Q. How do I place an order through OETC?
A. To place an order, OETC members should FAX or MAIL a purchase order to us, or order online. At this time, we cannot accept orders over the phone.
Members may also sign up to purchase items online by downloading, completing, and faxing back the OETC K-12 Authorized Purchaser Form or the Higher Education Authorized Purchaser Form. Once completed, the authorized purchaser form is sent in, and a user name and password will be emailed to the User Administrator who signed the form so that they may login and begin the process. Online orders may be paid for by credit card, procurement cards, purchase orders, or check.
Staff and faculty may make personal purchases through OETC if their school, district, or college is a current OETC member and they will not be violating any ethics policies or laws. Personal purchases are limited to shrinkwrap items. (See the "What are shrinkwraps?" question below.)
Payment for Orders
We can accept credit cards, procurement cards, checks, and purchase orders that are mailed or faxed to us.
Fulfillment
Once we receive your purchase order, it can take 1-4 weeks to fill the order. Please use our item numbers whenever possible. If there is no item number, please be sure to indicate whether the software is for Macintosh or Windows. Each OETC price list web page will have any additional ordering information specific to the software on that page. If your purchasing procedures require that you mail a copy of the purchase order after you have faxed it, please mark it as a confirmation of fax copy or note in some way that you have already faxed the order. Otherwise, the order may be double-shipped. (As well as double-charged.)
Stocking
We do not stock any of the shrinkwrap items here at the OETC offices. (Shrinkwrap items are a "boxed" single installation of any product most often used for personal home use. Included in the box is one limited-install CD, one license, documentation or manual (that maybe electronic), and technical support. This product cannot be used in conjunction with other volume products and can only be installed on one computer.)
Shrinkwrap items are ordered from our contractors as needed. Some items are drop-shipped directly from the contractor to you, others come to us and are immediately shipped back out to you. If you are concerned about a shipment you haven't received yet, please contact us. You will need to know your purchase order number and the approximate date that the order was sent to us.
Please add a $5 shipping fee to software orders, and Alaska and Hawaii members should go to www.oetc.org/shipping.html for details on shipping to those locations. License only orders do not require a shipping fee. Orders are shipped only to the authorized purchaser designated in your membership agreement.
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Q. Do you have to be a member to purchase items through OETC?
A. With the exception of our online WriteSite tool (http://ws.oetc.org), all other items and services purchased through OETC are available ONLY to educators and school districts who are current members of OETC. See the questions below to find out how to become a member.
Q. Who is eligible for membership?
A. Membership in OETC is open to any accredited educational institution serving pre-K-16 students. This includes, but is not limited to, public pre-K-12 school districts, state-recognized private schools, community colleges, two and four year universities and colleges, regional educational service districts, professional educational organizations serving educators of pre-K-16 students, and state agencies primarily responsible for the administration of public education. An educational institution is defined as an incorporated or governmental not-for-profit entity with the purpose of providing direct instruction to students in grades preK-16 applicable towards a degree recognized by an independent accreditation organization.
Q. How can my school or my school district become a member?
A. To renew or start membership in OETC, please review the membership agreement prior to filling out the membership application. The OETC membership application, table of membership fees, and application instructions are available on our "Join OETC" web site. Please complete the membership form and return it to OETC with a purchase order or agency check for the annual membership dues. Memberships are for the academic year July 1 to June 30. The membership application must be signed by the Superintendent or Chief Executive Officer of your educational institution.
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Q. Once my school or district becomes a member, how do we begin ordering items?
A. Orders may commence upon acceptance of the membership agreement and receipt of your Agency purchase order for membership dues. Signing the membership form denotes acceptance of all conditions of the membership agreement. Membership forms cannot be accepted via the web or e-mail because we need this signature. Orders will only be accepted by fax, mail, or online. Phone orders are not accepted. Member orders will be shipped to the authorized purchaser for your school or district specified on the membership form.
Q. What is the 80/20 Rule or “Work at Home” Rights?
A. Several software publishers on our list allow home use according to the “80/20 Rule.” This rule states that if a school purchases a software license for a specific computer where the teacher/staff is the primary user (80%+ of the time), the teacher/staff may install the software on a home computer at no extra charge. The use of the software at home is governed by the same license agreement as at school, (i.e., it may not be used for commercial/for-profit use.)
The 80/20 Rule only applies to staff and faculty, for as long as they are employed by the qualified consortium member. Lab computers do not qualify for the 80/20 rule. The school is responsible for providing media for installation. Media may not be purchased from the OETC by individuals. If you have questions regarding this, please contact us.
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Q. What is the difference between purchasing media and purchasing licenses?
A. In most cases, media (CDs /disk sets) and licenses may be purchased separately. If a school is outfitting a lab they can buy a single CD to install the program on all computers and buy licenses for each computer on which they wish to install the software.
