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AI License Purchasing Program Memo and Guidance

AI License Purchasing Program Memo and Guidance

Administrative Memo (11/19/2025)

TO: Vice Presidents, Deans, Department Heads, and Directors

FROM: Timothy M. Chester, Vice President for Information Technology

RE: AI License Purchasing Program and Request for Information by Dec. 8

 

Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS) is introducing a new AI License Purchasing Program that offers an easier, centralized way for UGA units to purchase generative AI tools for faculty and staff use. To support onboarding in January 2026, interested units are asked to submit their initial license estimates by December 8, 2025.

This program provides a consistent way to acquire these tools under the university’s data protection and privacy agreements, offering enhanced safeguards not available in individual or consumer versions. It simplifies purchasing by removing the need for departmental Computer Equipment, Software and Services (CESS) requests, purchase requests in UGAMart, P-card transactions, and reimbursements, reducing administrative burden and improving efficiency. 

Tools available for purchase:

Tool

Vendor

Annual Cost per License*

Gemini AI Pro for Education

Google

$240 ($20 per month)

ChatGPT Edu

OpenAI

$276 ($23 per month)

Claude Enterprise for Education

Anthropic

$276 ($23 per month)

M365 Copilot 

Microsoft

$276 ($23 per month)

 

*This pricing reflects current vendor rates and is subject to change based on future contract updates.

Each unit’s business office is asked to submit an estimated number of licenses in TeamDynamix by December 8, 2025, to help EITS plan for January onboarding and gauge overall campus interest. Additional purchase periods will follow in 2026, and more information about the program will be available soon.

Questions may be directed to the EITS AI Tools Team. 

Thank you for your partnership in extending secure, innovative AI resources to the UGA community.

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Administrative Memos are coordinated through the Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. For more information, contact Mike Wooten at mwooten@uga.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. How can I register my interest in any of the products?

    1. Please submit your requests using the Franklin College AI Tool Consolidated Order Request Form and fill in all required fields.

  2. When can I buy into or leave the program?

    1. EITS has indicated the buy-in periods will be prior to each semester, or three times per year.

    2. Discontinuation of services will occur on an annual basis prior to the renewal.

  3. When can I expect billing for the products?

    1. Around January 2026. EITS has indicated that they are reviewing the purchase needs to be handled at the beginning of 2026. Individuals should take that into consideration when expressing their interests.

  4. If I’m interested, do I need to purchase the license(s)?

    1. Yes. This project is solely to consolidate campus-wide ordering and ease the administrative overhead to faculty and staff interested in these products. It does not provide funding. Interested individuals will fill out the Franklin College interest form and provide a chartstring for the charges.

  5. Do I have to purchase through this method?

    1. Not yet. Our (Franklin OIT) advice is if you have something currently in-use and working, stay with the product and process for at least this initial 2026 calendar year. Allow the process some time to shake out before switching. Consider changing in 2027. If you are a new user, yes, it makes sense to go through this process.

  6. What are the differences between the existing (free) products and these paid upgrades?

    1. Franklin OIT has created a comparison of free versus paid AI LLM tools.

  7. Will faculty and staff lose access to the current (free) versions of Google Gemini/NotebookLM and Microsoft Copilot?

    1. No. The existing campus licenses for both Google and Microsoft products include these AI models. From available communications, there are currently no plans to remove them or change the pricing (free). These specific products should continue to function as before. (For more information on how to access the products, view the available AI products on the AI Hub website).