Expanding creative learning opportunities.
Thomas College adopts Named User Licensing model to expand access to Adobe Creative Cloud apps for faculty, staff, and students.
Cuts time to install and deploy software on each computer from half an hour to just minutes
Products:
Objectives
Expand use of creative apps among students and faculty
Use automation to simplify license management
Maintain existing sign-on credentials for maximum security and control
Results
Cuts time to install and deploy software on each computer from half an hour to just minutes
Accessible to all students and faculty using their Thomas College email and password
Easy integration with Active Directory for single sign-on access using federated IDs
Maximum control, automation, and security for IT staff
“With Named User Licensing, students can access Adobe Creative Cloud applications without having to remember any additional credentials, and with minimal assistance required from IT.”
Chris Rhoda
Vice President of Information Services and Strategic Initiatives and CIO, Thomas College
A blueprint for student success
Located in Waterville, Maine, Thomas College is uniquely situated along the Kennebec-Chaudière Corridor, an international arts and culture route. With approximately 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and 200 faculty and staff, students benefit from small class sizes and guaranteed employment upon graduation. As a result, Thomas College is ranked among the top 15% of schools in the United States for upward mobility of its graduates, and 23rd in the country for adding the most value to graduates’ degrees.
As a smaller school, Thomas College capitalizes on opportunities to work with organizations such as the NorthEast Regional Computing Program (NERCOMP), which enables member schools to pool their buying power for licensing discounts. When Thomas College expanded its program offerings to include a degree in sports management, which includes an option to concentrate in sports marketing, the school was able to cost-effectively extend availability of Adobe Creative Cloud apps beyond its marketing and communications department while streamlining license management with Named User Licensing.
At the same time, Thomas College noticed an increase in the number of students asking for creative tools for their class work. The school surveyed the student body and learned that more than 60% of students would be willing to pay a small fee to offset costs and gain access to the full suite of Adobe Creative Cloud apps.
“Through NERCOMP and a student-approved technology fee, we can now offer Adobe Creative Cloud apps to every student and faculty member,” says Chris Rhoda, Vice President of Information Services and Strategic Initiatives and CIO, Thomas College. “And because Named User Licensing eliminates the need to manage individual serial numbers, our small team is able to support a greater level of service very efficiently.”
“We can’t wait to make all Adobe Creative Cloud apps and services available on our school computers.”
Chris Rhoda
Vice President of Information Services and Strategic Initiatives and CIO, Thomas College
Campus-wide access to Adobe Creative Cloud
Adding to this efficiency is Thomas College’s transition several years ago to the Microsoft Azure cloud-computing platform, which supports Microsoft Office 365. The combination of Office 365 and the college’s Active Directory enables students and faculty to use a single sign-on (SSO) to access third-party applications, including Adobe Creative Cloud.
Named User Licensing creates seamless access to Adobe Creative Cloud applications because licenses are not tied to specific devices or serial numbers. IT staff no longer have to install software. Instead, using a federated identity, end users can simply sign on to their computers or mobile devices using their Thomas College email address and password in the Active Directory. As a result, instructors are integrating applications into the classroom—for instance, using Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop in sports marketing classes.
“For us, it’s the best of both worlds,” says Rhoda. “Students can access Adobe applications without having to remember any additional credentials, and with minimal assistance required from IT.”
Rhoda estimates that his team now spends a few minutes tending to desktop installations, versus half an hour or more for each instance previously. Updates are automatically pushed to computers on campus using the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, helping Thomas College maintain licensing compliance. In addition, Thomas College can grant end users access to Creative Cloud apps on the platform of their choice—whether they’re using a Mac or Windows computer or an iOS or Android device—without compromising security.
Thomas College is also taking advantage of Adobe’s Shared Device License for shared environments, such as libraries and computer labs, to make the same versions of Creative Cloud software available on all campus computers, replacing serialized licensing altogether. This will bring the benefits of cloud-based collaboration to the entire Thomas College population.
“With Adobe, it’s as much about the applications you’re using as it is about all of the services, storage, and collaboration tools in the background,” says Rhoda. “We can’t wait to make all Adobe Creative Cloud apps and services available on our school computers.”
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