Extras Microsoft Office installation and updates

If the idea of installing or making sure your apps are up to date makes you nervous, you are more than welcome to visit the help desk to ask for assistance. In that case, skip the instructions below and make your way to the nearest help desk or send them an email (helpdesk@slcc.edu).

Microsoft Office Installation

If you do not have Word or PowerPoint on your computer, see Microsoft 365 Web Access and Download Information for Students/Faculty/Staff for more information on how to install these programs.

Note: If you are part-time faculty or staff, you may need to contact the help desk to get desktop versions of Microsoft Office. If Word and/or PowerPoint only open in an online browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) on your computer, you will want to get the desktop versions on your computer. This is available to you for free through SLCC, but it may require a chat with the Help Desk (helpdesk@slcc.edu).

Microsoft Office Updates

Versions of Microsoft Office (Word and PowerPoint) can make a big difference on the way things look and function on your computer. For that reason, for the instructions in this course to make sense you will need to have an updated version of these technologies. Follow either the PC instructions or the Mac instructions below to ensure your Microsoft Office suite is up to date.

PC

If you are working on a PC issued by your department, Microsoft should automatically update. After checking your version number, if it is not up to date, please contact the help desk. It is likely your computer is not functioning as it should.

Open the desktop version of Word or PowerPoint on your computer.
Select the file tab.
Near the bottom left, select Account.
In the right column, find the About Word or About PowerPoint section.
Look for Version ####. The version number should be Version 2506 or newer. The numbers are formatted as the year and the month. 2506 is the version for June 2025.
1. If your version is before 2506 (ex. 2411), you will need to update your Microsoft Office. You can try using the Update Options button (above the About Word/PowerPoint section). However, if it's a school computer, there may be something wrong and we highly suggest you contact the help desk.
2. If your version is 2506 or later, then you are good to go! Click the back arrow in the upper left corner to return to the editing section of the app.

Mac

If you are working on a Mac issued by your department, Microsoft should automatically update. However, sometimes Macs just don't update the Microsoft Office suite when they should. Luckily, this is easy to check.

Open the desktop version of Word or PowerPoint on your computer.
Select Help on the top Menu Bar.
Select Check for Updates.
If an update is needed, run the update. If not, you're good to go!