Sponsored NetIDs are a system for getting UW Logins for users who are not officially affiliated with UW.

See Also

Official documentation and request forms are found on the UW-IT Connect website.

Add Affiliation

If a user was given a Sponsored NetID and then later becomes affiliated officially with UW (becomes student or employee) they can keep using the Sponsored NetID in their official capacity. Here is the tool where they link the Sponsored NetID to their new UW role.


Three links, different functions:

https://uwnetid.washington.edu/sponsor/

You can request temporary NetIDs for people not affiliated with UW. Please refer to the following website for more information:

https://itconnect.uw.edu/security/uw-netids/about-uw-netids/

To actually request the NetIDs, you can visit the following site:

http://www.washington.edu/itconnect/connect/uw-networks/campus-wi-fi/visitors/


Sponsored UW NetIDs

Read the information on this Web page before completing the Sponsored UW NetID Request Form[1].

UW departments can sponsor UW NetIDs for individuals who are neither university students nor employees, but who are working with staff or students on university-related activities. A department employee serves as "Contact Person" and applies to UW Technology for the individual's Sponsored UW NetID. There are two types of sponsored UW NetIDs: full service and minimum service. Read their descriptions and determine which type you want to request.

If you have a question about a person's eligibility for a regular UW NetID, contact UW Technology at 206.221.5000. Staff can confirm the status of the individual as listed in the personnel/payroll or student database.


Full Service Sponsored UW NetID

Request a Full Service Sponsored UW NetID for users who will need UW email, computer labs, or access to the UW staff modem pool (dial-in Internet access).

The sponsoring department is responsible for the proper use of this account, e.g., within the state and local guidelines for the use of university resources. The sponsoring department pays a fee (currently $20 per month) for the cost associated with creation and maintenance of the account and uses its university budget number for billing purposes. Billing continues until the department sends an email to [email protected] indicating the sponsorship for that UW NetID is no longer needed.


Minimum Service Sponsored UW NetID

Request a Minimum Service Sponsored UW NetID for users who need to access UW NetID-protected resources. This type of account provides a UW NetID login, password, and email forwarding from a UW Email address ([email protected]) to an outside email account. UW Technology currently does not charge for minimum service sponsored UW NetIDs.

The sponsoring department is responsible for notifying UW Technology when the sponsored UW NetID is no longer needed. The sponsoring department is required to re-authorize a minimum service sponsored UW NetID every twelve months. An expiration notice is sent to the department fourteen days before the minimum service UW NetID is deactivated.


Rules and Regulations

Washington state laws, policies, and audit practices, as well as federal and state contract-compliance laws to which the UW is subject, require that state resources (e.g., computers and network) be used only for university-related activities. All university policies regarding the appropriate use of state resources and responsible personal conduct apply to the use of its computing and networking resources. In addition, use of computing resources must comply with the restrictions and acceptable practices established specifically for these resources. Please note that when you sponsor a UW NetID, you accept the responsibility for the proper use of the account. Guidelines for the appropriate use of UW computing and network resources can be found UW Technology's Knowing the Rules Web site.


Social Security Numbers

As part of the process of creating a new sponsored UW NetID for a user who does not already have a NetID, we ask the sponsor to provide the user's Social Security Number (SSN).


What do we use SSNs for?

Frequently, individuals affiliated with the University of Washington are connected to us in more than one way. For example, a person may graduate from UW and return later to work as a faculty member, and as a result end up with multiple records in our system -- student, alumni, and employee. UW Technology attempts to keep these records "linked together" in such a way that each person can access all of his or her information using just one UW NetID.

In order to accomplish this record matching and provide the best service to each NetID holder, it is important that we have information contained within each record which can be used to cross-reference between records and determine if they refer to the same person. At this time, the most reliable piece of information we have available to accomplish this matching is the SSN.


What are the consequences if I do not provide an SSN?

It is not uncommon for a person being sponsored to have previous affiliations with the University which the sponsor is unaware of. Consider this example: An individual may have applied for admission to the UW a few years ago and set up a NetID as part of that process, but did not end up becoming a student. Since NetIDs are retained for life, the NetID which that person had created when applying for admission would still be reserved and waiting for his or her use.

If the SSN is not provided when signing up for a sponsored account for the aforementioned individual, we would not have adequate information available to determine that he or she already had a personal NetID. A new NetID would have to be chosen, and the person would end up with two unconnected NetIDs in our system. In almost all cases, the NetID which was initially reserved is the one which the person would prefer to use. Thus, we encourage sponsors to provide the SSN of the person being sponsored so that we can search our records and determine whether the person already has a NetID from past affiliations.


Is it safe to provide an SSN to UW Technology through the internet?

UW Technology uses strong security measures to encrypt all sensitive personal information before it is transmitted from the Sponsored Account Request Form to our staff who process account creations. Additionally, the request form itself is secured using Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology and protected by UW NetID authentication of the sponsor's account. Once the SSN is received and entered into our database, access to the stored information is heavily restricted so that it can only be accessed by certain staff within UW Technology who need it to perform identity verification and record matching. The database itself is contained within a tightly-guarded secure server, and personally identifiable information stored there is never released to outside groups or individuals under any circumstances unless UW Technology is compelled to do so through legal action.