The University of Toronto (U of T) provides all community members with access to a Microsoft 365 toolkit. These toolkits give staff, students and faculty access to core Microsoft applications such as Outlook email and calendaring, in addition to a range of other Microsoft 365 applications.
The Microsoft toolkit assigned to an individual is designed to match the nature of their relationship with the University and the type of work they perform on a regular basis. U of T uses a Microsoft licensing model to grant access to Microsoft 365 products automatically: the license provisioned to an individual user is determined by their official employee and/or student database records.
Please read the remainder of this knowledge article to learn more about:
For an overview of the Microsoft products that are available with each toolkit, please read: Microsoft 365 Licensing – Toolkits for staff, faculty, students and other community members.
Toolkits aren’t always one size fits all: a U of T community member may require access to Microsoft products outside of their toolkit. In these instances, IT support staff should submit a licensing assignment review request through the Enterprise Service Centre on behalf of the individual. Individuals who submit their own requests will be redirected to their divisional IT. Please read the exceptions request policy knowledge article for more information.
Please note that individuals’ employee and/or student database records must accurately reflect their relationship to the University. Falsification of information so that community members may obtain access to additional Microsoft tools is not permitted.
The table below provides an overview of the different Microsoft toolkits that are offered to U of T community members. To learn more about toolkit assignment criteria and the products that can be accessed through each toolkit, see “Which toolkit am I eligible for?” and “What’s inside my toolkit?” below.
Toolkit type |
Designed for... |
Assigned to... |
Full |
U of T staff* and appointed, salaried faculty who require access to standard and advanced Microsoft tools to perform their roles at the University |
Executive leadership Professional and managerial staff Appointed salaried faculty Administrative staff with regular computing duties Library workers Research associates Post-graduates Other individuals whose roles require access to additional services such as Power BI or Telephony *Appointed faculty and staff who are also enrolled as students should see Dual status. |
Standard |
U of T staff and who require access to standard Microsoft tools to perform their roles at the University. |
Casual staff Clinical (MD) Faculty, Status Only Faculty, and Adjunct Faculty Staff who do not have regular computing duties as part of their role |
Student |
U of T community members whose primary role* is student and require access to a full range Microsoft tools. |
Full time students part-time students *Note: Staff members enrolled as a part-time OR full time student |
Dual status |
U of T staff and faculty with full or part-time student status who require access to standard and advanced Microsoft tools to perform their roles at the University. |
Active staff and faculty with full or part-time student status |
Alumni |
U of T alumni who wish to stay connected with the University community through email and calendaring. |
Alumni |
|
U of T retired faculty, Friends of the University and other affiliates who require access to U of T email and calendaring to facilitate their work with the University. |
Retired faculty Friends of the University Other affiliates |
The toolkit a U of T community member is eligible for is determined by the nature of their work with the University and the tools they need to perform their role. For a detailed overview of default toolkit assignments by subarea code, please view the appendix below.
Please review the table below for an overview of different roles and their corresponding toolkit types.
Note: Active staff and faculty with student status should reference the "I’m a staff/faculty member, but also a part-time student. Which toolkit will I get?" FAQ.
Role |
Toolkit type |
Notes |
Senior leadership |
Full |
Note: ‘Administrative staff’ includes non-PM administrative staff who do not belong to USW. ‘USW staff’ includes all administrative and technical USW staff.
The full toolkit also includes individuals whose roles require access to advanced administrative tools as per the exceptions policy.
|
Professional and |
||
USW staff |
||
Appointed salaried faculty |
||
Librarians |
||
Library workers |
||
Non-PM and non-USW administrative staff |
||
Police |
||
Post-doctoral |
||
Research associates |
||
Research officers |
||
Sessionals and stipendiaries |
||
Stationary engineers, building management, systems technicians and building engineers |
||
Casual staff |
Standard |
Note: ‘Casual staff’ includes all salaried, temporary and hourly casual staff. |
Clinical (MD) faculty |
||
Status only faculty |
||
Adjunct faculty |
||
Crafts, trades and manual workers |
||
Hospitality workers |
||
Sales and service personnel |
||
Trades workers |
||
Full time students |
Student |
|
part-time students |
||
Fellows |
||
Graduate assistants |
||
Teaching assistants |
||
Active staff and faculty members with student status |
Dual Status |
Note: See "I’m a staff/faculty member, but also a part-time student. Which toolkit will I get?" in the FAQ below. |
Alumni |
Alumni |
Excludes U of T alumni who are active staff, students or faculty. |
Retired librarians |
|
|
Retired faculty |
||
Friends of the University |
||
Other affiliates |
The new and improved licensing assignment model is automated, streamlined and transparent by design: it recognizes that technology isn’t one size fits all. Our Microsoft licensing assignment model was created to equip you with the Microsoft tools you need for the type of work you do at the University.
For example, if you are a staff member and your role involves a lot of administrative work, you likely have the full toolkit. Alternatively, if you are someone who does a lot of work away from a computer (e.g. a food service worker), you likely have the standard toolkit.
The University uses information in ROSI, HRIS and other data sources to determine the default toolkit that someone is assigned. This process is automated.
Yes, all toolkits are secure and meet the University’s security standards. All toolkits also feature Microsoft advanced threat protection features.
We recognize that technology isn’t one size fits all, and sometimes an individual might require access to a Microsoft tool that is not included in their default assigned toolkit. In these cases, we ask that your local IT support person submit an exceptions form through the Enterprise Service Centre. We will review your request and get back to you as soon as possible. Learn more about submitting an exceptions request.
The full toolkit is not better than the standard toolkit. Both toolkits give you access to the same core Microsoft tools, with the exception of more specialized administrative tools like Power BI and Bookings. If your work is not highly administrative, it is unlikely that you will require access to the full toolkit.
