What is an Access Account?

By accepting your Penn State Access Account, you are agreeing to abide by Penn State policies and guidelines. You are expected to exercise responsible, ethical behavior when using the University's computers, information, networks or resources. Violation of policies or laws may result in suspension of network or other information access privileges, disciplinary action, and legal proceedings. For more information, see the section titled "Policies and Guidelines."

Student accounts remain active during periods of continuous enrollment (fall and spring semester) and for six months after graduation. Faculty and staff accounts will be closed upon termination of employment, with the exception that Penn State retirees who continue Penn State benefits after retirement may retain their Access Accounts. For further information refer to the policy "Penn State Access Account Qualifications" in the section "Policies and Guidelines."

Student Accounts

If you attended the First-year Testing, Counseling and Advising Program (FTCAP) during the summer, you should already have a Penn State Access Account. If not, take your Penn State photo ID card to a signature station and follow the instructions there. Make note of your user id and password when they are displayed on the screen. Your account should be fully active within one business day.

Signature stations at University Park are located at 201, 215 Computer Building, 103 Boucke Building, 6 Findlay Commons, W113 Pattee Library, 2 Willard Building, 201 Pollock Library, 108 Warnock Commons, and 107 Waring Commons. Locations and hours are subject to change. See http://aset.its.psu.edu/accounts/sigstations.html on the Web.

At other locations, please contact your local computer support staff for signature station locations.

ITS Student Computing Labs Print Policy

Free Printing

Each student can print up to 110 pages per semester at no charge. Laser printers are set to print on both sides of the paper in order to reduce the cost of printing and waste of paper. To check your print jobs and the number of pages you have printed, visit the Page Accounting and Login Server (PALS) at the following URL http://clc.its.psu.edu/printing.

Bursar Billing Option

Students who want to print additional pages can select the Bursar billing option at signature stations. A student who selects this option will get the allotted free pages for the semester, and additional printing beyond this amount will be billed to the student's Bursar account at the rate of five cents per page on non-color printers.

This billing method remains in effect until individuals return to the signature station and decline the option or graduate. Printing charges are included on tuition or interim bills.

Students who decline to have their Bursar account charged will be unable to print in the Student Computing Labs beyond their free allotment. However, they can return to a signature station and select the billing option if desired. One business day is required for processing this option.

The number of free pages, how color prints affect your count, and charges for additional pages are subject to change. For details, select "Limits and Charges" at http://clc.its.psu.edu/printing on the Web.

Faculty and Staff Accounts

Employees can apply for a Penn State Access Account by using any one of the following methods:

• Complete, print, and sign the form that is available at http://aset.its.psu.edu/accounts/ on the Web. (Please note that you must install the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software in order to view and print the form; a link to the Acrobat software is provided at the above URL.)
  
• Obtain a paper application form from the ITS Accounts Services Office.

Send the completed form to the ITS Accounts Services Office. Wait three business days, then take your Penn State ID card to a signature station. For locations, see http://aset.its.psu.edu/accounts/sigstations.html on the Web. At locations other than University Park, see your local computer support staff for assistance.

Your User ID

Your userid is the "public" part of your Penn State Access Account. Like your name, your userid identifies you as an individual. This is the part you should share with others so that they know where to send your e-mail. Your userid is usually composed of your initials followed by a 1- to 4-digit number such as xyz123. It is important to remember that the letters are lowercase.

Your Password

Your password is the "private" part of your Penn State Access Account and, as such, should not be shared with others. Like your University ID card, it authenticates that you are who you say you are. Your password is the "key" that lets you open electronic doors. Guard your password just as you guard your bank card PIN. Don't write it down or make it easy for someone to guess. Don't share your password with others, as they would then have the opportunity to read your e-mail, see your grades, obtain your transcript, charge printing to your Bursar bill, and forge e-mail and news postings from you. It is a violation of policy AD20 to share your password.

Change Your Password

Change your password as soon as your account is active. You can do this on the World Wide Web. To access the Web in our labs, first log in with your Penn State Access Account userid and password. Next, launch the browser of your choice:

• On a Macintosh computer, select Firefox, Safari, or Internet Explorer from the dock.
  
• On a Windows computer desktop, select Firefox, Opera, or Internet Explorer.

Go to https://www.work.psu.edu/ and select "Change your password." If you have difficulty, lab consultants can assist. For consulting locations and hours, see the directory at the back of this guide.

Following are guidelines for changing your password.

• Use a combination of six to eight letters and numbers. An example is ex2bdf4x.
• Make sure the "caps lock" is not on.
• Note that your password will not show as you type, so be careful not to make mistakes.
• Some special characters like semi-colons, angle brackets, and parentheses will not work in your password. It's best to use alphabetic and numeric characters only, unless you're absolutely sure that all the software you use will accept any special characters you may choose. This may be client software dependent.
• Choose a password that you can remember but that others won't be likely to guess. For example, don't set your password to your name, your license plate, your friend's name, your pet's name, your favorite drink, or anything else that someone might easily guess. Avoid words that can be found in a dictionary.
• Change your password as often as you wish, but at least once every six months.
• Penn State Access Account passwords are "case-sensitive," meaning that uppercase and lowercase letters are recognized as different characters.

Note that the Change password menu items in the Macintosh and PC Eudora e-mail programs are not implemented at Penn State.

If You Forget

If you forget your password, present your Penn State photo ID at ITS consulting locations, the ITS Accounts Services Office, or to other computer support staff. Staff will help you request a password reset back to the original password you were given. If you do not remember your original password, you may get it from a signature station.

Specialized Services

After activating the Penn State Access Account, faculty and staff can request Web space for courses, database access, UNIX access, and other specialized services. For details, see http://aset.its.psu.edu/accounts/ on the Web. Students also receive special Web services; see the section "World Wide Web."

Friends of Penn State (FPS)

The Friends of Penn State digital identity service has been developed to help provide a variety of University services to potential students, alumni and e-commerce customers via the Web. A joint project between several ITS organizations, the FPS account management system has been designed to enable the development of Web-based information resources to more efficiently serve individuals outside the University. FPS is also part of the University's initiative to create a long-term relationship with the many individuals who use Penn State services, such as library technologies, e-stores, World Campus, the Registrar's Office, Undergraduate Admissions Office and more. For more information about the FPS project, FPS accounts and information for developers, please visit http://aset.its.psu.edu/fpsproject/.

Getting Help

To report problems or obtain assistance, contact the appropriate offices below:

• ITS Help Desks
  
• Lab consultants can assist with lab software, printing problems, and with obtaining and using your Penn State Access Account.
  
• Questions related to your Penn State Access Account and printing charges may be directed to the ITS Accounts Services Office.