Using Adobe Software for Students

Full-time students are eligible for an Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Plus subscription that runs from September 1 to August 31. If a student’s studies span two September terms, they will be eligible for a second subscription. However, their first subscription will expire on August 31, and they must claim a new subscription for the next term starting September 1.

For example, if you are enrolled in a 2-year program beginning September 2024 and it finishes in July of 2026, you will be eligible for two Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Plus subscriptions.  The first subscription will be valid between September 1 2024 to August 31 2025. Once the subscription expires (after August 31, 2025) you will need to claim a second subscription for September 1, 2025 through July 2026.

Please note that Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Plus subscriptions are not automatically provisioned. Students must claim a subscription before using Adobe software.

During peak times such as the start of a term, confirmation emails from Adobe may take up to 72 hours to arrive. Since BCIT cannot expedite this process, it’s recommended to claim your subscription a few days before your first class.

Flexible Learning students are eligible for a free Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Plus subscription based on the academic terms in which they are enrolled in.  During this time, flexible learning students will have access to Adobe applications and Adobe Cloud storage until the last day of their subscription. The term dates are defined as follows:

• • Fall: September 1 – December 31
  • Winter: January 1 – March 31
  • Spring/Summer: April 1 – August 31

Please note that Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Plus subscriptions are not automatically provisioned. Students must claim a subscription before using Adobe software.

During peak times, such as the start of a term, confirmation emails from Adobe may take up to 72 hours to arrive. Since BCIT cannot expedite this process, it’s recommended to claim your subscription a few days before your first class.

Your Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Plus subscription includes a storage component to store your Adobe Creative Cloud assets. Whether you are graduating from BCIT or leaving BCIT for another reason, it is your responsibility to migrate any assets before your subscription ends.

Adobe Cloud Storage is managed entirely by Adobe and is not a BCIT system. Adobe enforces a 90-day retention policy for files associated with inactive subscriptions. After this period, all inactive data is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. To avoid losing your saved data, ensure you migrate your Adobe assets before your subscription ends. Since Adobe Cloud Storage is not managed by BCIT, IT Services cannot assist with recovering lost data.

For more information on migrating your Adobe assets, please refer to Adobe’s Student File Transfer documentation.

When your subscription has ended, you will no longer be able to use the software installed on your computer. If you continue to be enrolled at BCIT after your current subscription ends, you’ll need to claim a new subscription to continue using your installed software. You do not need to uninstall any of your Adobe software when claiming a new subscription.

1. Open an internet browser (Google Chrome is recommended)
2. Navigate to the Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Plus for Students request page
3. If necessary, log in using your usual BCIT login credentials
4. Review the consent statement on the form and click the checkbox to confirm that you have read and consent to the statement
5. Click on the Request button on the right-hand side of the page
6. A confirmation prompt will appear on screen.  Verify that your name appears in the Request for field and click the Request button on the prompt to submit the request.
7. Once the request has been submitted you will receive a few system generated notification emails to keep you informed throughout the process.  Within 72 hours, you should receive an email from Adobe indicating that your Adobe subscription is ready for use.

Note: During peak times, such as the start of a term, confirmation emails from Adobe may take up to 72 hours to arrive. Since BCIT cannot expedite this process, it’s recommended to claim your subscription a few days before your first class.

In your browser:

1. Navigate to the Adobe website and click the Sign in link at the top right of the page.
   
2. A sign in screen will appear.  Type in your @my.bcit.ca email address in the email field and click Continue.
3. You will be redirected to the standard BCIT login screen. Login with your usual BCIT credentials and follow any MFA prompts as normal.
   

4. Once logged in, you should see a vertical menu bar on the right-hand side of the screen.  Click on the Apps icon.
5. Locate the application that you would like to install and click on the Install button.
   

For more information on how to download or install apps, see Download and Install Creative Cloud apps.

An Adobe Creative Cloud subscription allows you to activate the software on up to two devices, whether they are PCs, Macs, or a mix of both.

If you need to switch to a new device, you must deactivate your subscription on one of your current devices before activating it on the new one.

Follow the steps below to deactivate an old device and activate a new one.

In any web browser:

1. Navigate to the Adobe website
2. Click the Sign in button on the top-right corner of the page
3. A sign in screen will appear.  Type in your @my.bcit email address in the email field and click Continue
4. You will be redirected to the standard BCIT login screen. Login with your usual BCIT credentials and follow any MFA prompts as normal
5. Click on the Account icon in the top-right corner of the page
   
6. Click Manage Account
7. Click the Plans and payment drop-down on the top ribbon bar
8. Click Activated devices
9. Pick the device that you no longer need to use and click the Deactivate button

You can now sign in to an Adobe application on a new device to activate that device.

