Hello Figma Community,
I am writing on behalf of the User Experience Engineering course at Harvard Extension School:
https://coursebrowser.dce.harvard.edu/course/user-experience-engineering/
We have used Figma in this course for many years and have found it to be a great fit for teaching UX concepts. The course serves a diverse group of students, many of whom go on to transition into UX roles after completing it, and we have truly valued being able to rely on Figma as part of the curriculum.
This year, however, we have encountered ongoing challenges with Education account upgrades, even though the course is a legitimate, long-running academic offering. Because of these difficulties, we have had to make Figma an optional tool this term and allow students to choose alternative tools so they can continue completing coursework without delays.
At the moment, many students are working on the Figma Free plan, and we are trying to ensure they can still successfully complete a prototyping-focused assignment. We use a shared course template, which adds some additional constraints when students are not able to upgrade.
We would greatly appreciate advice from the community on the following:
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What is the recommended workaround for students using the Figma Free plan, especially when working from a shared template?
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Are there any free tools you would recommend that could reasonably substitute for Figma for a basic prototyping assignment, if students are unable to upgrade?
Our goal is to provide students with a smooth learning experience while we continue trying to resolve the account upgrade issues. Any guidance, suggestions, or shared experiences would be very helpful.
Thank you very much for your time and for supporting educators in the community.
Best regards,
Jane
User Experience Engineering
Harvard Extension School