Changes to University Zoom Licenses

Overview

Note: Updated on June 23, 2026, to reflect the most recent Zoom licensing plans and details.

In February, Pepperdine IT alerted the University about Zoom's plans to change its education plan offerings. As of June 2026, we are pleased to share that we have secured a new agreement with Zoom to preserve full functionality for our entire community. Later this summer, the University will transition to the new licensing structure called Zoom EDU Enterprise Essentials.

This change ensures that faculty, staff, and students will experience operational and academic continuity.

What is happening?

Beginning August 1, 2026, all University Zoom accounts will transition automatically to the new Zoom EDU Enterprise Essentials tier. Full Zoom functionality for faculty, staff, healthcare, and students will remain intact.

Key details of the Zoom EDU Enterprise Essentials plan include:

• All faculty, staff, and student Pepperdine-hosted meetings will enjoy the current meeting duration limits.
• All users will retain access to advanced features, including cloud recording, polling, surveys, and AI Companion options.
• Faculty and Staff can continue to leverage student-led meetings for academic or operational purposes.

Note: This change only impacts Pepperdine's centrally managed Zoom service. It does not affect the separate Zoom service provided through Digital Campus for select online programs.

What do I need to do?

No action is necessary from any users to make this change; the transition will happen automatically later this summer.

The new plan means that students do not need to change settings or modify accounts. The current Zoom experience and privileges will remain unchanged.

Why is this happening?

In the wake of the Woolsey Fire in 2018, the University invested in Zoom's original Education plan, providing Zoom Meetings Education licenses for every student, faculty, and staff member to support the rapid transition to remote work and learning. That decision also allowed Pepperdine to pivot quickly to remote learning in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world.

Recently, Zoom announced that its legacy education plans are being phased out in favor of a new licensing structure. Rather than downgrade the student Zoom experience, Pepperdine will provide Zoom EDU Enterprise Essentials licenses. This allows the University to continue meeting the collaboration needs of our students while maintaining operational and academic continuity.

Are there any alternatives to Zoom Meetings?

Because Zoom will remain fully functional for all students, faculty, and staff, there is no need to migrate your workflows to another platform. However, Google Meet remains available to all users under our existing Google Workspace agreement as an alternative video conferencing option.

Please refer to the Google Meet and Zoom Comparison for more details.

What happens to my existing Zoom data?

All existing data including transcripts, summaries, cloud recordings, and scheduled upcoming meetings will remain unaffected and available under the established Zoom data retention period.

Help and support

IT is dedicated to ensuring this transition is seamless. If you have questions about specific use cases or technical workflows, please contact the Application Management team at appmgmt@pepperdine.edu.

For general information and documentation, please visit Zoom at Pepperdine. For basic technical support, please contact IT Tech Central at 310.506.4357.