ArcGIS User Type Updates - What This Means for Education Customers

[GeriMiller]

Education Colleagues:

You have likely received communication about updates to User Types being implemented at the June 2024 release of ArcGIS Online for all Esri customers. We want to provide further information specific to Education.

What the upcoming changes are:

The capabilities of ArcGIS are accessed through multiple products, apps, extensions, and add-ons—all with varying levels of licensing and entitlements. Access to those licenses and entitlements is provided through an ArcGIS user account. Each user account has a “user type” that defines some of the privileges of that account.

Effective June 2024, Esri is updating the user type model to simplify access and administration of capabilities and apps.   

See 2023-to-2024-arcgis-user-type-comparison-matrix and website for additional information.

What this means for Education customers:  

Customers with Education licenses (Education Institution Agreements, Education Departmental Agreements, ArcGIS for Schools, ArcGIS for Student Use, and Research Institute Agreements) who currently have the “GIS Professional Advanced” user type, will receive the corresponding “Professional Plus” user type.

The Professional Plus user type includes all the existing capabilities of the GIS Professional Advanced user type and adds even more – no capabilities will be taken away. Several ArcGIS Pro extensions and apps that were previously managed as separate licenses will now be included in the Professional Plus user type, simplifying administration by reducing the number of additional licenses to assign.    

The update will be automatic and seamless, i.e. it will take place during the ArcGIS Online update in June 2024, and there will not be any action Education customers will need to do for the actual user type update.

What Education Customers will need to do:

As part of the Best Practices for managing ArcGIS, we have been recommending that GIS administrators enable new users with all available apps and capabilities, which removes barriers and eliminates manual administration. We suggest you continue with this approach of assigning all available products to all students, faculty, and staff.

With this user type update,  more capabilities and apps will be part of the user type, reducing the additional licenses assigned that need to be assigned through New Member Defaults. Therefore, once the update takes place, you will need to update your New Member Defaults to change Add-on licenses that you assign.

• The following licenses are now part of the Professional Plus user type, hence will not need to be assigned as Add-on licenses.
  • ArcGIS Image for ArcGIS Online
  • ArcGIS City Engine
  • Several ArcGIS Pro extensions
    • 3D Analyst
    • Data Reviewer
    • Geostatistical Analyst
    • Image Analyst
    • LocateXT
    • Network Analyst
    • Publisher
    • Spatial Analyst
    • ArcGIS Workflow Manager
  • See this matrics for Summary of new additions

Any other additional licenses currently included in your New Member Defaults can remain, with the exception of ArcGIS Community Analyst and ArcGIS GeoPlanner (these products will be removed from Education Program offerings in advance of their retirement).

• For customers with an Education Institution Agreement, here are the licenses that will remain part of the New Member Defaults:
  • ArcGIS Business Analyst Web and Mobile apps
  • ArcGIS Drone2Map Standard
  • ArcGIS Insights
  • ArcGIS Urban
  • ArcGIS Location Sharing
  • Esri Redistricting
  • ArcGIS Data Interoperability
  • ArcGIS Pro extensions
    • Aviation Airports
    • Aviation Charting
    • Bathymetry
    • Maritime
    • Defense Mapping
    • Production Mapping
    • Pipeline Reference
    • Roads and Highways

For the add-on licenses that are now part of the user type, you will see a notification stating, "Some members have licenses assigned twice." This notification indicates that due to the user type update, some users have licenses assigned under the updated user type and the add-on license from the previous license model. You have two options: 

• Reconcile this duplication by clicking "Unassign duplicate add-on license."  

Unassigning duplicate licenses will remove the add-on licenses under the previous license model, retaining only the licenses from the newly updated user types. This action will not disrupt your current workflow.

• Take no action and maintain the duplication until your next subscription renewal. 

Nothing will happen; the duplication of licenses persists and has no impact on current workflows. The notification will continue to be displayed until you renew your subscription. 

Additional Notes:

• For Administrative/Operational use, there is an ability to purchase Mobile Worker user type. The Mobile Worker user type retains its existing capabilities, including access to field apps, therefore, no changes will be needed.
• ArcGIS Pro licenses which have been taken offline will not be affected.
• ArcGIS Enterprise customers will see similar user type update upon upgrading to ArcGIS Enterprise 11.4 (expected November 2024).

Summary:

For Education customers, this user type configuration change means that more licenses are assigned by default with the Professional Plus User type, which ultimately means less administrative burden of assigning additional Add-On licenses. If you have assigned New Member Defaults as part of our recommended Best Practices for managing ArcGIS, we recommend to update New Member Defaults to change Add-on licenses that you assign. For individual names users who now have duplicate licenses, especially for large organizations with many users, we recommend taking no action, as the duplication will be resolved during next renewal. 

Please post any questions here, reach out to your Account Manager or email highered@esri.com.