WebStore, FAQ Adobe Enterprise annual subscription for faculty, staff, and students
WebStore FAQ: Adobe Enterprise Annual Subscriptions for Faculty, Staff, and Students
Annual renewal is required for all faculty, staff, and students using Adobe products through the University of Illinois Adobe Enterprise agreement.
Faculty, staff, and student Adobe Creative Cloud subscriptions must be renewed each year to maintain uninterrupted access to Adobe services and cloud features. The University of Illinois consortium periodically reviews licensing and funding provisions, which may affect future subscription availability or pricing for university customers.
When does my current subscription expire?
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- Faculty and staff subscriptions renew annually on June 30 (6/30).
- Student subscriptions renew annually on August 1 (8/01).
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I did not receive a renewal notification. What should I do?
You may renew your subscription at any time by visiting the WebStore and searching for Adobe products.
Current subscribers should receive an email notification from WebStore when renewal becomes available. If you believe you should have received a notice but did not, please check your spam or junk mail folders.
Will there be a grace period before my service is canceled?
Yes. A two-week grace period is provided after the subscription expiration date before Adobe service access is removed.
What happens if I miss the renewal deadline? Will my Adobe cloud storage be deleted?
If your subscription expires, Adobe applications will display a message indicating that access has expired or been denied. During this time, you may temporarily lose access to:
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- Cloud documents
- Synced files
- Creative Cloud libraries
- Other Adobe cloud storage services
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Your Adobe cloud data will not be deleted immediately and should become available again once your subscription is renewed and reactivated.
I no longer want my Adobe subscription, but I forgot to back up my cloud storage. Can I still retrieve my files?
Possibly. Please contact webstore@illinois.edu for assistance. We will review available options for helping you recover your Adobe cloud data.
Please note that Adobe cloud data may become permanently unavailable after a user permanently separates from the University and their university account is removed.
I only need Acrobat Pro. Do I have to get the full Creative Cloud subscription?
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- Faculty and staff receive Acrobat Pro at no additional cost as part of the Creative Cloud subscription.
- Students who only need Acrobat may purchase the discounted Acrobat Student offer available in the WebStore catalog.
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My Adobe applications are not working. Should I reorder the Adobe subscription from WebStore?
No. Reordering the WebStore offer will not resolve most Adobe access or sign-in problems if you already have an active subscription for the current term.
Before contacting support, please review the Adobe troubleshooting documentation:
Most Adobe issues are resolved by:
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- Updating Adobe applications
- Signing out and back into Adobe properly
- Confirming use of the correct university Adobe account
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If the issue persists after troubleshooting, contact WebStore support at webstore@illinois.edu.
Are there setup guides for obtaining and installing Adobe through the University Enterprise plan?
Yes. The following guides provide step-by-step instructions:
I am an IT Professional helping a user with an Adobe issue. Are there support resources available?
Yes. In addition to the University of Illinois System KnowledgeBase, WebStore provides Adobe troubleshooting guides and IT administrator reference documentation for Adobe deployments and licensing.
Helpful resources:
I am a graduate student employee with a staff title, but the faculty/staff Adobe subscription says I am ineligible. Am I eligible?
Possibly not. Undergraduate and graduate student employees may hold departmental staff titles while still not meeting the state employee classification requirements necessary for faculty/staff Adobe eligibility.
Student employees who are not eligible for the faculty/staff subscription should instead use the Adobe Student offer available for their campus.
If Adobe access is required as part of a student employee’s job duties, departments may purchase an Adobe Subscription for Student Employees on the employee’s behalf.
I am a retired or emeritus faculty/staff member and previously had an Adobe subscription. I no longer see a renewal offer in WebStore. What happened?
Retired and emeritus faculty may continue to access Adobe subscriptions if they still maintain an active university appointment.
If an individual is no longer eligible directly, departments may alternatively purchase a paid annual subscription on their behalf using CFOP/Banner funds.
Department purchasers should email webstore@illinois.edu with the purchase request.
I need to obtain an Adobe license for an Extra Help employee, but the offer does not appear in WebStore. What should I do?
Beginning with the 2025 Adobe subscription term, employees classified as Extra Help are automatically eligible for Adobe licensing.
External affiliates and contractors are not automatically eligible. Departments should contact webstore@illinois.edu with the following information:
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- NetID of the individual requiring access
- Job title
- Description of their role within the department
- Explanation of why Adobe software is required for their duties
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For IT Professionals — Do Adobe Shared Device Licenses (SDL) on university and lab computers require annual renewal?
No. IT staff do not need to renew SDL or Named User (NU) IT Pro package orders in WebStore.
These WebStore offers provide access to Adobe deployment packages only and are not tied to individual subscription renewals.
For IT Professionals — I distribute Adobe Named User (NU) or Shared Device License (SDL) packages through WebStore. Do my users still need to renew their subscriptions?
Yes. All university customers using Adobe applications through a Named User license must renew their Adobe subscription annually, regardless of whether the software was installed directly by the user or deployed by an IT department.
Additional information:
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- Named User IT Pro packages are available in both managed and self-service deployment versions.
- Shared Device Licenses (SDL) are automatically available to all students using eligible university lab and shared-use devices.
- Students do not need to separately claim an SDL license through WebStore.
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Additional documentation:
Can my IT department renew my Adobe subscription for me?
In most cases, it is faster and easier to renew directly through your WebStore account.
After completing your order, Adobe enterprise subscriptions are typically activated automatically within approximately two hours.
I already have Adobe installed on my computer, but I do not have a WebStore subscription. Will my applications still work?
Possibly. Personally purchased Adobe software or subscriptions associated with a personal Adobe account will continue to function independently of the University of Illinois Adobe Enterprise subscription.
Please note:
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- Personal Adobe subscriptions are billed directly by Adobe, typically on a monthly basis.
- University Adobe Enterprise subscriptions are annual subscriptions managed through WebStore.
- Adobe applications installed on university-owned computers through Endpoint Services still require an active Adobe subscription in order to be used.
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