As an MAGD major I realized we are getting the short straw in terms of treatment here at UW-Whitewater. I have taken multiple courses in the MAGD department such as; MAGD 210, MAGD 220, and MAGD 271, all of these courses have one thing in common. They all use a specific program or programs to work on either, animation, graphic design, or web development.

Now while working in class the programs are up to date and ready to use on the computers in the class. However, when you leave the classroom and are either back at your dorm, apartment, or house, it’s a different story. Most of these classes require students to use Adobe Creative Cloud programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects which are great programs to use and get acquainted with.

These programs are available on all the computers in McGraw and in Anderson Library and the subscription to have access to these programs I believe are paid for by the University. These Adobe programs aren’t free to use, except for the free one week trial, which they shouldn’t be because they are some of the best programs available for what they can do.

That being said if a student would like to work a project on their own time in their dorm, apartment, or house then they have to buy a subscription. Now for a full-time college student, whether you are involved in various other organizations or have a part time job while attending school, it can be nice to be able to work on projects in your own space.

However, the current going rate for a simple photography plan is $10 a month, a subscription that uses only one of Adobe’s applications is $21 a month, and the best available option is $53 a month which includes all of Adobe’s applications. This is a lot of money over a year’s time and Adobe is aware of this so created a student plan, which includes all of their applications and is $20 a month. Now that is a great deal for MAGD students to take advantage of. Adobe also has subscription plans for schools and universities, which Whitewater uses to get the programs on all the computers in McGraw and Anderson Library.

My concern is that the school is already paying for a subscription to have these programs on their computers, but they do not offer students to be a part of their subscription and use on their own personal computers.

As far as I know MAGD students are the only students that have to pay a monthly subscription in order to work on assignments and projects, so they are able to pass their classes.

Yes, there are ways around paying for the subscription like working on projects and assignments in the computer labs in either Anderson Library or McGraw. However, this option is not available for commuter students or students living at home while taking an online class over the winter term.

The University has these programs available to students in two buildings on campus, however, they are not available to students who live off campus or prefer to work on their personal machines. These students have to pay a monthly fee just so they can pass their classes.

I hope the University can find a way to change this and make these programs available to all students attending the University.

Nick Trent

MAGD Major

CompSci Minor