Attention Organizations: Apple's App Store Volume Purchase Program

SUMMARY: This program allows for reduced prices on some apps and ease of management for educational institutions.

For those educators and education organizations and agencies you may be interested in Apple's App Store Volume Purchase Program. This program allows educational institutions to purchase iOS apps (NOTE: No books or music - we're talking apps here!) in volume and distribute the apps to their users. This allows educational institutions to purchase multiple copies of the same application at once, and it also gives developers the opportunity to discount software when purchased in bulk. (Up to 50% discounts on 20 or more licenses for the same app- developers set this discount)

Institutions can now buy mobile applications by purchasing a "Volume Voucher" from the Apple Store for Education. The vouchers can be bought in denominations ranging from $100 to $10,000. The program will also allow purchase orders (POs)as well as other payment options thereby removing the "gift card" or credit card hurdle for many school systems. In addition, the program will recognize the tax status of the institution and bill accordingly. Previously these institutions paid the tax and were later reimbursed.

Once the volume vouchers are received, they are given to the Program Facilitator, which is an account that allows individuals, such as a school principal or a teacher, to redeem vouchers through the program.

Purchasing software through the App Store Volume Purchase Program will result in the facilitator being sent an e-mail with app-specific codes, one code per license. End-users, such as students or staff with an iOS device (iPad or iPod), can then redeem the codes in the same manner in which users redeem a gift card on the App Store.

The Volume Purchase Program also includes an optional, separate agreement that allows institutions to use one or more iTunes accounts to sync multiple iOS devices. Using this, an institution can set up devices with generic iTunes accounts and control what apps are available on a device.

Several apps in our preferred apps list for autism are part of this program. To see what apps available - please check here. For more information on this program, check out apple's education website.