Last June, Mississippi State University purchased a license agreement with Adobe to lower costs of the Creative Cloud package for students and faculty.
By purchasing an Adobe enterprise term license agreement for all faculty members and 50% of the student population, MSU is Mississippi’s first Creative Cloud Campus.
The partnership, which began Aug. 10, allows students and faculty to purchase an Adobe package for $150 each academic year. The cost will be directed and charged to the individual’s Banner account.
Chief Information Officer Steve Parrott said the partnership will work to help with digital literacy on campus.
“Last Thursday, we met with an assortment of academic personnel from all different areas to get a vision of how they could work the apps into their curriculum,” Parrott said.
In addition to lowering costs for Adobe apps, the purchase has secured Adobe Sign for employees. Adobe Sign will offer an easier alternative for electronic signatures.
Employees can also purchase individual apps at a lower price for department use.
“Employees have two different ways to buy: if their job requires a certain app or apps, their department can purchase them,” Parrott said.
As students become more aware of and involved in the partnership, the university can decide to purchase the package for a higher percentage of students.
According to Parrott, his department has been tabling in different locations and hearing feedback from students about the apps.
“What we want to do is … as students, become more comfortable with the apps and get more involved with them. We want them to use them to share their story so we can put it on our website,” Parrott said.
Eli Thurman, a senior communication major, agreed that students could use the apps to find their passion.
“I hope that more people are able to pick up their hobbies and something they love. I feel like this is a really good opportunity for students to find a pathway to express themselves,” Thurman said.
Thurman has used apps like Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Dreamweaver in his classes and for his graphic design hobby. The price drop has helped Thurman save money since he is required to use Adobe apps daily.
Instructional Technology Specialist Thomas La Foe has been teaching Adobe workshops for 15 years, and he said the high price of the apps has consistently been a problem.
Working in the Maxxsouth Digital Media Center, La Foe has focused on using and teaching Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.
“This partnership has greatly reduced this cost and has opened the door for faculty and students to purchase these products and integrate them in course work,” La Foe said.
La Foe said he hoped the partnership would help extend the usage of these programs to new departments.
“These tools are interdisciplinary, and anyone can use them,” La Foe said.
La Foe said the engineering and language departments had a lack of exposure to Adobe before the partnership, but he said those fields are now integrating the software.
“I think that it’s a skill that employers will expect people to know,” La Foe said.
Parrott agreed with La Foe and said the job market is looking for students who stand out from the crowd.
“Rather than giving a paper resume in job interviews, students can give a digital signature or digital brand of themselves through the app,” Parrott said.
The Mitchell Memorial Library is hosting Adobe workshops, and representatives from MSU’s Career Center can help students with Adobe, too.
To sign up or request more information, visit the instructions and tutorials page on the library’s website.

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Heather Harrison | Editor-in-Chief

Liza McKibben poses for Gabbi Ferreri outside of Nine-Twentynine Coffee Bar in downtown Starkville.