Overview
UBC hosts an Enterprise Term License Agreement (ETLA) for Adobe’s licensed products. UBC provides free access to Adobe’s Acrobat Reader software for all faculty, staff and students. Licenses are required for Adobe Acrobat Professional and Adobe Creative Cloud and are available through a cost-recovery model.
While we recognize the use of Adobe products are used widely by staff, faculty, and students for their duties and coursework, many of these needs can potentially be met through free alternative tools that may already be available on your device. We encourage you to assess your needs using the information below before requesting a paid license.
To view the list of available applications and services as part of Adobe Creative Cloud, please visit the Adobe Creative Cloud website.
The following applications and services are not included in UBC’s Creative Cloud license:
- Acrobat Sign
- Adobe Portfolio
- Community
- Lightroom Web
- PDF Services
- PhoneGap Build
- Publish Online
- Publish Services
- Story Plus
- Team Projects
Eligibility
Adobe Acrobat Reader is available for free from Adobe and already available on UBC-managed devices.
UBC’s licensed Adobe products (Acrobat Professional and Creative Cloud) are available through cost-recovery to active UBC Staff and Faculty, charged to units via Workday. The subscription term will be one (1) year, and renewal will be required annually.
Ineligible users: Students, contractors, and guests are not eligible for UBC Adobe licenses.
Teaching and learning: Student use of Adobe Creative Cloud in required courses is requested by faculty members on behalf of their courses and require approval from the department head. Faculty members can enquire about eligibility for their course by submitting a request through the UBC Self Service Portal.
Important note for faculty & teaching staff during this transition: if you are teaching staff or a faculty member requiring urgent access at this time and do not have a Cost Centre Code or Worktag, our teams are on hand to help you as quickly as possible. Please contact the IT Service Centre during business hours:
- Vancouver: 604.822.2008
UBC Vancouver IT Service Centre Help Desk - Okanagan: 250.807.9000
UBC Okanagan IT Service Centre
Adobe product feature comparison and alternatives
PDF viewing and editing software
UBC has both Acrobat Reader (free) and Acrobat Professional (cost-recovery subscription) available for Faculty and Staff use. Before considering a cost-recovery subscription, the following table provides a general—though non-exhaustive—breakdown of features available in each product.
Feature |  Acrobat Reader (free) | Acrobat Professional (subscription) |
|---|---|---|
Create PDF documents |
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View PDF documents including search and print. |
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Fill PDF forms |
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Sign PDF documents |
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Edit PDF documents |
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Combine, modify, and separate PDF documents (including size optimization) |
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OCR (image to text) |
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Convert PDF documents to another format |
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Take notes – highlight/sticky notes |
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Take notes – annotation and comments |
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Create signature workflows* |
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Cloud storage** for team editing/co-authoring |
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Password protect and encryption of PDFs |
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* Before contemplating the use of signing workflows, please review UBC’s signing authority and signing resolutions and if required seek guidance from Office of University Counsel. A Privacy Impact Assessment should also be completed for any signing workflow use-cases.
** Adobe cloud storage does not meet UBC's data retention requirements and is not a recommended method for file sharing as outlined by UBC’s Privacy and Information Security Management’s Privacy Matters Initiative. More information.
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Creative Cloud is a well-known suite of creative applications in support of rich media - graphic, video, audio and 3D/animation, combining co-authoring and media management tools to support the creative process. Before considering a cost-recovery subscription for Creative Cloud, the following table provides a non-exhaustive list of alternatives for specific features, which are available free or are included in UBC’s other licensing agreements.
Please note: UBC owned devices may require IT assistance for installation of downloaded software. Please submit a ticket with UBC’s Self Service Portal for UBC IT managed devices, or your local IT support representative for non-UBC IT managed devices.
Feature | Adobe Title | Alternative | Supported Operating System | License Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Photo and image editing |  Photoshop  Lightroom | Windows | Free | |
Windows, MacOS, Linux | Free | |||
Browser* | Free with paid upgrades | |||
Desktop publishing |  InDesign | Windows | Available through Microsoft Office Suite | |
Windows, MacOS, Linux | Free | |||
Browser* | Free with paid upgrades | |||
Vector-based design and drawing (graphical design) |  Illustrator | Windows, MacOS, Linux | Free | |
Browser* | Free | |||
Video editing and post-production |  Premiere Pro | Windows, MacOS, Linux | Free with paid upgrade (perpetual) | |
Windows, MacOS | UBC licensed (UBC Software Portal) | |||
MacOS | Free | |||
Animation and 3D rendering |  AfterEffects | Windows, MacOS, Linux | Free | |
Windows, MacOS | Free with paid upgrades | |||
Windows, MacOS, Linux | Free with paid upgrade (perpetual) | |||
Windows, MacOS, Linux | Free | |||
Sound editing and podcasting | .png){kind=icon} Audition | Windows, MacOS, Linux | Free | |
MacOS | Free |
* A Privacy Impact Assessment should also be completed for any software that has cloud based storage or processing components of the software.
Getting Started
How to Sign Up for Licensed Adobe Subscriptions
Please refer to the step-by-step instructions in the Knowledge Base:
How to Renew Licensed Adobe Subscriptions
The renewal process is the same as sign-up. Please renew your license at the UBC Software Portal.
Further Information
For further information, please visit the Adobe Software Licensing Frequently Asked Questions.
Adobe cloud storage data retention information
Support
Please contact the IT Service Centre for support.