Adobe software(SW) is an essential software program for college students today. It is a software program that edits photos and videos, so it is necessary to use it when doing external activities or tasks. Adobe includes Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premier^[1]. According to a Fast-facts released by Adobe's official website on January 21^st, 90% of design experts around the world use Adobe Photoshop. Providing many functions that experts use, professors recommend students to use Adobe software programs for the high quality of their assignments. However, Adobe's software requires a monthly subscription fee of 23,100 won or 277,200 won per year, even with a college student discount. This price can be a burden for many students who not only pay high tuition but now also must spend extra money for software. Therefore, Chung-Ang University needs to extend its partnership contract with Adobe.

1. The Failure of the Student Council's Commitment

Adobe has provided their software product for Chung-Ang University students. However, the partnership contract expired on April 18^th, 2020, and there has been no positive news regarding the partnership project so far this year. Before the partnership contract expired, students could log in Adobe with their school email ID. However, after the partnership contract expired, students could no longer use Adobe software without paying. School computer rooms are also not open freely these days due to COVID-19. While online assignments requiring the use of professional editing software such as Adobe Photoshop has increased, the support provided by the school is too limited. Students are realizing the necessity for Adobe software programs. The 62^nd Student Council of Chung-Ang University, 'syn-', recognized the necessity of supporting students and made a pledge to renew the partnership with Adobe, on November 28^th, 2019. The student council wanted to extend the contract which was scheduled to expire. In fact, this pledge was very popular among students and helped the student council win the election. The demand survey of Adobe support was conducted on May 21^st, 2020, however, the partnership business plan was eventually cancelled. After the expiration of the contract, Adobe did not charge for the license until May 31^st to ensure that all students could continue to use their software. However, this was done by Adobe for all students amid COVID-19. It is not supported by Chung-Ang University. Even after Adobe's free period of use, the school did provide their support it to students. Since then, students had to purchase and use Adobe software programs themselves. It takes a huge amount of money to have a partnership business with Adobe, which the school felt burdened with. Thus, the possibility of the student council's Adobe partnership pledge plan has become unclear.

2. Students Need Adobe

a. Essential Programs that Must Be Used in College Life

Adobe software has a very wide range of uses. No matter what activities you do in school, at least one of their programs is necessary. Photoshop and Premier are especially indispensable programs for editing photos and videos. The frequency of use varies for each major. However, for example, in ACT, which is an required liberal arts class, students should submit assignments containing their voices and videos as part of the team project. If the Adobe program cannot be used, students face great difficulties in the quality and production of the assignment. In addition, Adobe software makes many things easy, which are difficult with other software programs such as Powerpoint. Furthermore, according to a CAH survey of 84 students conducted until February 15^th, 2021, 91.7% of students use Adobe software programs. The usage was also the highest at 82.1% for 'School Assignments.' More than 90% of the respondents said they needed Adobe software in college. In addition, 96.4% of these students were 100% willing to use Adobe software when they were provided by the school. As you can see, many students need Adobe software.

b. Eradication of Illegal Software Programs

Adobe has many problems of people illegally using their software. According to the 2018 Global Software Survey, 37% of software installed on personal computers was unlicensed. Moreover, the commercial value of illegal software is $19 billion in North America and Western Europe, and $27.3 billion in the rest of the world. To be specific, according to CAH's survey conducted by February 15^th, 61.9% of students have experience downloading illegal software. Among them, Adobe software programs such as Photoshop accounted for 57.1% of the illegal software installed. The illegal software is also called ‘cracked software.’ Cracked software is illegally installed software that artificially removes protections designed to prevent copying and downloading. It is a crime to install cracked software programs. Illegal software program installation itself is very shameful. In addition, in the process of installing cracked software, users' computers are at high risk of being exposed to viruses. Many people share how to install cracked software through Internet communities or YouTube. This increased access to installation of illegal software. If schools support genuine programs, students can overcome the temptation to use such illegal software.

3. Student Comments

The survey was conducted from February 13^th to February 15^th, 2021. A total of 84 students participated. As the result of the survey shows, more than half of the students had experience downloading illegal software and were mostly programs needed for classes like Adobe. In addition, many students are using Adobe software to create school assignments and portfolios.

The reason why students pay expensive tuition is to focus on learning. It is ironic that even though software programs for doing assignments are not supported, students still pay several million won a semester. Students who pay tuition at school have a legitimate right to demand the environment they need for learning. Therefore, the school is obliged to provide students with the support they need. If the school provides these software programs for free, students will be able to focus much more on education. Furthermore, it will help eradicate illegal software use. In the new semester of 2021, the Adobe SW partnership should be promoted so that students can have a convenient college life.