The Volume Purchase Programme allows educational institutions and businesses to purchase iOS content in volume.
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Programme Enrolment and Management
Who is eligible to participate in the Volume Purchase Programme for Education?
Primary and secondary schools, universities and colleges in the following countries can participate in the programme: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.
How does an institution participate in the Volume Purchase Programme for Education?
Once you select an individual from your institution to manage your programme, have him or her enrol to become a Programme Manager using the Programme Manager enrolment form. The Programme Manager creates and edits Programme Facilitator accounts.
How many Programme Managers can my institution have?
Your institution can have as many Programme Managers as it wants.
I’m an authorised Programme Manager. How do I establish Programme Facilitators?
Set up and manage your institution’s list of Programme Facilitators using the Programme Facilitator account manager tool. Apple will create a new Apple ID for each Programme Facilitator to use exclusively in the VPP Education Store.
Existing Apple IDs cannot be used for the Volume Purchase Programme. For each Programme Facilitator, you will need to provide Apple with a valid email address that isn’t already being used as an Apple ID. Learn more about Apple IDs
Do you have any recommendations for setting up email accounts for my Programme Facilitators?
For new Programme Facilitator accounts, it is recommended that you create generic email addresses for use only with this programme (example: PF1@institution.ac.uk or PF2@institution.sch.uk). This will ensure that if Programme Facilitators leave their current positions, your institution will be able to transfer the accounts to new Programme Facilitators with minimal delay or hassle.
Programme Facilitators
What is a Programme Facilitator?
Programme Facilitators are the people in your organisation who purchase content in volume. They can search for content and purchase it in variable quantities using a credit card.
Can a Programme Manager also act as a Programme Facilitator?
Yes. Note that all Programme Facilitator accounts require a unique Apple ID — the Programme Manager Apple ID cannot be the same as a Programme Facilitator Apple ID.
How many Programme Facilitators can our institution have?
You can assign as many Programme Facilitators as you like. A large education authority may wish to have one or more Programme Facilitators per institution or building. Each classroom teacher could be a Programme Facilitator if that suits your organisation. A large university may want to have one or more Programme Facilitators per department.
How is VAT handled?
During the enrolment process, your Programme Manager will be asked for your VAT status to determine whether your VPP purchases will be charged VAT.
Purchasing and Distributing Content
How do I purchase content in volume?
Log in to the Volume Purchase Programme Education Store with your new Apple ID. After login, you can search for content by name. Using a credit card, you can then purchase content in the quantity you need.
Are all apps in the App Store eligible to be purchased in the Volume Purchase Programme Education Store?
All paid iOS apps are available through the Volume Purchase Programme for Education. This does not include in-app purchases.
Are all books in the iBookstore available in the Volume Purchase Programme Education Store?
Books from participating publishers are available through the Volume Purchase Programme. You can search the Volume Purchase Programme Education Store to see if the book you’re looking for is available for volume purchasing.
Is education pricing available as part of this programme?
Through the Volume Purchase Programme, participating developers can provide their apps for 50 per cent off App Store prices in quantities of 20 or more. There is no separate pricing for books through the programme.
What happens after I purchase content?
You’ll receive an email from Apple telling you that your order has been processed. You can log in to the Volume Purchase Programme Education Store and download a spreadsheet containing content-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. Mobile device management (MDM) software can also facilitate this distribution.
Do content-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 content purchased through this programme?
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 content 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 Programme 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 Programme Terms and Conditions is a legal agreement that governs the use of the Volume Purchase Programme, which permits approved educational institutions to purchase licences for content 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 Programme?
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.