Microsoft has increased fees and added faculty training to a program that assists universities, colleges, and high schools that want to train students on Microsoft technologies. The new IT Academy program modifies and rebrands the former Authorized Academic Training Provider (AATP) program, which encouraged academic institutions to include Microsoft technologies and curriculum material in their programs.

The AATP program was free and offered academic institutions 100 free licenses to use Microsoft products for training, as well as steep discounts on curriculum materials. The IT Academy costs US$5,000 for similar benefits, although the fee covers free training for up to two faculty members. A less-expensive version of the IT Academy, aimed primarily at high schools, includes less training and provides only 30 free licenses, for US$1,500.

The change also reduces the financial disadvantages faced by Microsoft Certified Technical Education Centers (CTECs), which pay US$2,500 a year for CTEC membership and must keep a minimum number of highly trained Microsoft Certified Trainers on staff. In contrast, participants in the IT Academy need only have a Microsoft Certified Professional—a title available to anybody who passes one Microsoft exam.

Academic institutions have the option of being either a CTEC or participating in the IT Academy program, but cannot participate in both simultaneously. Another option, particularly attractive to computer science or technical departments within academic institutions, is the MSDN Academic Alliance, which offers faculty members and students access to a wide range of Microsoft software for US$799 a year.

The IT Academy program is described at www.microsoft.com/education/msitacademy. The MSDN Academic Alliance program is described at www.msdnaa.net.