On February 2, 2001 the bishops of Nebraska's three dioceses granted their permission for The Nebraska Catholic Conference to enter into an Academic Select 5.0 Volume Purchasing program with Microsoft Corporation and Software Plus of St. Louis, Missouri, a Microsoft authorized LAR (Large Account Reseller) for 24 months. While many of Nebraska's Catholic schools have been able to purchase Microsoft software products through local MOLP, Open License Program, resellers, they haven't been able to participate in the Select program available to their public school counterparts through an agreement between The Nebraska Department of Education, Microsoft, and Software Plus. This agreement was renewed in January 2003.

Our thanks to Mitch Rowley and Jim Cunningham of The Nebraska Catholic Conference for their cooperation and assistance with making this agreement a reality for our Nebraska Catholic Schools.

Besides lower per computer/seat/workstation pricing, our participation in the Select Agreement offers our schools and educators many other benefits. Because of the important responsibility we have to set a good example for the students in our schools, we all need to model respect for and compliance with copyright/licensing laws with regard to the software installed on the computers in our schools and diocese. Each time a new computer system is added to our WAN, we must be sure that the necessary licenses are associated with that system. While it is usually necessary for new licenses to be purchased, there are occasions where our office has licenses available for use on a new system which have been removed from a system we are retiring.

To that end, please write to: [Annie King [annie-king@cdolinc.net] and/or Kim Dalton [kim-dalton@cdolinc.net] when you are in need of software licenses. They can guide and assist you in acquiring the necessary licenses. You will receive an invoice from Software Plus once your order is processed. It is crucial that you place a copy of the Purchase Order and Invoice in your software licensure file. It is the only proof of licensure you will receive.

Our primary contacts at Software Plus 888.251.7638 (314.692.7638) are:

Marcy Rodriguez, Academic Sales Manager Ext. 110 (marcyr@swpnet.com)
Lisa Moore, Academic Sales Coordinator Ext. 129 (lisam@swpnet.com)
Chad Adams, Ext. 117

All Nebraska Catholic schools are eligible to order through the agreement between The Nebraska Catholic Conference, Microsoft, and Software Plus. Software titles from the Systems, Applications, and Servers pools are all available.

The purchase orders we will place on your behalf will include The Nebraska Catholic Conference Select Agreement Number and the Lincoln Diocese Schools Enrollment Number

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Completed purchase orders can be mailed or faxed to Software Plus at:

Corporate Headquarters
10880 Baur Boulevard
St. Louis MO 63132

Fax 314.692.0856

The Microsoft Select Agreement provides our schools and teachers the following benefits:

• A clear, easy way to be proactive in software compliance at very competitive prices.
  
• Volume pricing that can save you money -- Pricing for licenses acquired under Academic Select reflects the forecast of your entire organization over a two-year agreement term.
  
• Convenient license acquisition process -- Academic Select is based on a simple transaction model, making software acquisition as easy as buying any other productivity tool.
  
• Home use rights for school administrators and teachers on some Application Pool titles
  
• Saves you money by eliminating disks and documentation, so you pay only for the license rights, not the product packaging you don't need.
  
• Product manuals and Microsoft Press¬ books are also available to satisfy the documentation needs of your institution, at http://mspress.microsoft.com/education/.
  
• Upgrade Advantage - Academic Select also allows you to upgrade existing licenses or enhance existing license usage rights. If you enroll in Microsoft Academic Select Upgrade Advantage you will be entitled to any version upgrade (major or minor) that Microsoft may release during the term of your agreement. Upgrade Advantage is a great solution to help you protect your investment in information technology, and is only available through Microsoft's volume licensing programs.
  

Additional information about Microsoft's special volume licensing programs is available at http://www.microsoft.com/education/license/mvl.asp