Exploring the use of iPads and mobile devices in education.

Volume Purchasing

Apple recently introduced a new Volume Purchasing Plan (VPP) for educational institutions. According to the Apple website:

The Volume Purchase Program makes it easy for educational institutions to purchase iOS apps in volume and distribute those apps to users. The Volume Purchase Program also allows app developers to offer special pricing for purchases of 20 apps or more.

Find the latest information about Apple's VPP at the following link::
Apple Store Volume Purchase Program

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Comment by Richard McNitt on February 16, 2012 at 1:57pm: I actually found an answer to this issue, passed on by another user on the Apple Support forums. From page 19 of the iOS 4 Education Deployment Guide

Education institutions have the option of redeeming one app code per iTunes authorized computer, or “sync station,” and retaining the rest of the codes as proof of purchase.

So as I understand this it implies using one iTunes account for multiple devices is OK. This would make cloning permissible, from a licensing standpoint, using the educational VPP. This is a significantly different from the Business VPP which requires a unique iTunes account for each device.

Comment by Richard McNitt on December 27, 2011 at 12:09pm: One of the concerns we've had with app deployment is licensing. As I understand the AppStore EULA a license is valid for use by one individual on multiple devices, or multiple individuals on one device...but installing an app on one device then sharing that device across many users is not technically permitted under the EULA. Also, device cloning would technically be impermissible. I understand that Apple is currently less stringent and concerned about this issue in an educational setting, but I'm in Not for Profit Healthcare and it seems to be a big concern for our people that monitor software compliance. I'm familiar with the business Volume Purchase program and understand you can allocate licenses in an Excel spreadsheet, but it seems that you can only assign one license per Apple ID or device.....I suppose you could purchase the necessary number of licenses assign one and keep the others "allocated" to the other devices by keeping notes....Any thoughts or comments about this? We forsee a need for multi device deployments, but barring an MDM to keep track of apps and licenses we can't figure a way to be in exact compliance with the EULA without maintaining each device seperately. I appreciate any advice or comments.

Comment by Jim on October 13, 2011 at 7:22am: @tania---outside of the US the only practical way to be legal is to use the consumer iTunes "gift this app" feature to buy the appropriate number of app redeem codes for the number of devices you want to install the app on

Comment by Tania Grosz on October 13, 2011 at 7:14am: Hi! Have you found any solution for a Volume Purchase Program outside of the US? For now, we only have 5 ipads, so we are just installing them with one account. Starting next school year, we are getting a big amount so our "one user" system will not work anymore. Thanks for your help!

Comment by Wayne Lang on August 28, 2011 at 9:56pm: Why not issue your students with an iTunes gift card for the amount of the apps? They then purchase the app on their own account and backup with their own sync.

Comment by s.lustenhouwer on July 11, 2011 at 11:34pm: Apple Store Volume Purchase Program is offered only in the US.

What are the ways schools outside the US are distributing apps to their students?

For our pilot I bought the app and gave the students the password to my account which they would use to buy apps. This was ok for our pilot which included a group of 20 students whom I trust wholeheartedly. However, I'd rather not continue this next year as we are looking to extend the pilot into more classes.

Comment by Lori Roe on March 20, 2011 at 10:19am: I agree on keeping the Apple ID for the App Store Volume Purchasing Program separate from the "iTunes" accounts used for redeeming the activation code(s) purchased by the Program Facilitator. Thanks for including this clearly in your procedures. It is also recommended to create Apple ID's with school emails to be used for both the Program Facilitator and for the iTunes accounts being managed by teachers. This way if a teacher or admin PF leaves the district, the accounts can be inherited by whomever fills the position. The district owns the apps purchased, not the individual person.

Comment by Jim Siegl on February 12, 2011 at 12:42pm: Ed,

Redeeming a code associates it with the Itunes account that redeems the code, just the same as if it was purchased. There is no way to transfer a purchase once it has been redeemed. The best way to deal with this is use accounts associated with a generic email address (e.g. iPad#1@myschool.org)