MIT Signs Up for Adobe Educational License Program

Robyn Fizz

Adobe Systems is known for its graphics, publishing, and Internet 
software - including Acrobat, Illustrator, PageMaker, and Photoshop, 
among others. Adobe products have been sold for many years at the MIT 
Computer Connection (W20-021) at significant educational discounts.
Recently, MIT joined the Adobe Educational License Program (AELP). This 
program offers even greater educational discounts to departments and 
centers that own or plan to buy 20 or more licenses of an Adobe 
application. Pricing per license is about half the cost of single copies 
of educationally discounted Adobe software.
 
The AELP is for institutional purchases only. Members of the MIT 
community can still buy individual copies of Adobe products at a 
discount through the MIT Computer Connection.
 
How AELP Works
You may mix platforms (Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX) in any combination 
you wish, as long as the total number of units for a particular Adobe 
product meets the minimum purchase requirement. You can count current 
versions already owned as part of the 20-license minimum.
Orders are placed through one of three approved dealers. (Contact 
information is given near the end of the article.) Since you don't have 
to negotiate a software license, paperwork is minimal.

You then receive a single serial number and single set of media for the 
total number of user licenses. You may duplicate the software and 
documentation for the total number of licensed users. If you prefer, 
you can buy additional documentation sets.

With the initial AELP purchase you receive all the additional software, 
artwork, and movies included in the retail product. However, if new 
versions of accessory software (e.g., Adobe Type Reunion) are released, 
you will need to buy them independently of the license for your major 
application.

You may add licenses to an AELP license, provided that you purchase five 
or more at a time.

AELP Options
The AELP also offers fee-based options for upgrades, concurrent use, and 
technical support.
 
* Upgrades. The Subscription option entitles you to have all upgrades, 
updates, and bug fixes shipped to you automatically for one year. 
Available with the original purchase of a license, the Subscription 
option ensures that your software remains current and easy to budget. 
The price of Subscription is 25% of the AELP price. When your contract 
expires, you can choose to renew your Subscription option for another 
year. If you don't purchase the Subscription option, you must buy a 
brand new license to get any updated versions of your software.

* Concurrent Use. This option permits unlimited users to access the 
software over a network, as long as the number of simultaneous 
(concurrent) users does not exceed the total number of licenses owned. 
The Concurrency option adds 25% to the AELP price.

Note: The percentage prices of Concurrency and Subscription are 
cumulative. For example, if the cost of a license is $100, the cost of 
that license with Subscription would be $125. To add the Concurrent Use 
option, the charge would be 25% of that total, which is $156.25.

* Technical Support. The Alliance Premium program gives a full year of 
priority toll-free access to Adobe Technical Support for ten users of 
all Adobe products for the Macintosh or Windows platforms.

The special educational price for this contract is $999. More users may 
be added to the annual contract for $99 each. For UNIX applications, the 
educational price is $999 per year for five users. Additional users are 
$199 per person.

Software Covered
You can purchase most Adobe applications through the AELP. Products 
covered include Acrobat, After Effects, Dimensions, FrameMaker, 
Illustrator, PageMaker, PageMill, Persuasion, PhotoDeluxe, Photoshop, 
Premiere, SiteMill, Streamline, and Adobe Type Manager.
 
Fonts from the Adobe Type Library are not included in the AELP. 

Dealers
Three dealers have been selected to process AELP orders for MIT. They 
can send you forms and price lists, and determine final figures for your 
order. 

* Software House International
Contact  Melissa Campbell
Phone  (508) 828-1717 voice
Fax  (508) 828-1818 fax
Email  <melissa_campbell@shi.com>

* Crimson Technology
Contact  Todd McNeil
Phone  (617) 499-4691
Fax  (617) 499-4777

* K2 Micromedia
Contact  Lori McCaughey 
(pronounced McCoy)
Phone  (800) 292-1997
Fax  (201) 529-5282

Information Sources
For more information about Adobe products, see the Web site at
 
http://www.adobe.com

For online information about the AELP, go to
http://www.adobe.com/supportservice/custsupport/NOTES/4802.htm