[donapieppo]

I can confirm that University pays for MS EES Agreement. In return you can, for example, install office on every pc in Active Directory, upgrade to every windows operating system on pc owned by the University (for example you buy Windows Home on a pc, you can upgrade to professional edition) and so on.

[Kipters]

You're right, it's a paid service, but they usually get substantial discounts (smaller schools can even get it for free if they have the right contacts)