# Rayon for universities ## Rayon is the best online CAD software, enabling faculty and students to teach and learn architecture/interior design in a modern, collaborative platform. Rayon is free for the academic world, and offers a *student plan* for individuals (students, faculty, instructors) and an *academia plan* for institutions, to offer more control, security and university-level features. *** ### What is Rayon? Rayon is an **online, collaborative software for architects, interior designers**, etc allowing users to draft, stylise and present their work. It is a one-stop-solution to create complete drawing sets. More importantly, Rayon is **a professional CAD tool**, that offers the full depth that is typical to well known drawing software in the AEC. Rayon is **an ideal platform for teaching and learning architecture and interior design**, and is adopted by 150k+ student around the world. Here are some useful links to discover Rayon... * [Rayon 20 minute demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2kc4kXJrkA) * [Rayon's website](https://rayon.design) * [Rayon's signup page](https://www.rayon.design/app/auth/student-signup) ### Why set up Rayon for your university? Our hope by opening the software for free to faculty and instructors is **to finally offer a collaborative CAD environment that provides architecture and interior architecture/design curriculums the means teach with a modern tool set**. * **For students** — Rayon provides students with hands-on experience in a modern, professional CAD design tool. Rayon blends together the full spectrum of important software features (drafting, stylising, layout), and is compatible with exiting legacy software (AutoCAD/Rhino etc through DWG import/export, and SketchUp using Rayon's dedicated plugin) * **For faculty** — Rayon empowers faculty with a collaborative software, where they can easily to manage class projects, set up CAD class material, receive students submission and provide feedbacks, all in one place. * **For universities** — Rayon is the ideal offering to help university support their community, with minimum setup and maintenance cost. Rayon helps... * Simplify software setup with a browser-based platform accessible from any device, with no install. * Encourage teamwork and peer learning through shared workspaces. * Ensure secure oversight with full admin rights for institutional IT or academic staff. ### Academia plan key features {% hint style="info" %} To apply, [fill in the form right here.](https://b1kzip68v9f.typeform.com/to/YnkcFT25#source=docs) {% endhint %} The Academia Plan provides academic institutions with the same benefits as Rayon's **Team Plan**, to support teaching and research. It allows faculty to create shared workspaces, run classes, and collaborate with students in real time — all within a browser-based platform that requires no installation. Among other things, the academia plan encompasses.... * **Full Team Plan**\ Universities and schools receive a full Team plan. Students are added to shared workspaces where they can collaborate, learn, and build projects together. * **Faculty Accounts**\ Professors and teaching staff can run classes, organize projects, and guide students in a multiplayer drafting environment. * **Full Admin Access**\ University administrators have complete control over the institution’s account, including user management, permissions, and workspace organization. * **Teaching-Ready Platform**\ Designed for design studios, architecture courses, and other project-based classes, Rayon supports collaborative drafting, feedback, and presentation. Faculty can publish templates and give students access to tailored made resources. ### How to Apply The Academia Plan is available to universities, colleges and academic institutions. To apply... 1. Faculty and university admins can contact our support team [by filing this form](https://b1kzip68v9f.typeform.com/to/YnkcFT25#source=docs). 2. Our team onboards them in a 15-minute call, and set up free credentials for their institution. 3. Enrolled students and faculty get free team-level access to all of Rayon's feature set. ### FAQ
Is Rayon free for students, faculty and university? **Yes it is!** \ \ By default, students, and faculty signing to Rayon with their academic email will get a student plan account for free (the equivalent of our Pro pan).\ \ On top of that, we constantly add new universities to our **academia plan** (the equivalent of our Team pan). \ \ If your university is in, then **your students and faculty will be grouped together inside the same school organization**, carrying the name of your institution. This way they will be able to share repositories of models together, which is ideally to teach and collaborate as a class.\ \ If you think your university should be part of the academia plan,[ then reach out to us here](https://b1kzip68v9f.typeform.com/to/YnkcFT25#source=docs).
If my university is on the academia plan, how do students/faculty join the university organization? It is automatic; all existing student or prospective ones will be automatically added to your university organization if it exists. You don't need to do anything.
How can faculty ensure their class material remains secure? Within a school organization, models are grouped into workspaces. These are likely public folders that any member of the university can access. However, when it comes to teaching classes, faculty often require a bit more privacy. This where **private workspaces** are so useful. A private workspace is a folder that belongs to its creator, and onto which selected users can be invited. With a private workspace, faculty can easily prepare some class content, and then invite certain students to join the folder.
How do we know our school data is safe? We are f**ully GDPR-compliant**, which ensures ... * **Lawful basis for processing**\ We have a valid legal reason to collect and user's personal data (e.g., consent, contract, legitimate interest, legal obligation). * **Transparency & notice**\ We clearly explain which data we collect, why, who we share it with, and how long we keep it. * **Data minimization**\ We collect only the data we truly need for our stated purpose. * **Accuracy**\ We keep personal data up to date and correct inaccuracies. * **Storage limitation**\ We don't keep personal data longer than necessary. * **Integrity & confidentiality**\ We secure data (technical and organizational measures — e.g., encryption, access controls). * **Accountability**\ We can prove our compliance if audited (records of processing activities, contracts with processors, DPIAs if needed).
Can models contained inside our school organization be shared with external people? No. Any model or workspace contained inside your university organization will be only accessible to people from your school/university.
*** ### We are always available Book a demo with our team, [right here](https://b1kzip68v9f.typeform.com/to/Hgr0eQ4k#source=docs).\ To get some support, reach out to us through our **in-app support chat**. \ More about [our support policy right here](https://docs.rayon.design/other-resources/others/support).