ITS is announcing upcoming changes to the University’s student-use Adobe contract.

The University’s contract with Adobe, established in 2014 for a term of three years and funded by the Student Technology Fee, provided students with the right to install Adobe Creative Cloud applications onto personal devices for renewable terms of one year, not to exceed the life of the master agreement. Adobe has offered a new agreement at a significant price increase. Approximately 2100 students have renewed their license over the life of this multiyear contract, and while there are pockets of high usage, the product is not generally leveraged at a level commensurate with its high and increasing cost. ITS emphasizes spending options that serve students as broadly as practical, and we do not expect to enter into a new licensing agreement with Adobe. After May 31, students will no longer be able to use these products on their personal computers under the existing institutional agreement. Notably, these changes do not affect device-based licensing for University computer labs or licenses obtained through other avenues, such Gov Connect, as these were purchased and installed under alternate agreements. ITS is engaging academic areas to explore approaches that mitigate impacts of this change, such as making the Adobe software available in common use areas and providing alternatives with similar functionality (software.uconn.edu/adobe-alternatives/).

We understand that this is a sensitive change for some members of our community and appreciate your assistance guiding students to available alternatives.