Services
Office of Information Security
Alternate User IDs
(formerly known as Secondary IDs)
Read on to learn:
- What an alternate user ID is and why you might need one
- How alternate user IDs relate to Penn State Accounts
- How to get one, whether or not they may be shared, and where to find additional information
WHAT IS AN ALTERNATE USER ID AND WHY MIGHT I NEED ONE?
An alternate user ID is an additional user ID associated with an individual’s existing Penn State Account. An Alternate user IDs is created for a specific purpose such as testing or administrative tasks. The ID enables the person to whom it belongs to log in to an application and carry out tasks that require different access and permissions than their primary user ID. If that individual’s primary user ID has the access required to complete the tasks, an Alternate User ID is not needed. The primary ID should be used instead.
You may need an alternate ID if you need to do one of the following:
- Log in to a website or system to do testing that can’t be carried out with your primary user ID.
- Perform administrative tasks in Canvas.
You do not need an alternate user ID for any of the following:
- Anything you can do with your primary user ID
- An admin account that gives you administrative rights to your computer
- Enterprise Active Directory (EAD) Admin Accounts
- A Service Account (an account used by a system or application rather than a person)
- An LRN Admin Account
- A DDAR Account
HOW DO ALTERNATE USER IDS RELATE TO PENN STATE ACCOUNTS?
Each Penn State Account is identified by one, and only one nine-digit numeric ID; however, it may have more than one alpha-numeric user ID.
Your nine-digit numeric PSU ID uniquely identifies you to the University, much the way a social security number uniquely identifies an individual to the U.S. government.
Your alpha-numeric user ID (e.g, abc123) allows you to log in to Penn State resources. The alpha-numeric user ID assigned to you when you created your Penn State Account is your primary user ID – the user ID you use to log in to LionPATH, WorkLion, Canvas, and various other Penn State resources on a day-to-day basis.
Most Penn State Accounts only have one user ID. Alternate user IDs are necessary only when a separate user ID is required to perform testing or administrative tasks.
If you require an additional user ID
It is important that you do not create a new Penn State Account for that purpose.
Instead, you should submit an alternate user ID request. This ensures that the additional user ID(s) are identified as belonging to you and that you continue to be identified by a single nine-digit PSU ID.
HOW CAN I GET AN ALTERNATE USER ID?
- To request that an employee be designated a Canvas Area Admin for a campus, college or departmental unit, submit a Penn State Canvas Request Area Admin Access.
- To request an alternate user ID for any other purpose, including regular Canvas admin access, complete a Penn State Alternate User ID Request Form. Your request must include a valid business reason and be approved by the Identity and Access Management team. If you need more than one additional ID, please submit a separate request for each ID.
ALTERNATE IDS MAY NOT BE SHARED
Like any Penn State ID, an alternate user ID is a non-sharable credential. Each alternate user ID must be associated with one (and only one) person who is responsible for the use and management of the ID. That person (the owner of the ID) is not to share the password with anyone else. If you need a shared credential, you should create a collaborative space that others can access with their own Penn State Accounts (e.g. a Microsoft Teams space).
See Also
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