Yes, the standard toolkit grants you access to Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The only difference is that the standard toolkit solely provides access to the online versions of Word, PowerPoint and Excel. A great benefit of this is that you can access your Office documents from any computer in the world with an internet connection.
If you have the full toolkit, you can also download Office apps on up to five personal devices. This is a great option for those who need to perform advanced administrative work from multiple locations or computers.
Anyone can download desktop Office applications to work devices via the University of Toronto Microsoft Campus and School Agreement (CASA). Learn more here.
To learn more about using Office online with the standard toolkit, read these knowledge articles:
Yes, you can still use Outlook if you have the standard toolkit. On work devices, you can download the desktop version of Outlook as needed via the University of Toronto Microsoft Campus and School Agreement (CASA). You can also access your U of T email from anywhere in the world through Outlook Online (OWA) at mail.utoronto.ca.
Yes, you can continue to use the online or desktop version of Teams. You can download Teams for free from: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/microsoft-teams/download-app.
By default, all staff and faculty with an active full or part-time student status will be assigned a dual status toolkit. These toolkits include the same features associated with the student toolkit and also provide access to additional advanced administrative tools such as Forms, Bookings, Planner and Project.
The table below outlines the subarea codes that determine the default Microsoft 365 license a faculty, staff or student community member is assigned.*
SubArea |
Description |
Expanded Description |
Microsoft License Assigned |
50 |
Pres/V-P/V-Prov |
President, VPs, Provost (Senior Leaders of the University - Academics) |
Full (A5) |
100 |
Academic |
Faculty members (Professors, etc) |
Full (A5) |
400 |
Librarian |
Librarians (UTFA) |
Full (A5) |
510 |
PM |
Professionals and Managers |
Full (A5) |
550 |
Admin./Conf. |
Admin Confidentials (HR Staff non PM) |
Full (A5) |
600 |
Research Assoc |
Research Associates |
Full (A5) |
700 |
Carp F/T L27 |
Carpenters FT |
Standard (A1) |
800 |
Lib FT,PT L1230 |
Library workers FT and PT |
Full (A5) |
900 |
CUPE F/T L3261 |
Facilities & Services FT |
Standard (A1) |
1000 |
CUPE RPT L3261 |
Facilities & Services PT |
Standard (A1) |
1100 |
Elec F/T L353 |
Electricians FT |
Standard (A1) |
1200 |
Lock/MachF L353 |
Locksmiths and machinists FT |
Standard (A1) |
1300 |
Unifor FT L2003 |
Stationary engineers, building management systems technicians and building engineers FT |
Full (A5) |
1400 |
Police F/T L519 |
Police FT |
Full (A5) |
1600 |
Plumb F/T L46 |
Plumbers FT |
Standard (A1) |
1700 |
Sht Mtl F/T L30 |
Sheet Metal FT |
Standard (A1) |
1800 |
Res Officer F/T |
OISE Research Officer FT |
Full (A5) |
1900 |
C3261FP 89ChNut |
89 Chestnut residence hospitality workers |
Standard (A1) |
2000 |
USW |
USW - administrative and technical employees FT and PT |
Full (A5) |
2100 |
ELC-CUPE L2484 |
Early Learning Centre - Day care workers and support staff |
Standard (A1) |
4100 |
C3261Cas 89ChNt |
89 Chestnut residence casual employees |
Standard (A1) |
4150 |
Elect Tmp L353 |
Electricians Temp |
Standard (A1) |
4250 |
Lock/MachT L353 |
Locksmiths and Machinists Temp |
Standard (A1) |
4450 |
Police Tmp L519 |
Police Temp |
Full (A5) |
4650 |
Plumb Tmp L46 |
Plumbers Temp |
Standard (A1) |
4750 |
Carp Tmp L27 |
Carpenters Temp |
Standard (A1) |
4950 |
CUPE Tmp L3261 |
Casual workers on all three campuses Temp |
Standard (A1) |
5100 |
Casual Salaried |
Non Appointed - Casual Salaried |
Standard (A1) |
5150 |
Casual Hourly |
Non Appointed - Casual Hourly |
Standard (A1) |
5200 |
TeachAsst L3902 |
Teaching Assistants |
Student (A5 SUB) |
5250 |
Grad Asst L3907 |
Graduate assistants at OISE |
Student (A5 SUB) |
5300 |
CUPE 3261 Cas |
Casual Employees CUPE 3261 |
Standard (A1) |
5350 |
Lib 1230 StuCas |
Library workers CUPE Local 1230 (Student casual) |
Student (A5 SUB) |
5450 |
CUPE 3902,Unit3 |
Sessional Lecturers - CUPE 3902 Unit 3 |
Full (A5) |
5470 |
PoSTANDARDocL3902U5 |
Post-doctoral fellows CUPE 3902 Unit 5 |
Full (A5) |
5500 |
Academic Mgr |
Academic Managers not paid by the University (Hospitals) that manage UofT EE - Recently created |
Full (A5) |
6000 |
Canadian |
Students and Fellows - External |
Student (A5 SUB) |
6100 |
Foreign |
Students and Fellows - Foreign |
Student (A5 SUB) |
7200 |
Admin./Conf. |
External Appointed - Admin Confidentials (HR Staff non PM) |
Full (A5) |
7210 |
PM |
External Appointed - Professionals and Managers |
Full (A5) |
7500 |
Casual Salaried |
External Non Appointed - Casual Salaried |
Standard (A1) |
7550 |
Casual Hourly |
External Non Appointed - Casual Hourly |
Standard (A1) |
*For active staff and faculty with student status, please see the dual status toolkit.