Email Access

Email Access

All Northwestern students and employees are given a Northwestern email account. You can access this email account online as shown by the instructions below. Please read the acceptable use and password policies before accessing your account. Use your full email address and password to log on.  

 

Student Email Access

 

Employee Email Access: Use your full email address and password

Troubleshooting Student Email

If you are new to Northwestern and have not logged into Self-Service yet, please do that before attempting to login to your email.

Self-Service Login Instructions

Copy and paste these directions into a Word Document and follow them carefully. Then, close ALL browser windows, including this one.

  • Open your browser and go to www.nwosu.edu. 

  • Click EMail Access under the Resources dropdown link. Scroll down and click Student EMail Access. 

  • This should take you to a login page with Office 365 in the upper left corner. 

  • If your email address is on the right side, click the X to the right of it to remove it. 

  • Now you can retype your email address. It is important that you remove it and retype it. 

  • Type your password. You should now be logged on.

Email Access​ Information

Networked Information Resources Acceptable Use Policies and Procedures

The NWOSU network is a shared resource acquired and maintained to carry out the education, research, and public service mission of the University. The NWOSU network comprises email messages, text messages, social media and social networking sites; computers, laptops, cell phones, email, and other electronic devices whether University owned or privately owned when linked to LAN and WiFi provided by the University. Communications over the network are often public in nature; therefore, faculty and staff are reminded that general rules and standards for professional behavior and communications will apply. Except for insignificant and incidental use, faculty and staff may not use the NWOSU network for personal, non-public or non-University purposes.

The network is primarily intended for the use of faculty, staff and students. Others wanting access to the network, including PC’s in labs, must first check with the supervisor of the equipment and pay such fees as set by the University.

Faculty, staff and students may employ e-mail as a mode of official communication. All NWOSU faculty, staff and students will be assigned and be required to use NWOSU email accounts for any official email correspondence. The University may rely on this medium to communicate official information; therefore, faculty, staff and students are responsible for checking and reading messages on their NWOSU email account on a regular basis.

Electronic mail and communication are not to be utilized by employees and students to share confidential information about students or employees. Employees have no expectation of privacy with regards to the use of electronic mail.

Network administrators may review files and communications to maintain system integrity. Users should not assume that files stored on university servers will be private. (Electronic Communications Privacy Act 18 USC §2701 (1988).) Users have no expectation of privacy with regards to any computer equipment belonging to NWOSU or to the use of the NWOSU network with private computer equipment. The University cooperates fully with all duly constituted law enforcement agencies in cases of violation of applicable law. Use of University network facilities, services and information technologies does not alter basic codes of behavior of academic life.

Behaviors which are not permitted by the University include but are not limited to:

  • Violation of local, State or federal laws, RUSO or University policy

  • Sharing confidential information on students or employees

  • Sending, sharing or displaying obscene pictures, images or messages

  • Searching for, downloading, uploading, storing, sending, sharing or displaying child pornography

  • Assisting a campaign for election of any person to any office or for the promotion of or opposition to any ballot proposition

  • Using obscene language

  • Threatening, stalking, or harassing communications in violation of federal, state, or local laws, including but not limited to the Violence Against Women Act, Title IX of the Education Amendements of 1972 as amended, and Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended

  • Engaging in practices that threaten the integrity of the University computer facilities, services and information technologies (e.g., loading files that may introduce a virus or installing software not previously approved). Downloading and installation of software is only allowed with prior approval from Information Technology. This also applies to the installation of hardware.

  • Violating copyright laws. For example, copying or downloading movies, music or other copyrighted materials is against the law. Peer-to-peer sharing of the copyrighted materials is also against the law.

  • Using others’ accounts

  • Trespassing in others’ folders, documents, or files

  • Intentionally wasting limited resources

  • Employing the network for personal enterprises or business purposes

  • Violating the ONENET Acceptable Use Policy (http://onenet.net/current-customers/acceptable-use-policy/)

  • Surveillance or taping of others and/or taking non-consensual or abusive advantage of another; examples include, but are not limited to, non-consensual video or audio taping of sexual activity.

  • Internet use that constitutes invading rights of others to include, but not limited to, harassment based on sex, race, color, national origin or disability

The Network Supervisor will report inappropriate behaviors to the University administration who will take appropriate disciplinary action. Any other reports of inappropriate behavior, violations, or complaints will be routed to the employee’s supervisor for appropriate action. Violations may result in a loss of access and/or disciplinary action, including termination.

Each employee will be given copies of this policy and procedures and will sign an acceptable use agreement before establishing an account.

Revised 11-16

1.0 Overview

Passwords are an important aspect of computer security. They are the front line of protection for user accounts. A poorly chosen password may result in the compromise of NWOSU’s entire network. As such, all NWOSU employees are responsible for taking the appropriate steps, as outlined below, to select and secure their passwords.

2.0 Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to establish a standard for creation of strong passwords, the protection of those passwords, and the frequency of change.

3.0 Scope

The scope of this policy includes all personnel who have or are responsible for an account (or any form of access that supports or requires a password) on any system that resides at any NWOSU facility, has access to the NWOSU network, or stores any non-public NWOSU information.

4.0 Policy

4.1 General

  • All system-level passwords must be changed on at least a quarterly basis.
  • All user-level passwords (e.g., email, web, desktop computer, etc.) must be changed at least every six months
  • User accounts that have system-level privileges granted through group memberships must have a unique password from all other accounts held by that user.
  • Passwords must not be inserted into email messages or other forms of electronic communication.
  • All user-level and system-level passwords must conform to the guidelines described below.


4.2 Guidelines

  1. General Password Construction Guidelines

Passwords are used for various purposes at NWOSU. Some of the more common uses include: user level accounts, web accounts, email accounts, screen saver protection, voicemail password, and local router logins. Everyone should be aware of how to select strong passwords.

