Microsoft 365
Source: https://www.york.ac.uk/it-services/tools/microsoft-365/ Parent: https://www.york.ac.uk/students/support/disability/resources/
Microsoft 365 is a suite of tools including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and OneDrive. They enhance communication and productivity, and make it easy to work and study from any device.
Google Workspace is our main productivity tool at York and is recommended for sharing files and collaborating with others in real-time. It offers suite of tools including Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides and Sites.
Microsoft 365 includes:
- OneDrive: cloud storage for storing personal files securely
- Word, Excel, and PowerPoint: collaborative document editing, spreadsheets and presentations with real-time feedback
- Teams (limited functionality): join meetings and participate in other organisations’ Teams channels and meetings. (Zoom is our recommended video conferencing tool)
- Publisher: create professional-quality publications such as brochures, newsletters, and flyers
- OneNote (limited functionality): digital note-taking app to capture and organise notes, drawings, and multimedia
- Access: database management system to create, manage, and analyse data. (Only available on University managed devices.)
Key features
- Personal storage: view, edit and store your own documents. (You should use Google Shared drives to store collaborative documents, so your team can access documents even if the original creator leaves the University).
- Regular backups of files on managed laptops: when using a managed laptop, files saved to your OneDrive folder are automatically backed up to the cloud, providing you have an internet connection.
- OneDrive offline access: you can make files available for offline editing.
- OneDrive version history: keep track of changes to your documents and revert to an older version.
- Mobile apps are available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Access instructions
Sign in with your York email address and password. Duo two-factor authentication is required.
- This software is installed in our computer labs and on University managed laptops which use Entra ID (find out how to tell if your laptop is managed by Entra ID.)
- For all other University managed devices, you can install this software from the Software Center (Windows) and Self Service (Mac).
- For other devices, see how to install Microsoft 365.
Related tools
Available to staff and students
You can use this service on University-managed and personal devices.
App and web-based
Compatible with Windows, Mac, Android and iOS. This service also works in your web browser.
Funded by the University
There isn’t a cost to you for standard University use.
(For personal use, University and HYMS staff are eligible for the Microsoft Workplace Discount Programme, giving you 30% off annual plans.)
Access instructions
Sign in with your York email address and password. Duo two-factor authentication is required.
- This software is installed in our computer labs and on University managed laptops which use Entra ID (find out how to tell if your laptop is managed by Entra ID.)
- For all other University managed devices, you can install this software from the Software Center (Windows) and Self Service (Mac).
- For other devices, see how to install Microsoft 365.
Related tools
Guides and help
How-to guides and set up
- Quick start guides (microsoft.com)
- More software and apps and how to obtain them
Training and best practice
- Training guides (microsoft.com)
- Make your content accessible to everyone (microsoft.com)
Accessibility
- Accessibility tools for Microsoft 365 apps (microsoft.com)
- View accessibility reports (microsoft.com)
Contact for support
If you're experiencing technical issues and need advice, please contact IT Services.
Service commitments
Your responsibilities and policies
- Shared devices:\
- The University has a subscription to Microsoft 365. You must only install and use this Microsoft 365 subscription on devices and within computer accounts that you alone use. It must not be installed on devices and accounts used by family and friends.
- Sensitive Information:
- Be cautious when handling confidential data or sensitive data supplied as part of a research contract. Ensure that you are aware of data protection requirements and consider whether it is more appropriate to store the documents in the University's filestore, not on personal devices.
- If you work with confidential information you should use the appropriate system designed to manage this information securely.
- Avoid making your own copies of student or staff data and never keep copies of personal information on portable computers or storage media.
- Learn more about protecting information, especially if it's confidential information.
- For further details, see Information and Records Management policy.
- File retention and disposal:
- Carefully consider whether you need to keep a copy of each file you create; you should delete files once they have fulfilled their purpose.
- Information legislation (including the Freedom of Information Act and the Data Protection Act) attaches a legal responsibility for all information stored on computers and you may inadvertently find yourself in breach of this legislation (eg if you keep copies of files that are not needed).
- Naturally there are some files which must be retained and stored but these should be kept to an absolute minimum based on real necessity.
- Sharing Files: \
- Newly created documents in Microsoft 365 are only accessible by the document owner and access to others is granted by sharing individual documents or folders. However, we don’t recommend sharing files in OneDrive. The University’s approved filestore for shared documents Google Drive.
