All OCA students are assigned a Microsoft Office 365 license after successful completion of the 2-week induction period; please do not try to sign in before induction is complete.
Important Update (29/04/2026): Due to Microsoft revoking education licenses from providers, including OCA, Office 365 can now only be accessed and used online. To clarify, you can use the web browser version of Office 365 applications, but are unable to use your OCA Email Account to sign into the desktop version. The guidance below has been updated to reflect this.
Notice
Due to persistent issues with Microsoft errors which are beyond the scope of the TEL Team to resolve, we recommend using Google Drive and the Integrated Applications available. See the What is Google Drive? article and What are Integrated Applications (Docs / Slides / Sheets)? article for more information. At the minimum we recommend downloading Office 365 applications, but storing files locally or using Google Drive to avoid the use of OneDrive.
Accessing Office 365
Before accessing Office 365, you will need to ensure that you are signed into the Google homepage - google.com - using your OCA Email Account. For more information, see the How do I sign into my OCA Email Account? article.
Once signed in, follow the step-by-step guidance below:
1. To navigate to Office 365. You can either open the Google Applications Menu and select the 'MS Office 365' shortcut, as outlined in the How can I navigate the Google Homepage Interface? article, or access the site directly at m365.cloud.microsoft.
Selecting the application whilst signed into your OCA Email Account will sign you in automatically. In the event that you are signed into multiple Google Accounts, you will need to select your OCA Account from a list of user accounts.
2. If you encounter an error message when attempting to sign in, please contact the IT Team by submitting a support request or emailing ithelpdesk@oca.ac.uk. Remember to include a screenshot or a copy of the error message you have encountered to enable the team to investigate the issue further.
3. Once signed in, you will be able to use Office 365 online.
If you are new to Office 365 or would like to learn more about how to get started with application features, take a look at the Microsoft 365 Help & Learning.