Poor, weak passwords have the following characteristics:

  • The password contains less than eight characters
  • The password is a word found in a dictionary (English or foreign)
  • The password is a common usage word such as: Names of family, pets, friends, co-workers, fantasy characters, etc.
  • Computer terms and names, commands, sites, companies, hardware, software.
  • The words “NWOSU”, “rangers”, “Alva” or any derivation.
  • Birthdays and other personal information such as addresses and phone numbers.
  • Word or number patterns like aaabbb, qwerty, zyxwvuts, 123321, etc.
  • Any of the above spelled backwards.
  • Any of the above preceded or followed by a digit (e.g., secret1, 1secret)

Strong passwords have the following characteristics:

  • Contain both upper and lower case characters (e.g., a-z, A-Z)
  • Have digits and punctuation characters as well as letters e.g., 0-9 ,!@#$%^&*()_+|- =\`{}[]:”;'<>?,./)
  • Exception: Open VMS accounts, such those used by the Faculty Access System (FAS), may have letters and numbers but only the special characters _ $.
  • Are at least eight alphanumeric characters long.
  • Are not a word in any language, slang, dialect, jargon, etc.
  • Are not based on personal information, names of family, etc.

Passwords should never be written down or stored on-line. Try to create passwords that can be easily remembered. One way to do this is create a password based on a song title, affirmation, or other phrase. For example, the phrase might be: “One way I can remember my password” and the password could be: “Ow1crMp#” or “1Wic?mp/” or some other variation.

  1. Password Protection Standards

Do not use the same password for NWOSU accounts as for other non-NWOSU access (e.g., personal ISP account, option trading, benefits, etc.). Where possible, don’t use the same password for various NWOSU access needs. Do not share NWOSU passwords with anyone, including administrative assistants or secretaries.

All passwords are to be treated as sensitive, confidential NWOSU information.

Here is a list of “dont’s”:

  • Don’t reveal a password over the phone to ANYONE
  • Don’t reveal a password in an email message
  • Don’t reveal a password to your supervisor
  • Don’t talk about a password in front of others
  • Don’t hint at the format of a password (e.g., “my family name”)
  • Don’t reveal a password on questionnaires or security forms
  • Don’t share a password with family members
  • Don’t reveal a password to co-workers while on vacation

If someone demands a password, refer them to this document or have them call someone in the Information Technology (IT).

Do not use the “Remember Password” feature of applications (e.g., OutLook, Internet Explorer, Instant Messenger).

Again, do not write passwords down and store them anywhere in your office. Do not store passwords in a file on ANY computer system (including Palm Pilots or similar devices) without encryption.

Change passwords at least once every six months (except system-level passwords which must be changed quarterly). The recommended change interval is every four months.

If an account or password is suspected to have been compromised, report the incident to IT and change all passwords.

  1. Application Development Standards

 

Application developers must ensure their programs contain the following security precautions.

Applications:

  • should support authentication of individual users, not groups.
  • should provide for some sort of role management, such that one user can take over the functions of another without having to know the other’s password.
  1. Remote Access

 

Access to the NWOSU Networks via remote access is controlled using CiscoVirtual Private Networking (VPN).  VPN client software is available from IT.

  1. Passwords at Account Creation

 

When a request for a username is requested, IT staff will determine the type and privileges required.  The password will be set to be pre-expired so the user will be required to change their password when they first successfully logon to the system.  The lifetime of the password will be set according to the guidelines set in section 4.1 of this document.

  1. Forgotten Passwords

 

Users will occasionally forget their password.  A characteristic of password files is that passwords cannot be looked up.  If a user forgets their password, the password can be changed by IT staff.  The user must present a photo id to the IT staff member before the password will be changed.  Users who cannot contact IT in person on a branch campus should go to the Business Office of the branch campus to present the photo id and then the branch campus personnel will contact IT to make the password change.  In the case of student Blackboard passwords, the student’s instructor can make appropriate identification and change the password for the student.

5.0 Enforcement

Any employee found to have violated this policy may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

How it works:

After joining the NWOSU_Start_Here network, you will be prompted to sign into your account. Once signed in you will be assigned a password for the NWOSU_Rangers SSID. This is a password-protected network that operates similarly to your home Wi-Fi. Once you enter your password (in the password field for NWOSU_Rangers), you will be assigned your own VLAN, allowing all your devices (phone, smart devices, printers, etc.) to communicate with each other securely.

Connecting for the first time:

  • On your phone or laptop open the Wi-Fi or network settings and join the NWOSU_Start_Here SSID.
  • Upon joining that network, you will be greeted with a splash page requesting that you sign in with your NWOSU Self-Service login. It is in a box labeled LDAP Login. Please note you do not need to add @nwosu.edu after your username.
  • After signing into your account, you’ll be able to see your passphrase for the NWOSU_Rangers network. You can copy and paste it into the password field after clicking on NWOSU_Rangers from the available networks list. You will no longer need to join the NWOSU_Start_Here network, and we recommend you click on the ‘Forget this Network’ tab.
  • If you would like to change this password to something more memorable you are able to do so. To do this, log in to your account. At the top of the page, you’ll see ‘Manage Wireless’ in bold letters. Enter a unique passphrase that is at least 8 characters long, then press ‘Update.’ If it doesn’t work please try a more unique password.
  • You can now join the ‘NWOSU_Rangers’ network on any device by selecting it from available networks and entering the passphrase you created. Remember: the passphrase you created is only the passphrase to join the NWOSU_Rangers network and does not change your Self-Service password.

 

For additional help or support please contact your RA.

Contact:

Dalton Moser

(580) 327-8611
ddmoser@nwosu.edu