IdentiKey - FAQ

CU Login Names are generated automatically by Identity Manager and 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 to reflect your new legal name. Please contact the IT Service Center to request the change or refer to our privacy FAQ for more information. Requests to remove the digits or not following the algorithm cannot be accommodated at this time.

OIT will respect the privacy flag set in the Student portal (visit the Registrar's Website for more information about Student Privacy). This means we will not publish your email or contact information in the CU directories. Every employee privacy need is different; employees should work with campus HR and the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance to ensure their needs are met.

Further requests for privacy may include:

• Requesting a new CU Login Name (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 update a display name, name attributes, or email address at this time.

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

You will use your IdentiKey to access a variety of IT resources on campus including email, computer labs, learning management systems (Canvas), and CU System Portals like Buff Portal and myCUinfo.

Your IdentiKey is a combination of your CU Login Name and a unique password set by you. CU Login Names are created automatically by OIT and composed 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 CU Login Name 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 that entails 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.

Federal legislation and 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.

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 the student has 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 mailbox that the mail is delivered to does not change (you can think of it as a physical mailbox with a new PO Box number). The old email will still be there, however, there wouldn’t be a “forwarding address”, so you won’t receive any mail sent to the old email address.

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

IdentiKey password requirements: 

• Be a unique password different from the previous 5 set for your account
• Have at least 10 characters
• Include 3 character classes (uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, symbols)
• Not contain your CU Login Name
• Not contain 3 or more continuously repeating characters (e.g. the string 'aaa' would not be allowed)

The Office365 and Google Workspace Collaboration Platforms are not automatically changed due to a triggering event or change in affiliation at this time to maintain shared documents and email workflows that may be important to business continuity. It is the responsibility of the employee’s supervisor or department HR liaison to inform OIT if they would like the user account disabled and access completely removed and shared documents archived or transferred to another owner.

Separation, termination, POI expiration
When an employee separates from the university for reasons other than retirement, the affiliation on the account will be removed and access to resources based on affiliation will no longer be accessible. Some services will remain accessible to conduct some personal business with the University (MyCUInfo, for example). Decisions about affiliations and individuals that keep or lose access to services are handled by the appropriate service owner.

Retirement
When an employee retires, the affiliation associated with the account is converted to “Retiree” which will continue to grant access to many, but not all, services.

Graduation
When a student graduates, the affiliation associated with the account is converted to “Alum” which will continue to grant access to many, but not all, services.

Unenrollment
When a student is no longer enrolled with the University, the affiliation associated with the account is removed and access to resources based on affiliation will no longer be accessible. Some services will remain accessible to conduct some personal business with the University (BuffPortal, for example). Decisions about affiliations and individuals that keep or lose access to services are handled by the appropriate service owner.

Sponsorship Expiration
When a sponsorship expires, the affiliation on the account will be removed and access to resources based on affiliation will no longer be accessible. Some services will remain accessible to conduct some personal business with the University (MyCUInfo, for example). Decisions about affiliations and individuals that keep or lose access to services are handled by the appropriate service owner.