An identity (or digital identity) in the context of identity management refers to a set of information that pertains to an individual person or entity. These have unique identifiers associated with them such as the University Login ID (ULID) username or University ID (UID) number.

An account is the resource object used within applications and services to give access to users.

A sponsored account is an account that does not have data in our source systems that would cause an account to be automatically provisioned, i.e. non employee and non student. These accounts must be sponsored by an ISU employee in order to associate the accountability and accountability of its use.

There are several types of sponsored accounts. The most commonly used are guest accounts, student employee accounts, and employee admin accounts. 

Standard institutional practice is that approvals, such as approving the sponsorship of an account, can only last for a maximum of 12 months before requiring renewal.

When a sponsored account is nearing expiration a notification will be sent to the account sponsor asking if the account should be extended. The account sponsor just needs to respond to the email and a ticket will be generated to extend the sponsored account. The account can be extended for a maximum of 12 months.

Formal and informal audits, assessments, and access reviews have identified that without safeguards such as this sponsorship renewal process, access and accounts often become forgotten, orphaned, and unmanaged. This is the selected control to ensure the institution and its systems, information, and members are safeguarded from compromise.

A service account is a local or domain account created to run a particular program, software, or application. Typically, service accounts possess elevated privileges to allow for required operations and/or communications between services.

To activate your service account, you will need the associated UID and birthdate provided in the SendTo communication.

Go to account management, account.ilstu.edu, and click on "Activate ULID Now". The site will walk you through the additional steps needed to complete activation.

One of the great values of recognizing service accounts in the Universities identity manager is awareness. It is difficult to manage and secure what you don't know you have. This effort will help ensure ownership is recorded, stewardship is assigned, and compliance is met. 

The identity manager onboarding and activation process will result in two communications being sent to your university email. An email outlining the accounts successful creation and general instructions on activation. The second will be a secure SendTo message containing your service accounts UID and birthdate. This can be retrieved by logging into sendto.illinoisstate.edu with your ULID.

Please contact the Technology Support Center via the normal avenues.

Phone: 309-438-4357

Email: SupportCenter@illinoisstate.edu

Cherwell Service Management

Please submit a request via Cherwell Service Management or the IT Help Portal to the Office of Identity Access Management to resend your activation communication.

Yes, employees that retire from the University and meet the requirements for benefits by Human Resources maintain access to their account for their lifetime.

No. Retirees are only granted access to select services. Refer to

Electronic Resources – Retirees have access to:

• E-mail accounts
• Web storage space on Datastore
• Technology Support Center at (309) 438-4357
• Computer training classes from the Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology (CTLT) at (309) 438-2542