This page summarizes information about the University’s Enterprise Term License Agreement (ETLA) for Adobe Creative Cloud, which is managed by ISC. This agreement provides Adobe Creative Cloud to eligible members of the Penn community at a more than 50% discount from the list price.
Adobe Creative Cloud is part of ISC’s Brokered Products portfolio.
All University members with either an active full-time or part-time faculty affiliation or an active full-time or part-time staff affiliation are eligible to obtain an Adobe Creative Cloud ETLA license. A person is eligible if their record includes an active “FAC” or “STAF” affiliation. The affiliation needs to be active but does not need to be the person’s primary.
Specific populations that are not eligible for an ETLA license include students, Emeritus faculty, Resident Advisors (RAs), Graduate Associates (GAs), temporary workers, and contractors. People in these groups lack the necessary faculty or staff affiliation in Penn Community.
Note: For the Adobe Creative Cloud agreement, IPEDS data is used to define and count the size of contractual ‘faculty’ and ‘staff’ population. It is not used to determine individual user eligibility.
The following options exist for users and use cases that are not eligible under the terms of the Adobe Creative Cloud ETLA:
| Population | Option |
|---|---|
| All Students (Undergraduate, Graduate, Professional, Doctoral) | Students in the Weitzman School of Design can obtain licenses through Design’s Adobe VIP Program via Campus Express. Students from other schools who are registered for a Weitzman class can use personal funds to obtain licenses through Campus Express. For all other students, Adobe offers a discounted rate for students and teachers. |
| Work-Study Students, Student Workers, and Drexel Co-Ops | University departments may purchase a license for their student workers using a Penn budget code by visiting the Office of Software Licensing’s Adobe VIP Program website. |
| Emeritus faculty | Licenses will need to be purchased directly from Adobe or Penn approved supplier of choice. Adobe offers a discounted rate for students and teachers, which includes emeritus faculty. |
| Temporary staff and Contractors | Licenses will need to be purchased directly from Adobe or reseller of choice. |
| Users using shared devices for business purposes | Departments can generate install packages that use Shared Device Licenses from the Adobe console. These licenses are assigned to a device or computer instead of an individual enabling multiple users to use the Adobe application suite on the same machine. Even with Shared Device Licenses, users will need to create individual Adobe IDs and log in with PennKey. Adobe cloud storage is not shared. Shared Device Licenses are not designed for use on devices used by dedicated users, and can only be used on devices that are on campus or otherwise in Penn's IP space. |
| Ineligible Adobe Acrobat-only users | For instances where the primary need is Adobe Acrobat only, licenses for Adobe Acrobat Pro can be purchased from Adobe or a reseller. |
IMPORTANT: Licenses purchased directly from Adobe or other resellers are not part of the University’s Adobe Creative Cloud ETLA. The protections provided by the ETLA are not applicable; SSO cannot be utilized, and the accounts cannot be managed through the central Adobe Console. Ineligible users using Adobe Creative Cloud for University business outside of the ETLA should ensure only low-risk University data is uploaded to Creative Cloud storage. See Penn’s Data Risk Classification for more information. In general, Adobe cloud storage is not recommended for any Penn users. Users who need consultation on appropriate cloud storage should contact their local IT support provider.
Eligible users can install Creative Cloud on multiple computers. However, the user may be signed in on no more than two computers at the same time, and the applications can be actively used on only one computer at a time.
IMPORTANT: Adobe does not offer any plans that allow for more than two activated devices. If a user needs to use Adobe Creative Cloud on more than two devices, they will see a message that they have reached their activation limit and must sign out of one of the other two devices first.
PennGroups facilitates a self-service, automated provisioning process.
Accounts will be automatically deprovisioned if the user has not signed into their Adobe Creative Cloud account within 180 days. Eligible users can reclaim their deprovisioned account by returning to the Adobe Account Analysis tool.
IMPORTANT: Deprovisioned accounts do not retain data. ISC recommends that users do not use the platform as a collaboration tool.
The Adobe Administrator role enables IT staff in schools and centers to view the Adobe admin console. There are three administrator roles:
School/Center Owner
Adobe Support Role
PennGroups Admin
Please note that Adobe Admins will no longer have the ability to grant eligibility exceptions beginning May 13, 2026.
On Wednesday, May 13, 2026, ISC will enable a change to enforce the ETLA’s eligibility terms to help ensure the University remains compliant. The scope of this change will include:
To help schools and centers prepare for this change, ISC will provide Adobe Admins with user reports to help identify users that will be impacted by the change.
Under the terms of the University’s enterprise Adobe agreement, eligibility is limited to active full-time and permanent part-time faculty and staff (primary affiliation determines eligibility).
The terms of Penn’s enterprise Adobe Creative Cloud agreement limits eligibility to limit to active, full-time and permanent part-time faculty and staff. The University must adhere to these terms to remain compliant and avoid the risk of an audit. Allowing exemptions increases the amount of financial risk for Penn.
According to the terms of the Adobe Creative Cloud ETLA, users can install Creative Cloud on multiple machines. However, users can only be signed in (i.e., activated) on two computers and only actively use the applications on one computer at a time. Adobe does not offer any plans that allow for more than two activated devices.
Populations of note that are not eligible include emeritus faculty, students, doctoral candidates, student workers, temporary staff, contractors, and UPHS HCOR and HSSP.
The terms of the current agreement limits eligibility to active, full-time and part-time faculty and staff. Expanding the agreement to include additional affiliations would significantly increase the cost of the enterprise agreement. Allowing access to ineligible users is a financial risk for the University.
A: No, licenses purchased directly from Adobe or other resellers are not part of the University’s Adobe Creative Cloud ETLA. Subsequently, this license cannot be managed by the Adobe console or utilize SSO. These licenses are also not covered by the protections of the University’s ETLA.
Licenses for Adobe Acrobat will need to be purchased directly from Adobe or Penn approved supplier of choice.
No, Shared Device Licenses cannot be used in virtual labs. The licenses are intended only for physical, on-campus lab machines as per Adobe’s compliance terms.
No. Cloud storage is a core Creative Cloud service and cannot be disabled.
At this time, Adobe does not provide a way to centrally enforce the default storage location (cloud vs. local) for all users through the Adobe Admin Console. On an individual basis, users can change their own settings to default to local storage locations.
Adobe Creative Cloud typically keeps users signed in for up to one week at a time. After this period, a user may be prompted to sign in again to continue accessing the apps and services. However, the exact timing and frequency of authentication prompts can vary. Some users may be asked to sign in more often, while others may remain signed in for longer periods. This variation can depend on factors such as the devices in use, usage patterns, and changes to Adobe’s authentication policies. ISC does not have any control over this aspect of Adobe Creative Cloud’s behavior.
When an Adobe Creative Cloud license is removed, the installed apps remain on the device but will stop working after they revalidate the user’s license. This typically occurs within 24 to 99 hours, or immediately upon signing out and back in. Users will see a “license expired” or “no license assigned” message and lose access to app functionality. Files stored locally on the computer are not affected, but access to Creative Cloud services such as cloud storage, libraries, and Adobe Fonts may be limited or unavailable.