Adobe Cloud Access
Within Adobe's cloud environment, Managed Enterprise Accounts (Federated IDs) are configured depending on eligibility for access to certain services, features, and functions. Below you will find a breakdown of which services are available to everyone at VCU, which are considered accessible only by "unrestricted" accounts, as well as a list of services, features, and functions that are unavailable for ALL VCU Adobe accounts.
If you need to request access to Adobe cloud-based services, apps, and other resources for use with your Managed Enterprise Account (Federated ID) tied to your VCU email address, please complete the VCU Adobe License Request Form by visiting https://go.vcu.edu/adobe/licenserequest. You will be required to sign in to your VCU account using your VCU eID to complete this form. This form can ONLY be submitted by individual non-student employees ONCE. The form cannot be completed on behalf of another person.
VCU Health (hospital) employees and other individual who are considered "affiliates" must first activate their VCU Google Workspace account by reaching out to the VCU Collaboration Services team at drgee@vcu.edu. Approval by your supervisor may be required. If you do not have a VCU Google Workspace account, you are not eligible for an Adobe software license under VCU's Adobe Enterprise Term License Agreement (ETLA).
If you have questions about why these elements have been restricted, please refer to the explanations for each service and if you're still not sure, reach out to us by emailing adobe@vcu.edu or submit a ticket at https://go.vcu.edu/adobe/help.
Adobe Cloud Access
Terms and Conditions of Usage
Adobe Acrobat
Under VCU's Adobe Enterprise Term License Agreement (ETLA) Adobe Acrobat has several associated services, including cloud-based features and local desktop application features are disabled for ALL VCU end-users. These services are primarily disabled to limit the storage of certain data types within Adobe's cloud ecosystem such as Microsoft Word and PDF documents, spreadsheets (XLS, XLSX, CSV, SQL, etc), and other files that may regularly contain confidential and/or sensitive information as classified by VCU Data Classification Standards (referenced above under the Terms and Conditions of Access).
If you are a VCU employee and you need to send documents for eSignature, you should use DocuSign which VCU has adopted as it's eSignature and digital signature platform standard. To get started with DocuSign using your VCU email address, please visit https://go.vcu.edu/docusign.
Acrobat for Web (acrobat.adobe.com) - This web-based service is blocked for ALL VCU end-users due to data security concerns. Adobe has specifically stated that we must not store confidential or sensitive information using this platform so the VCU Information Security Office in collaboration with the VCU Instructional Computing Services team has decided to keep this service disabled for ALL end-users using their VCU Adobe accounts.
Acrobat Mobile/Tablet Apps - The following apps are not available for use with a VCU Adobe account: Acrobat Scan, Fill & Sign, and Adobe Sign (for eSignatures). These apps will not work with your VCU Adobe account due to the PDF Services non-core offering being disabled.
Acrobat Pro Desktop App - For most users at VCU using their VCU Adobe account, Acrobat Pro desktop apps for both Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS, there should be no difference in functionality. However, for VCU employees using a VCU-owned computer, only certain cloud-storage providers such as Google and/or Microsoft Sharepoint will be enabled on VCU-owned devices and may vary depending on which business unit, college/school, or department you work for. Features like Adobe Sign (cloud-based eSignature feature), Fill & Sign (local eSignature feature), Sharing for Comments (cloud-based feature), and Adobe's recently introduced Generative AI features for Acrobat are disabled for ALL VCU Adobe accounts.
Legacy Versions of Acrobat (Reader, Standard, and Pro) - Generally speaking it is best to make sure Adobe Acrobat is always up to date with the latest patches, security updates, and bug-fixes. While you should exercise caution with outdated and legacy versions of this software for your personally-owned devices, installing and using ANY legacy versions of Adobe Acrobat on a VCU-owned device is strictly prohibited. The same goes for 32-bit versions of Adobe Acrobat. If you're in doubt about which version is installed on your device(s), we recommend reaching out to the departmental IT support team to help you determine if your version of Adobe Acrobat should be upgraded or if it just needs to install the latest patches.
Adobe Creative Cloud
If you are a non-student VCU employee and you belong to a "restricted" VCU business unit there are certain apps, services, functions, and features you are not going to be able to use with an Adobe Creative Cloud software license assigned to your VCU Adobe account. While the list below is NOT comprehensive, it provides a breakdown of which apps and services are available for unrestricted users vs restricted users.
| App Name | Restricted Creative Cloud | Unrestricted Creative Cloud | Requires Cloud Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acrobat Pro | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| After Effects | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Animate | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Audition | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Behance | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Bridge | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Character Animator | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Dimension | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Dreamweaver | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Express | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Fonts Pro | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Fresco | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Illustrator | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| InCopy | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| InDesign | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Lightroom | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Lightroom Classic | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Media Encoder | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Muse | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Photoshop | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Photoshop Express | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Portfolio | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Prelude | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Premiere Pro | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Premiere Rush | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Scan | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Scout | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Spark Page | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Spark Video | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| SpeedGrade | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Substance 3D Designer | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Substance 3D Modeler | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Substance 3D Painter | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Substance 3D Sampler | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Substance 3D Stager | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
| XD | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ |
Adobe Express / Portfolio
Although most VCU students and many VCU employees have access to Adobe Express and Portfolio, there are a few considerations to keep in mind when using these platforms. We've listed a few of the major ones below, but this is not an exhaustive list. If you're unsure about using these platforms or if you have questions about your use-case, please reach out to us at adobe@vcu.edu to confirm before you invest time building something.
Organizational Websites / Pages - Under VCU's Organizational Websites, Management, and Hosting policy ALL organizational VCU websites MUST follow these policy specifics and procedures.
- Unless granted an exception as discussed below, all organizational websites must meet the university’s Web Standards and Guidelines, including but not limited to:
- VCU branding
- Web accessibility in compliance with federal and state laws
- Mobile-friendly
- Content appropriateness - being free from commercial activity or promotion and having no sexually explicit content
- Security and privacy including but not limited to FERPA, HIPAA and Clery compliance
- All VCU organizational websites will be included in the A to Z Index and therefore must go through an initial and periodic review. These websites must have an active website technical contact and website sponsor. Contact information will be kept current in the A to Z manager.
- All VCU organizational websites must be managed by an approved Web Content Management System (WCMS) or another VCU approved application and hosted on VCU approved servers or sites in accordance with the VCU Web Standards and Guidelines.
- Prior to planning a new or redesigning an existing organizational website, units must submit an official request including an initial prototype for review and approval by University Relations.