CUNY colleges are predominantly commuter schools where students come from home, go to class, then go to work. In such a culture, not having Adobe Creative Cloud as a tool to use at home for the graphics design and graphic communication majors, the advertising and digital marketing majors, and those who just want to sharpen their photoshop skills, is a setback in their careers and creative side. When technology is integrated into the school curriculum, it revolutionizes the learning process for students. CUNY has recently expanded its own digital skills curriculum and created a pipeline for students to be critical thinkers. 

The greater aim of this initiative is to encourage traditionally underrepresented groups to take up tech-focused areas of study, according to the CUNY Newswire. While programs like these are commendable, CUNY only offers a limited array of software available to students such as Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus that is installable at no extra cost and can be installed on their personal devices, including desktops and laptops, tablets and smartphones. All CUNY students also have access to their college’s libraries and computer labs that are installed with software including the Microsoft Suite and other programs such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Cambridge Soft, MathWorks, McAfee and RefWorks to name a few. Most of these programs are accessible on campus, but the Adobe Creative Cloud for one is not available to students for home usage. CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez has expressed his opinion on the need for technology in our curriculum. 

“Whether students are entering the workforce in the health care, financial or nonprofit sector or a wide range of others, they will need digital skills; CUNY is working to make sure they get them,” as reported on CUNY’s official site. If CUNY recognizes this need, created a pipeline program for their students and partnered with various software companies to provide us the resources needed to excel in a technology driven economy, not giving students full access to a much-needed tool — the Adobe Creative Cloud — is counterintuitive. CUNY can negotiate a deal with Adobe and partner with them to give students access to the programs at home that would allow the students to hone their skills and have a competitive advantage when applying for jobs.