IdentiKey - FAQ

IdentiKey usernames are generated automatically by Identity Manager and currently consist of the first two letters of your first name, the first two letters of your last name, and four random digits.

If you have a new legal name or privacy concerns, the letters in your login name can be changed. Please contact the IT Service Center to request the change. Requests to remove the digits or not follow the algorithm cannot be accommodated at this time.

If you're a student and you elect full privacy, OIT will not publish your email or contact information in the CU directories. If you're an employee, please work with campus HR and the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance to ensure your needs are met.

Further requests for privacy may include:

• Requesting a new IdentiKey username (note that this can be very disruptive to access to services and mail delivery)
• Requesting a new or additional email address (see FAQ question about alternate email addresses below)
• Changing published email address or display name

OIT will do our best to ensure privacy needs are met to the extent that we can. Requests are handled on a case-by-case basis at the time of request; no automated procedures or triggers can update a display name, name attributes or email address at this time.

Provisioning of an IdentiKey depends on your affiliation. Learn more about IdentiKey account creation.

You will use your IdentiKey to access a variety of IT resources on campus, including email, computer labs, learning management systems (e.g., Canvas), and the student and employee portals (i.e., Buff Portal and MyCUInfo/CU Resources).

Your IdentiKey is a combination of your IdentiKey username and a unique password set by you. IdentiKey usernames are generated automatically by Identity Manager and currently consist of the first two letters of your first name, the first two letters of your last name, and four random digits. Passwords are created by you according to university security requirements.

If you need to reset your forgotten IdentiKey password, you will need your IdentiKey username and the answers to your security questions. Use the IdentiKey Manager - Forgot My Password tutorial to get started.

If you've never logged in to IdentiKey Manager and you need to reset your password, click on the Activate My IdentiKey button on the login page. You will be guided through the activation process, which includes accepting a policy, setting security questions and setting a password. Activation requires personal information, like your employee or student ID number, date of birth, etc. Use the Activate Your Account tutorial for assistance.

IdentiKeys must be activated through IdentiKey Manager. New faculty, staff, students and affiliates should click on the Activate Your IdentiKey button on the login page. The activation process includes accepting a policy, setting security questions and setting a password. Activation requires personal information, like your employee or student ID number, date of birth, etc. Learn more, including how to find your employee number or SID, on the Activate Your Account tutorial.

If you are an incoming first-year undergraduate student at CU Boulder, you will be provisioned with an IdentiKey after being admitted. You can follow the instructions on the Activate My IdentiKey tutorial or activate your IdentiKey from the Application Status page in Slate (log in to Slate and click the Activate Now button). For more information or assistance with Slate, visit the Office of Admissions website.

If you're a CU Boulder employee, federal legislation and CU System policy require employees to conduct university business on a university-owned or -controlled email account. Specifically, university policy stipulates that for faculty and staff:

University records (including email) shall be maintained in a medium owned or controlled by the university. University business shall not be conducted on private web-based electronic mail accounts, except where conducting such business on a university owned or controlled electronic mail account is impracticable. Learn more about the Retention of University Records policy.

If you're a student or alum, you can route your email to an off-campus email provider by following the instructions in the Preferred Email and Calendar Service tutorial.

An alternate email address (sometimes called an alias) can be added or changed to your account.

• Adding an address: When we add an address, there is no loss in mail delivery and you'll have access to the old mail and any new mail that is addressed to the old address.
• Changing an address: When we change an email address, the old email address won't have a "forwarding address," meaning any mail sent to the old address will not be redirected to your new one.

To add an alternate email address to your account, contact the IT Service Center at 303-735-4357 or oithelp@colorado.edu.

There are a number of common errors you may encounter when changing your password or answering/creating security questions in IdentiKey Manager. Visit the IdentiKey Manager - Known Issues page to see a list of errors including how to resolve each error.

If you get an error that's not on the list, sign out of IdentiKey Manager, clear your browser cache and try again. If the error persists, take a screenshot and contact the IT Service Center for assistance.