00:00

Hi @SIBE Admin,

I hope everything is going well on your end.

I’m following up on the support thread we've been working through together. I wanted to check in and see if the information I shared in my previous answer helped resolve the issue you were experiencing.

If you're still experiencing any issues or have further questions, please feel free to reach out at any time. I’m always happy to help if you need anything else.

We want to ensure everything is functioning smoothly and that your experience remains seamless.

Thank you again for your collaboration throughout the troubleshooting process. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warm regards,

Answer accepted by question author

Ryan-N 15,920 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi @SIBE Admin,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thank you for contacting us. I would like to provide you with the following information:

To check whether your tenant is eligible for academic status, please follow these steps:

Step 1: Go to admin.microsoft.com

Step 2: Click Billing > Your products

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Here you will see the status of your service plan.

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You can also refer to the following documentation:https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/commerce/subscriptions/verify-academic-eligibility?view=o365-worldwide

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After you purchase Education A3 for Faculty with an eligible academic tenant, the Student Use Benefit will be automatically activated.

To check whether the system has provisioned all A3 for Student licenses, please do the following:

Step 1: Go to admin.microsoft.com

Step 2: Click Billing > Licenses

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Here you will see the number of licenses you currently have.

If you do not see Microsoft 365 A3 for Student in this list, continue with the following steps:

Step 1: Click Billing > Purchase services

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Step 2: Search for Microsoft 365 A3 for Student,

Click Get (it will show a price of $0.00) and complete the purchase process.

After that, repeat the steps above to check the number of licenses.

To assign licenses, do the following:

Step 1: Click Users > Active users > select the student account (or tick the box on the left to assign in bulk)

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Step 2: Click Licenses and apps

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Step 3: Assign the Microsoft A3 for Student license.

Since you have purchased the A3 for Faculty plan, Microsoft provides you with a dedicated method to contact specialized support. If after completing the steps above you still cannot see the Microsoft A3 for Student licenses, please follow these steps to contact support:

Click Help and support

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Once completed, a Microsoft Live Agent will proactively reach out and assist you directly on your system to provide the most accurate information based on your tenant.

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, we can work together to resolve the issue.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to comment on this post so I can continue supporting you.

I look forward to your response.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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3 additional answers

Your answer

Ryan-N 15,920 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-13T20:43:01.67+00:00

Hi @SIBE Admin,

I hope everything is going well on your end.

I’m following up on the support thread we've been working through together. I wanted to check in and see if the information I shared in my previous answer helped resolve the issue you were experiencing.

If you're still experiencing any issues or have further questions, please feel free to reach out at any time. I’m always happy to help if you need anything else.

We want to ensure everything is functioning smoothly and that your experience remains seamless.

Thank you again for your collaboration throughout the troubleshooting process. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Warm regards,

Answer 1

The Student Use Benefit (SUB) is designed to provide free student licenses based on the number of faculty licenses purchased. Here are the clarifications regarding your questions:

Activation of Student Use Benefit: The Student Use Benefit is automatically provisioned once your tenant has at least one valid A3 Faculty license. There is no need for a manual request or activation through a specific program.
Verifying Tenant Eligibility: To verify that your tenant is eligible for the Student Use Benefit and that the system has allocated the 40 free A3 Student licenses per Faculty license, you can check the licensing section in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This will show you the number of licenses allocated and their status.
Managing Student A3 Licenses: In the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, you can view, assign, or manage the automatically granted Student A3 licenses by navigating to the Users section, then selecting Active users. From there, you can see the assigned licenses and make adjustments as necessary.

By following these steps, you should be able to ensure that the Student Use Benefit is correctly activated and managed in your environment.

References:

Microsoft 365 Education

Answer 2

SIBE Admin 25

I have activated one Microsoft 365 A3 license for Faculty in our tenant and would like to make use of the Student Use Benefit (40:1).

However, when I go to Purchase services, I still see Microsoft 365 A3 for Students listed as a paid license, and the system does not reflect any free student licenses associated with the Faculty purchase.

Could you please clarify:

Whether any additional configuration or activation steps are required to enable the Student Use Benefit?

Ryan-N 15,920 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-12-16T17:00:27.3033333+00:00

Hi @SIBE Admin,

Thank you for sharing. Please allow me to provide the following information:

Normally, the Student Use Benefit does not require any additional configuration or setup. However, to use this benefit, your tenant must be verified as academically eligible.

In this case, I recommend that you contact Microsoft Support by following the steps below. A Microsoft agent will help check your tenant’s academic eligibility status and provide detailed guidance to help you receive the Student Use Benefit.

Steps to contact Microsoft Support:

Step 1: Go to admin.microsoft.com using an account with admin permissions.

Step 2: Select Help & Support.

Step 3: Fill in all required information.

After you successfully submit the request, a Microsoft live agent will proactively reach out to check the system status and guide you further on how to receive the Student Use Benefit.

If you have any additional updates related to this issue, feel free to share them with me. I’m always ready to support you!

Answer 3

IT Department Aljamea-tus-Saifiyah 0

I have the same issue

Purchased Microsoft 365 A3 Faculty License but cant see the A3 license for Students in my admin panel/

Please can someone help?

Thanks a lot.

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