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Office of Information Security

SPONSORED ACCOUNTS

ALL ABOUT SPONSORED ACCOUNTS

Sponsored accounts allow contractors, vendors, consultants, researchers and other individuals to gain access to Penn State resources ordinarily reserved for active students, faculty and staff.

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What is a Sponsored Account?

Members of the general public can create a Penn State account with what we refer to as “Limited” access.  A Limited account allows the user to apply for admission, sign up for a library card, or register as a volunteer.

In order to get a PSU email address or gain access to additional resources such as Office 365 applications, a user’s account must first be promoted to what we call “Standard” access.

  • The Penn State accounts of active students, faculty and staff are automatically promoted to Standard status.
  • A Penn State account belonging to someone who is not an active student, faculty or staff member can only be promoted from Limited to Standard status if they are “sponsored” by a department.

Among other things, the sponsoring department takes responsibility for:

  • Confirming that the individual in question has a legitimate business need for additional access
  • Requesting the specific services the user will need, and
  • Paying for any requested services that are fee-based

To learn more, see knowledge article What is a Sponsored Account and Why Might I Need One?

Requesting a Sponsored Account

How will my department be charged, if charges apply?

​​​Fees are no longer charged via Charge Accounts.  Instead, if you request any fee-based services for the account, that expense is automatically charged to the cost object you specify.

To learn more, see knowledge articles: