Centrally Managed Brokered Softwares at Penn (Annenberg Reference)

Last updated: 2025-09-30
Author: *This document was generated by AI gpt-4.1*
For questions: ithelpdesk@asc.upenn.edu

Overview

The University of Pennsylvania offers a set of centrally managed, campus-wide “Brokered Products” for faculty and staff, providing discounted access to widely used academic, productivity, and collaboration software. These products are licensed, negotiated, and administered by ISC, but technical support is usually routed through school/center IT staff (such as the Annenberg IT Helpdesk).

Below is a detailed overview of each product, who may use it, support instructions, and notable restrictions.

Table of Contents

1. Adobe (Acrobat, Creative Cloud)
2. Articulate 360
3. ChatGPT EDU
4. DocuSign
5. Educause Subscription
6. Microsoft 365 Copilot
7. Microsoft Power BI Pro & Premium
8. Microsoft Project
9. Microsoft Visio
10. Microsoft Visual Studio
11. Smartsheet

1. Adobe (Acrobat, Creative Cloud)

• Who can access: Full-time faculty & staff may be licensed; all others may access via school computer labs.
• How to access: Contact your local IT Support Staff (ithelpdesk@asc.upenn.edu ).
• Description: Includes Adobe Acrobat Pro DC and Creative Cloud suite.
• Restrictions: Not available for contracted staff or students outside computer labs.
• Security/Compliance: Not certified for HIPAA data.
• Support: First contact via Annenberg IT Support; vendor support as escalation.

2. Articulate 360

• Who can access: Any Penn affiliate may be licensed.
• How to access: Faculty and staff should contact their local IT Support Provider.
• Description: Elearning suite including Storyline, Presenter, Rise, etc.
• Restrictions: Licensed per seat; software may be installed on multiple machines but only one user at a time.
• Support: https://articulate.com/support

3. ChatGPT EDU

• Who can access: Faculty and staff (per-school/organization basis).
• How to access: Contact your IT Support Staff for licensing. Requests require Name, PennKey, email, and budget code.
• Description: Access to OpenAI’s generative language model interface for academic/professional use.
• Restrictions: License requires financial commitment through fiscal year.
• Support: First contact through Annenberg IT Support.

4. DocuSign

• Who can access: Faculty and staff.
• How to access: Contact your IT Support Staff.
• Description: Secure electronic signature and digital transaction management.
• Usage limitations:
  • Can be used for low-, moderate-, and high-risk Penn data (see Penn data classification) EXCEPT credit card info, social security numbers, and HIPAA-protected health records.
  • Additional steps are needed for forms with student education records (moderate-risk FERPA data):
    • Notify students/parents about what info is collected and obtain consent.
    • Provide a copy of DocuSign’s Privacy Policy .
    • Keep all consents on file; provide to DocuSign if requested.
• Support: First contact through IT Helpdesk; vendor support as escalation.
• Notes: Near-50% discount from list price at current utilization.

5. Educause Subscription

• Who can access: All faculty & staff, especially ISC and Library staff.
• How to access: Visit www.educause.edu to login.
• Description: Access to learning, networking, benchmarking, and trends in IT for higher education.
• Cost: No charge to faculty or staff.

6. Microsoft 365 Copilot

• Who can access: Faculty and staff.
• How to access: Contact local IT Support Staff.
• Description: Microsoft AI chatbot for the Office suite.
• Cost: $31/user/month (12 month commitment).

7. Microsoft Power BI

Power BI Pro

• Who can access: Faculty and staff.
• Description: Data analytics, visualization and reporting.
• Cost: $3.10/user/month.

Power BI Premium

• Who can access: Faculty and staff.
• Description: All Power BI features plus advanced AI, large-scale data prep, and enterprise management.
• Cost: $12.36/user/month.

8. Microsoft Project

• Who can access: Faculty and staff.
• How to access: Contact your IT Support Staff.
• Description: Project, schedule, and resource management.
• Cost: $12.36/user/month.
• Restrictions: Not certified for HIPAA data.

9. Microsoft Visio

• Who can access: Faculty and staff with Penn O365 account.
• How to access: Contact IT Support Staff.
• Description: Diagramming and charting application.
• Cost: $6.18/user/month.

10. Microsoft Visual Studio

• Who can access: Faculty & staff with Penn O365.
• How to access: Contact IT Support Staff.
• Description: IDE for development, coding, and web/mobile apps.
• Cost: $31/user/month.

11. Smartsheet

• Who can access: All faculty and staff.
• How to access: Complete the Smartsheet License Request Form .
• Description: Collaboration, task, project and workflow management.
• Restrictions: Limited license pool; first-come first-serve.
• Cost: $28.33/full license/month.
• Support: Onboarding by Smartsheet; direct technical/app support from Smartsheet.

General Support & Questions

• For all products: Your first contact for support should be the Annenberg IT Helpdesk , unless otherwise specified above.
• For product-specific questions, restrictions, or eligibility, please reach out to your local support before pursuing individual requests.

Quick Reference Links

• Penn Data Risk Classification
• DocuSign Privacy Policy
• Annenberg IT Helpdesk

This guide is intended for awareness and reference purposes only. Please confirm with IT Support before committing budget funds or making licensing decisions related to Brokered Products.

Adapted from the official Brokered Products Portfolio .