Available Software & Services

Students and employees have access to Microsoft 365 online apps and Microsoft Office free of charge while their BSU account remains active. Learn how to install Microsoft 365.

There are a number of other services and software available, such as Adobe Creative Cloud, SPSS, Mathematica, Minitab and more. The Software section of our Knowledge Base has instructions for installing this software. We are glad to help if you need to request assistance with installing software.

Purchasing Software & Services

Before you can purchase or renew software or a web-based service, the terms of the product’s contract and license must be reviewed. The software review questionnaire will begin the review process.

This request will facilitate communications between you, the vendor, local IT, the Business Office, Minnesota State General Counsel office and Minnesota State Security Office. Depending on the complexity of the contract and required revisions, this process can take several weeks to complete. Please prepare accordingly. IT will be in touch with you regarding next steps after you begin the software review process.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. All software, apps, cloud services, or online subscriptions—whether hosted on a Bemidji State University (BSU) or Northwest Technical College (NTC) server, a BSU/NTC workstation, or in the cloud—must be reviewed and approved before use, regardless of cost. This includes free software or services you want to use or test.

By using any software, service or subscription, you are accepting a contract on behalf of the State of Minnesota. The contract may contain language that the institution cannot agree to, such as allowing the vendor to sell or provide data collected by the software etc. We also need to ensure that the vendor will protect our data. Data breaches involving personal data and new regulations for reporting breaches make it imperative that we enhance our procedures and exercise great caution to protect our faculty, staff and students.

Work with your department purchaser to complete software questionnaire.

Send all related documents such as quotes, End User License Agreements (EULAs), terms of use and privacy policies to procurement@bemidjistate.edu.

Information Technology Services (ITS) will review the request from an IT perspective. They will consider items such as:

  • How do you intend to use the software, service or subscription?
  • Do we already have a software, service or subscription that will meet your needs?
  • What data will be collected by the software?
  • Will the vendor have access to our systems or data and if so, what is the classification of that data?
  • If the software will be hosted locally or requires integration with existing systems, can IT meet the desired timeline for implementation?
  • What is the best way to license this software?
  • Does this software request need to be sent to Risk Assessment for an in-depth security review?

Business Services will also review the request. They will consider items such as:

  • Will this purchase require multiple bids, or will it need to be published as an RFP?
  • Can this purchase be placed on a p-card or should it be placed in Marketplace?
  • Does this purchase need to be sent to the System Office for a full legal review?

Staff from Information Technology Services and the Business Office will reach out to you with any questions they have and will provide you further instructions on when and how to proceed.

You need to have the software, service or subscription reviewed each time it comes up for renewal. The related documents or the way you use the software, service or subscription may have changed. Software that is paid for and/or renewed through automatic payments should be reviewed on an annual basis. You should not agree to a software license, service agreement, subscription, etc. with automatic renewals. Do not sign any vendor agreements. Agreements must be signed by our Chief Information Officer (CIO) or Vice President for Finance and Administration.