Academic programs: Entry points on Solver.com

Hello,

We would simply like permission to use the following link in our course for lecture and discussion:

http://www.solver.com/optimization-examples.htm

Please advise if we have your permission to direct students to these links during course lectures/discussion.

Thank you
[from a university]

This warrants a little explanation, and I recommend that you forward this message to the instructor(s) who may present a lecture or lead a discussion where this link is used. You do have our permission to use the link http://www.solver.com/optimization-examples.htm in your course(s) for lecture and discussion. But this may have consequences that would make it better to give a different link to students.

The page http://www.solver.com/optimization-examples.htm describes a number of examples of optimization models. If all you want to do is mention these as possible applications of optimization, and move on to other topics, a link to this page is sufficient. But the page also invites visitors to register on Solver.com (by completing the form at the bottom) in order to gain access to the actual optimization models downloadable as Excel workbooks, which can be solved using the Solver built-in Excel (that we created for Microsoft).

If students register on this page, they can download the Excel workbooks, use them with the Solver in Excel, and they don't have to do anything else. But they will receive a follow-up email inviting them to download a 15-day free trial of our advanced Solvers for Excel. The form also asks them to choose a "role" (Student, Commercial User, Consultant, Government/Military, etc.) -- and what emails they receive next depends on this; experience shows that students often choose something other than "Student" -- in that case they'll receive additional emails and follow-up (even a Sales contact) on the assumption they they are a commercial prospect.

I mention this because we have another program that is designed specifically for students, which is often better for them. But if students register on http://www.solver.com/optimization-examples.htm or other pages of Solver.com, they won't get the main benefit of this program (a longer license) and -- especially if they choose a role other than Student, they will get follow-up contact that some students may not appreciate (though students who are also working at companies with industrial applications may find it helpful).

What I've just described happens a lot, consuming our time and the students' time, precisely because instructors don't make arrangements with us and send their students to the correct entry point for the program designed for students, which is http://www.solver.com/student; instead they *send them* to some other page on Solver.com (like http://www.solver.com/optimization-examples.htm).

The special version of our software offered under the student program is described at http://www.solver.com/analytic-solver-platform-education-simplifies-teaching-and-saves-classroom-time. We offer course-length licenses in conjunction with specific textbooks that are written around our software, and low cost licenses for enrolled students who aren't using these textbooks, or who need to use the software over a longer period. To use this program, instructors must make advance arrangements with us, to obtain a Course Code that they can give to their students. To register at http://www.solver.com/student, students must enter a valid Textbook Code and Course Code, to obtain the free semester-long licenses..