- Data Privacy and security:
- You must ensure you are signed in with a University of York account for data protection agreements and contracts to be applied.
- Your data in Microsoft 365 is stored in the UK, EU, or US. The University has a GDPR-compliant contract with Microsoft. Before storing data, consider privacy needs. Learn more about Microsoft 365 data locations (microsoft.com).
- Intellectual Property: You retain all rights over any intellectual property you store in Microsoft 365. Equally, Microsoft retains all intellectual property rights it holds in its provision and delivery of the service. For more information see data management at Microsoft (microsoft.com).
- Security and Law: Data may be shared if required by law. Microsoft’s privacy practices comply with relevant regulations. We advise that you only use your University Microsoft account for University related activities (eg documents relating to your job or course), and that you maintain a separate account for personal use. This will ensure that, in the event of authorised staff being required to access your account under the terms of our IT investigations and data access policy, they will not see any personal information (eg private emails).
- There is no advertising to staff or students within Microsoft 365.
- For further information, refer to:
- Data protection and privacy (microsoft.com).
- Privacy statement (microsoft.com)
- Administrative access controls in Microsoft 365 (Microsoft.com)
- About our practices and your data (Microsoft.com)
- We're happy to discuss queries about the University's contract with Microsoft – please contact IT Services.
- Access from China and other countries:
- Access to Microsoft is allowed in China, however, performance may vary. If you're having difficulties accessing Microsoft 365 in China, try connecting via the University’s virtual private network or virtual desktop service.
- Microsoft restricts access from certain countries. Find out which countries can access Microsoft (microsoft.com).
- Leaving the University:
- You can continue to access Microsoft 365 apps by taking out your own personal subscription. To continue accessing your personal files in OneDrive, you’ll need to move them before you leave. Follow our guides for support:\
- When someone leaves the University, we will suspend their Microsoft 365 account for 12 months. This is a precautionary grace period, allowing vital information (eg shared and departmental documents) to be retrieved by IT Services and stored in a more suitable location. Where there is a business need, we will carry out these requests in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Following the grace period, we will permanently delete the account and its associated data, including all documents still stored there. To make a request to retrieve data, please contact IT Services.
The following policies apply to all IT services provided by the University.
Service performance
Availability
- This is a live service, available 24/7.
- Check the status of this service and any planned maintenance.
Support
- This service is managed by a third party.
- They are responsible for monitoring, identifying and fixing faults. We provide advice and support for local issues during our opening hours.
Report issues with Microsoft 365 to IT Services.
Supported apps
IT Services offers user support for the following Microsoft apps and services:
Available support
The following outlines the levels and scope of support provided by IT Services. We offer different levels of support depending on the app.
OneDrive and 365 apps:
- The IT Support Office, part of IT Services, will attempt to resolve any issues in the first instance. If this is not possible, the IT Support Office will escalate it to second level support staff.
- Second level support staff will deal with more complex issues. Resolution may be delayed if staff with the appropriate skills are not available (for example, due to absence).
- Issues with the components provided by IT Services (eg the authentication service) will be investigated locally. Issues with Microsoft-provided components will be reported to Microsoft Support where relevant.
- IT Services are only able to provide support for University related work. IT Services provide technical support. If a query involves academic assistance with coursework, our IT Services staff will close the query and refer the student to their course tutor.
- Be aware the University of York’s primary cloud storage is Google Workspace. The University cannot replicate this level of support for OneDrive and Microsoft 365. These are considered a secondary storage solution.
Microsoft Teams:
IT Services’ support is limited when connecting to Teams hosted by external organisations. To resolve problems in these cases, users may need to contact the host organisation for support.
For further information about Teams and its key features, see our overview of Microsoft Teams.
Other apps
For all other Microsoft apps, IT Services' support is limited.
- IT Services link to relevant support within the tools, software and services web pages.
- IT Services will help users find documentation provided by Microsoft and relevant information in Microsoft Support (microsoft.com).
Standards
- Our service performance and standards have been produced in consultation with our customers. We regularly monitor the delivery, performance and availability of facilities and services.
Feedback and complaints
We appreciate feedback as it helps us review and continually improve our service.
Page last reviewed: 23 December 2025