How SU schools provide Adobe CC personal device licenses to students
Newhouse, the School of Architecture and the School of Design all provide Adobe Creative Cloud to students, while VPA has access based on students’ courses. VPA is evaluating cost-efficient ways to expand software accessibility for next school year. Leanne Rivera | Staff Photographer
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Amid ongoing pressure from Syracuse University students, SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts plans to launch a new Adobe Creative Cloud student personal device license allocation model by the fall 2025 semester, according to a representative of VPA.
While some SU colleges provide Adobe CC personal licenses to its students, its College of Visual and Performing Arts only offers the software to those enrolled in specific courses.
“The College of Visual and Performing Arts (is continuing) to evaluate cost-effective strategies for providing Adobe Creative Cloud licenses to students who require the software for academic purposes,” the representative wrote in a Tuesday statement to The Daily Orange.
All active faculty and staff are provided Adobe CC licenses, according to an ITS page. However, Adobe CC personal device licenses aren’t universally available to SU students.
In some of SU’s academic programs, the software is included in the curriculum, while in others, it is not. Faculty set the curriculum and the decision to provide Adobe CC personal device licenses to students depends on several factors, including cost and whether students will use the software.
The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications provides Adobe CC licenses to every student enrolled in the college, regardless of major. According to an IT support page last updated in January 2024, Newhouse students receive personal device licenses during the academic semester only.
Newhouse spends approximately $198,000 annually to provide these licenses, a representative for the school wrote in a statement to The D.O. on Tuesday, which are covered by student program fees. Approximately 2,500 students are enrolled in Newhouse, which means it costs the college just under $80 per student per year to provide Adobe CC personal device licenses.
A student paying for Adobe CC out of pocket can expect to pay $240 for their first year and $420 in subsequent years, with a $20 per month charge for the first year of the license that increases by $15 for remaining years.
In SU’s School of Architecture, all students enrolled in the program receive Adobe CC personal device licenses. By covering the cost through program fees, the school secured “a dramatically lower price on student licenses,” according to an IT page for the School of Architecture last updated in May 2024.
The page notes that “the Adobe license is the most expensive software requirement for the program, and the school had been looking for ways to reduce that cost.” The IT page also states that the school intends “to offer this software in future years as well if costs remain stable.”
In VPA, students receive Adobe CC personal device licenses only when enrolled in certain classes that expire at the course’s completion.
The list of eligible classes in VPA includes a handful of upper-division illustration courses, all drama design and technical theater classes, all courses in the Department of Film and Media Arts and nearly all courses in the School of Design — with the exception of interior design and textiles courses.
In the School of Design, the process to get courses approved for Adobe CC personal device license distribution is fairly straightforward, Program Director Emily Stokes-Rees said. Each semester, she submits a list of classes to VPA’s ITS department for evaluation to provide licenses for students enrolled in the courses. She said it’s simple for the School of Design, as the list includes virtually all of the department’s courses.
When the department decided to implement Adobe CC personal device licenses a few years ago, Stokes-Rees said it was a collaborative decision among the faculty. For Stokes-Rees, Adobe CC is a “critical” tool in design. However, she said that isn’t necessarily the case for other programs.
When she fills out the budget, Stokes-Rees sends it to VPA’s budget office for approval. Sometimes, VPA returns it with potential adjustments, but the line item for providing Adobe CC is always filled in, she said.
“It’s a large expense,” Stokes-Rees said. “Does it have an impact on money that we would have otherwise used for other things? Absolutely.”
VPA’s ITS department declined to comment.
When asked if VPA should emulate Newhouse’s approach to providing Adobe CC, Stokes-Rees was ambivalent.
“In an ideal world, that would make life a lot easier,” Stokes-Rees said. “But for the time being, the system is actually working just fine.”
