Purdue enters agreement to reduce cost of licenses for Zoom
Purdue’s recently announced agreement with the video-conferencing platform Zoom will allow users on the West Lafayette, Northwest, and Fort Wayne campuses to use the service at a heavily discounted rate – but departments will need to purchase a license for each user.
Purdue Northwest’s Information Services will oversee the administration of Zoom licenses. Click here to visit their website to request a Zoom license and for specific questions about using the video-conferencing tool.
Below are some questions about how the agreement with Zoom will work:
Who will be paying for this new University account?
- There is no centrally-funded license for Zoom; however, the University has negotiated a lower rate with Zoom that allows our departments to purchase an annual Zoom Education license version for $45 per user (70% off of the regular rate and 50% off of the education bulk rate).
- Beginning August 7, faculty and staff at the West Lafayette campus can order Zoom licenses for department or groups by completing the form found here. The process is not automated, and estimated time to activation is seven days.
Will the cost come back to each department?
- Yes, see above. The form requires an account number to charge back to a department.
Will the license be for unlimited users?
- No, each license is for an individual user and is not a site license for a department or team. Each meeting host will have to have her/his own license. The discounted rate of $45 per user was found to be more cost-effective than purchasing a University-wide site license.
If I currently have my own version of Zoom, do I need to get a Purdue license?
- All Zoom users who previously signed up for an account using an @purdue.edu, @pfw.edu, or @pnw.edu email address will receive an email asking if they want to consolidate their Zoom account with Purdue’s master education account. This e-mail will give users the option to either: A) merge an existing Zoom account with the Purdue master education account or B) change the e-mail used to a non-Purdue e-mail address.
- Anyone who purchased an existing Zoom account for University business will need to migrate to Purdue’s master account and therefore must select the option to merge with the Purdue master account.
- Individuals who would like to keep their personal account (free or paid) for only personal use must change their Zoom account email to a non-Purdue emails.
- Zoom users who have purchased professional or bulk educational licenses should contact csc@pnw.edu to discuss how switching to the Purdue master account will affect you.
- Bulk migration options are available for departments with 20 or more existing Zoom accounts. Contact csc@pnw.edu for additional details.
- Users with a free account will still be able to access Zoom at no cost.
What is the participant cap for the Purdue Zoom licensed host?
- The license offered through Purdue is an Education license and 300 is the default cap on participants.
- If you own a retail Pro license, the cap for those licenses is 100 participants.
Will breakout rooms, polling, pre-registration, and other features be available?
- Yes, all standard Pro and Education features will still be available. A breakdown of features available to Pro and Education licenses can be found by clicking here.
Will adding a feature, such as large meeting for one month, be possible?
- Yes, add-ons can be added to individual licenses, including large meeting, webinar, and toll-free dialing options. These features will be applied to the cost of the license at the retail rate and can be purchased by the month or annually. If you currently have a license with add-ons, contact csc@pnw.edu to discuss how moving to the Purdue account will affect you.
Are there other options available besides Zoom for video conferencing?
- Yes. Web-Ex is centrally funded and available for faculty and staff to use at no cost. Microsoft Teams is available for use as part of Purdue’s Microsoft 365 offerings and is free to use but is not supported by staff at Purdue.
- Teaching and Learning Technologies has made a document that compares Purdue's three available video confrencing tools, including information about recommended uses, options as a virtual classroom tool and how each tool should be used when discussing protected data. Click here to download the Virtual Classroom Tool Comparison document.
For more information about Zoom, including user guides and additional questions, visit Purdue Northwest’s Zoom information page.
Last updated: July 30, 2020