Adding fonts in Adobe Creative Cloud allows you to access a wide variety of typefaces for your projects, helping you create professional, visually appealing designs and documents. This is especially useful for customizing assignments, presentations, and creative work to meet specific requirements or achieve a unique look.

1. Open the Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application that is installed locally on your computer.
2. If necessary, log in using your usual BCIT login credentials.
3. Click on the Fonts button on the top-right corner of the screen
   
4. Click on the Browse more fonts button.  This will open the Adobe Fonts page in an internet browser
   
5. Locate the font that you would like to add and click the Add Family button
6. Switch back to the Creative Cloud Desktop Application and you should now be able to see the font family you added under Added Fonts (you may need to select the Recently added filter).  It will now also be listed and available in other Adobe Apps.
   • Note: To test this, launch another Adobe application, like Acrobat InDesign. Add text to your project and you should be able to select the added front family.

If you’ve successfully claimed an Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Plus subscription but are unable to install the software on your device, you may encounter the error message: “You don’t have access to manage apps – permission from your IT administrator may be required to enable apps management.”

How to Fix the Error – Windows

1. Close any Adobe applications you are currently using. No Adobe products should be running (including Creative Cloud).
2. Find C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\OOBE\Configs\ServiceConfig.xml
3. Copy this file to the desktop.
4. Rename the file in Step 2 to \…\ServiceConfig.xml.old. This will preserve, and not overwrite the original configuration in step 6.
5. Open the ServiceConfig.xml file with a text editor and change all four answers to TRUE.
6. Copy the ServiceConfig.xml file from the desktop to the original location. You will be prompted to confirm.
   • Note: You will have to save a copy to the desktop, modify, and save back to that original location. You can’t change the file in its current folder.
7. Sign out of www.adobe.com and sign back in or restart your computer.

Launch Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application and try to add apps again. You should now have access to manage apps.

How to Fix the Error – macOS

1. Close any Adobe applications you are currently using. No Adobe products should be running (including Creative Cloud Desktop Application)
2. Find Macintosh HD/Library/ApplicationSupport/Adobe/OOBE/Configs/ServiceConfig.xml
3. Copy this file to the desktop.
4. Rename the original file in step 2 to \…\ServiceConfig.xml.old. This will preserve, and not overwrite the original configuration in step 6.
5. Open the ServiceConfig.xml file with TextEdit and change all four answers to TRUE.
6. Copy the ServiceConfig.xml file from the desktop to the original location. You will be prompted to confirm.
   • Note: You will have to save a copy to the desktop, modify, and save back to that original location. You can’t change the file in its current folder.
7. Sign out of www.adobe.com and sign back in or restart your computer.

Launch Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop Application and try to add apps again. You should now have access to manage apps.

Adobe relies on the username, email address, first name, and last name BCIT has on file. Any changes to this information will disrupt your Adobe Creative Cloud Pro Plus subscription, affecting all users, including full-time students, flexible learning students, and BCIT employees.

Example problem

1. Data provided to Adobe on account creation is “Wilma Slaghoople, wslaghoople1@my.bcit.ca,”
2. Adobe will use the email address of wslaghoople1@my.bcit.ca to confirm your identity when logging in. Everything works.
3. You change your name and official BCIT email address to “Wilma Flintstone, wflintstone1@my.bcit.ca”
4. Adobe still thinks your email address is wslaghoople1@my.bcit.ca, but BCIT’s data has changed to wflintstone1@my.bcit.ca and you are unable to log in to Adobe applications.

Fix

1. Contact the BCIT IT Service Desk at and let them know you have had a recent email address change and are unable to authenticate using Adobe products.
2. An IT person will update your records for our Adobe access to match your updated email address and everything will work correctly again.

If the Adobe application doesn’t recognize your renewed license, follow the steps below to troubleshoot.

1. Open the Adobe software (e.g., Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud).
2. Click your profile icon in the top-right corner.
3. Select Sign out.
   
4. Once signed out, reopen the Adobe software (e.g., Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Creative Cloud).
5. Click Sign in and log in using your usual BCIT credentials (BCIT email and password).
   Note: You may be prompted to sign in automatically when the software starts.
   
6. If prompted, approve the Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) request to complete the sign-in process.