Q. May staff or faculty make a personal purchase through OETC? Will this create any ethics violations?
A. OETC offers shrinkwraps of selected software for personal purchase by faculty and staff currently employed by a member school district, ESD, college, or university. (Retired educators and staff are not eligible to purchase shrinkwrapped software through OETC.) Doing so is not a violation of any state's ethics laws or school policies. As long as your institution's membership is current, you may submit a personal purchase request and the shrinkwrap item will be shipped to your institution in your name. Personal requests for shrinkwrap software must be received on school letterhead and accompanied by a check for the total amount, including a $5 shipping charge ($20 if in Alaska).
Q. What are “shrinkwraps”?
A. A "shrinkwrap" is what we call a "boxed" single installation of any product (most often used for personal home use.) Included in the box is one limited-install CD, one license, documentation or manual (sometimes electronic), and technical support. This product cannot be used in conjunction with other volume products and may only be installed on one computer.
Q. How are shrinkwraps different than a volume license?
A. A volume license, once purchased, is registered through OETC and cannot be transferred to another district or university. Purchasing a license with Software Assurance is the same as a volume license, but for an additional fee, includes assurance that if a new version comes out prior to February 2006, then you are entitled to a license upgrade.
Q. What is a Concurrent License?
A. Concurrent Use (Shared) Licenses:
A shared license allows multiple users to use a product concurrently, or simultaneously. For example, if a company has a shared license for ten users, up to ten users can access at any given time, although more than ten users may have a valid login. A system administrator can monitor the number of licenses in use by querying the license server or by using the license usage reporting tool.
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Q. How do we indicate exactly what item we want to purchase?
A. When placing an order, please use our item numbers whenever possible. If there is no item number, please be sure to indicate whether the software is for Macintosh or Windows. Each page will have any additional ordering information specific to the software on that page.
Q. How will the designated technology specialist for my school or school district place orders through OETC?
A. The designated purchasing staff member should fax or mail a purchase order to us. If your purchasing procedures require that you mail a copy of the purchase order after you have faxed it, please mark it as a confirmation of fax copy or note in some way that you have already faxed the order. Otherwise, the order may be double-shipped. (As well as double-charged.) We cannot accept orders over the phone. We cannot yet accept credit cards, only checks and purchase orders. We are working to add credit cards as an additional purchasing method by late 2004.
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Q. Is there a form for the designated/authorized purchaser at my school or district to fill out to be able to purchase items online?
A. Yes. Authorized purchasers should download, print out, fill in, and have the appropriate person sign the K-12 Authorized Purchaser form before faxing it back to OETC at 503.694.4495. There is also a slightly different form for higher ed staff to fill out. This is the only way to get your needed password so you can begin placing order online through OETC. Authorized purchasers should ensure that they have included their email address on the form or they won't receive a password to get into the online purchasing system. Only one name and valid email address is required to get your school or district in the OETC system and able to order items.
Q. Are there certain deadlines during the year for purchasing?
A. Yes, there are "End of the Year Deadlines" for all items available through OETC, including WriteSite. Below is a list of ordering deadlines:
6/06/08 - Last day to receive hardware orders by 6/30/08
6/13/08 - Last day to receive software orders by 6/30/08
6/23/08 - Last day to receive invoices by 6/30/08
6/30/08 - OETC Office closes at 5:00 p.m. for inventory and reopens on Monday, July 7, 2008
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Q. What is the normal delivery time?
A. Once we receive your purchase order, it can take 1-4 weeks to fill the order, depending on whether or not the reseller needs to fulfill the order. We do not stock any of the shrinkwrap items here at the OETC, they are ordered from our contractors as needed. Some items are drop-shipped directly from the contractor to you, others come to us and are immediately shipped back out to you. If you are concerned about a shipment you haven’t received yet, please contact us. You will need to know your purchase order number and the approximate date that the order was sent to us.
Q. How much are shipping charges?
A. Please add a $5 shipping fee to software orders. License only orders do not require a shipping fee. Orders that cannot be shipped UPS Ground may incur additional charges. Orders are shipped only to the Contact Person designated in your membership agreement. Hardware shipping is on a sliding scale based on the dollar amount of the order. Alaska and Hawaii orders are charged actual shipping charges.
OETC Hardware Shipping Charges* |
|
|
Total $ of hardware order: |
$0-100 |
$101-300 |
$301-500 |
$501+ |
Cost of shipping: |
$5.00 |
$12.90 |
$16.80 |
$20.40 |
*Alaska and Hawaii orders are charged actual shipping charges.
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Q. What about returning items?
A. We cannot accept returns, except for defective items. Return Authorization required on all returns.
Q. What is the relationship between E-RATE, SPINs, and OETC?
A. The OETC has acquired a service provider information number (SPIN) to facilitate an OETC member's use of the federally funded ERATE program. With OETC's participation in the program, schools will be able to stretch their technology dollars even further by taking advantage of the discounts the OETC has secured with eligible vendors when making an ERATE purchase. The OETC SPIN is: 143022399.
Back to Top New product announcements
When a new product is announced by a manufacturer, it takes four to six weeks for that product to be available through the education market. Please be patient and we will update the web site with new product information once they are available through OETC.
Final Notes:
- Prices and availability may change without notice.
- OETC membership must be current to order products from the OETC price database.
- Orders are shipped only to technology specialist designated in your membership agreement.
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