Students at the University of North Dakota may not be aware that they could qualify for free access to the Adobe Creative Cloud, courtesy of the university itself.
The Adobe Creative Cloud is a collection of graphic design and editing software featuring applications such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro, InDesign and more. The majority of graphic and digital design courses typically require one or more of these applications, and students have been feeling the burden of its notoriously high cost for many years.
Some of Creative Cloud’s most popular applications, like Photoshop, cost as much as $23 a month, while the entire suite of software costs the average user $70 a month. Students can benefit from a hefty 64% discount on the entire Cloud suite, which is offered in perpetuity for students. But while having access to every application for $25 a month may initially sound like a good deal, the student plan requires a one-year subscription commitment. An early cancellation also incurs heavy charges that usually exceed the cost of just completing the year-long commitment. This meant that no matter which plan a student opted into, or for how long they actually needed to access the software, they were stuck paying a bare minimum of $100 for a semester of access to one program; students were more likely springing for the student discount package, which ended up costing $300 for a year of full access.
Now, any student enrolled in a course that requires a service from the Adobe Creative Cloud can utilize its many programs for free for the duration of the semester. For those in an overtly graphic design-oriented course, access has probably already been granted. However, anybody who still can’t access the Creative Cloud must only ask their professor to submit an access request for the class roster to University IT.
“[The price of Adobe] was a huge barrier for students,” said Professor Jessica Schanilec-Gowan, who teaches several courses on how to use Adobe applications. “Although there were a few options through the bookstore, for most students the easiest way for them to get access to the Adobe programs was just to pay out of pocket…and to get the cheapest options, you had to pay for the whole year…Having students pay for a year for a program that they’re only going to use for a semester is just not the pest practice.”
Dr. Schanilec-Gowan emphasized that price wasn’t the only barrier for students wanting to use the Creative Cloud. The technologically demanding nature of most of the applications means that students with old, outdated computers may still struggle to effectively learn and benefit from their free access. However, that free access is still a big step in the right direction when it comes to helping students learn.
In addition to students in qualifying courses gaining access to the Creative Cloud, all UND students have free access to Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Express. Acrobat is a software mainly designed for use with PDFs, while Adobe Express is a web-based resource that can be used to create anything from flyers to videos.
“I think it’s just wonderful that not only are the students getting access to the programs that they need for classes, but that all students are getting access to different [programs], like Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Express,” Schanilec-Gowan said.
Quinn Berg is a Dakota Student Section Editor. He can be reached at [email protected].
