Granular Add-ins management gives teachers total control over Microsoft 365 education apps

A while ago, Microsoft added a Copilot section to the Microsoft 365 admin center, to visualize and analyze all stats regarding Copilot, from usage to integration, activity timeline, and so on.

It seems the Redmond-based tech giant is adding another section to the Microsoft 365 admin center, and this time it focuses on giving education admins (and, implicitly teachers) almost total control over the way Microsoft 365 education apps are used.

To be more precise, the Granular Add-ins feature will let admins control the availability of add-ins from the Office store, in a detailed way. The new feature will display three options:

• Non-adult student
• Adult student
• Faculty and staff

Admins will be able to limit the access of these categories to the Office store, effectively stopping them from getting apps or add-ins from the Store.

With this feature, education tenant administrators will be able to manage the availability of Add-ins from the Office store at a more granular level. We will provide three options—Non-adult student, Adult student, and Faculty and staff—under Microsoft admin center > Org Settings > User owned apps and services > Let users access the Office store. The options are based on the user’s role and age group properties.

Microsoft

Granular Add-ins: Is it necessary?

The feature, which is due to arrive in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center in February 2024, according to the Microsoft 365 Roadmap, could lead to stronger security across educational environments.

In case of a security breach, for instance, this feature could give admins the tools to control the damage, by limiting devices and accounts’ access to Microsoft 365 apps and add-ins.

But this is not all: due to the feature’s special age group properties, educational admins will be able to easily manage and set up devices and accounts that follow certain age-based rules of the organization. While the same device could allow adult users to access a specific add-in, non-adult users won’t be able to access it.

It would greatly reduce the time spent on customizing each device for each category of age, and it would ensure minors will not get access to sensitive information.