The Volume Purchase Program allows educational institutions and businesses to purchase iOS apps and books in volume.
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Program Enrollment and Management
How does an institution participate in the Volume Purchase Program for Education?
Once you select an individual from your institution to manage your program, have him or her enroll to become a Program Manager using the Program Manager enrollment form. The Program Manager creates and edits Program Facilitator accounts.
How many Program Managers can my institution have?
Your institution can have as many Program Managers as it wants.
I’m an authorized Program Manager. How do I establish Program Facilitators?
Set up and manage your institution’s list of Program Facilitators using the Program Facilitator account manager tool. Apple will create a new Apple ID for each Program Facilitator to use exclusively in the VPP Education Store.
Existing Apple IDs cannot be used for the Volume Purchase Program. For each Program Facilitator, you will need to provide Apple with a valid email address that isn’t currently used as an Apple ID. Learn more about Apple IDs
Do you have any recommendations for setting up email accounts for my Program Facilitators?
For new Program Facilitator accounts, it is recommended that you create generic email addresses for use only with this program (example: PF1@institution.edu or PF2@institution.edu). This will ensure that if Program Facilitators leave their current positions, your institution will be able to transfer the accounts to new Program Facilitators with minimal delay or hassle.
Program Facilitators
What is a Program Facilitator?
Program Facilitators are the people in your organization who purchase apps and books. Program Facilitators can redeem Volume Vouchers in the Volume Purchase Program Education Store. They can search for apps and books and purchase them in variable quantities.
Can a Program Manager also act as a Program Facilitator?
Yes. Note that all Program Facilitator accounts require a unique Apple ID — the Program Manager Apple ID cannot be the same as a Program Facilitator Apple ID.
How many Program Facilitators can our institution have?
You can assign as many Program Facilitators as you like. A large K–12 district may wish to have one or more Program Facilitators per institution or building. Each classroom teacher could be a Program Facilitator if that suits your organization. A large university may want to have one or more Program Facilitators per department.
Now that I’m a Program Facilitator, what’s next?
Log in to the Volume Purchase Program Education Store with your new Apple ID. After login, you can redeem Volume Vouchers given to you by your Program Manager. You can also search for apps and books by name and purchase them in the quantity you need.
Volume Vouchers
What are Volume Vouchers?
Volume Vouchers are physical cards in denominations of $100, $500, $1000, $5000, and $10,000 that can be used to purchase apps and books in the Volume Purchase Program Education Store. They cannot be used to purchase apps or books directly from the App Store or the iBookstore. The cards are shipped via Federal Express or UPS, so they can be easily tracked. You should receive your Volume Vouchers three to five business days after ordering them.
How does my institution acquire Volume Vouchers?
Your educational institution can purchase Volume Vouchers by clicking the links below or calling Apple directly.
Shop for K-12 education
Shop for higher education
Or call 1-800-800-2775 to work with an Apple representative.
What should my institution do with Volume Vouchers when we receive them?
You should give your Volume Vouchers to your institution’s Program Facilitators, who will redeem them in the Volume Purchase Program Education Store.
Can I split the amount of the voucher between multiple Program Facilitators?
No. A Volume Voucher in any denomination can only be redeemed in one Program Facilitator account. You may want to purchase, for example, ten Volume Vouchers with a denomination of $100 each, rather than one Volume Voucher with a $1000 denomination. The ten purchased Volume Vouchers could then be distributed to ten Program Facilitators at your institution.
Where is the Volume Purchase Program Education Store?
You can find it here
Do Volume Vouchers expire?
No.
Can Program Facilitators use any other payment methods in the Volume Purchase Program Education Store?
Yes. Program Facilitators can purchase apps and books in the Volume Purchase Program Education Store using credit cards, PCards, and PayPal. These payment methods can be used at the time of the transaction.
Selecting and Distributing Content
Are all apps in the App Store eligible to be purchased in the Volume Purchase Program Education Store?
All paid iOS apps are available through the Volume Purchase Program. This does not include in-app purchases.
Are all books in the iBookstore available in the Volume Purchase Program Education Store?
Books from participating publishers are available through the Volume Purchase Program. You can search the Volume Purchase Program Education Store to see if the book you’re looking for is available for volume purchasing.
Is education pricing available as part of this program?
Through the Volume Purchase Program, participating developers can provide their apps for 50 percent off App Store prices in quantities of 20 or more. There is no separate pricing for books through the program.
What happens after I purchase apps or books?
You’ll receive an email from Apple telling you that your order has been processed. You can log in to the Volume Purchase Program Education Store and download a spreadsheet containing app- and book-specific codes — one code per app or book purchased.
How do I distribute the codes to my end users?
Institutions use a variety of means to distribute codes to end users. Codes can be emailed to end users (one code per end user), or they can be placed on an internal website for end users to download. Some mobile device management (MDM) software can also facilitate this distribution.
Do app- and book-specific codes expire after a certain time?
No, the codes do not need to be used within a fixed period of time.
Can students under the age of 13 redeem codes for apps or books purchased through this program?
No. An iTunes Store account is required to purchase or redeem, and individuals under the age of 13 are not allowed to open an iTunes account. Please see the iTunes Terms and Conditions.
What’s the best way to get apps and books into the hands of students?
A variety of deployment options are available to you. Please see the iOS 6 Education Deployment Guide.
Terms and Conditions and Ownership
What is the difference between the iTunes Store Terms and Conditions and the Volume Purchase Program Terms and Conditions?
The iTunes Store Terms and Conditions is a legal agreement that governs the use of the iTunes Store service, which permits end users to purchase or rent digital content for end-user use only under the terms and conditions set forth in the agreement.
The Volume Purchase Program Terms and Conditions is a legal agreement that governs the use of the Volume Purchase Program, which permits approved educational institutions to purchase licenses for apps and books solely for distribution to and use by persons associated with the institution, such as contractors, employees, and students, in accordance with the iTunes Store Terms and Conditions.
Who owns the content purchased by an institution through the Volume Purchase Program?
In the case of apps, your institution has the option of retaining ownership of the app. When a student moves on, your institution can make the app available to another student.
In the case of books, the student as the end user must redeem the book using his or her own Apple ID, and the student owns the book. Please see the iOS 6 Education Deployment Guide for more information.