Authority: Vice Chancellor for Information Technology
History: First issued 1993; Last updated Jun 6, 2018
Scope: All NC State students

Description of service

All registered NC State students automatically receive university computing accounts. At a minimum, each student receives a Unity computing account, which provides access to the resources in the campus-wide academic computing realm and many other computing and online resources.  Unity computing account privileges include:

• Unity credentials, which are required to access NC State password-protected online services and resources;
  e.g., MyPack Portal, course materials, campus wireless network.
• Google Workspace at NC State services, including email
• File Space
• Google Workspace Sites at NC State can also be used for personal websites.
• Use of Unity computer labs and applications
• Free use of many popular commercial, discipline-specific and public-domain software packages through NC State Software Licensing.
• Technical support: help.oit.ncsu.edu

Students may have access to additional computing resources provided by the colleges and programs in which they are enrolled.

Groups eligible for service

All registered NC State students

Types of use

Academic and personal

Duration of service

The account remains active as long as the student is registered at the university, unless the student violates NC State IT Rules Regulations and Procedures governing computing and network services.  See also Extended access for new graduates below.

Cost

A portion of students’ Educational Technology fees goes toward maintaining computing accounts for students.

Rules of use

• Use of all NC State computer and network resources is governed by REG 08.00.02 – Computer Use Regulation.
• University computing account holders are responsible for reading and abiding by these and all other IT Rules Regulations and Procedures governing specific computing and network services.
• Failure to abide by these rules and regulations may result in loss of account privileges.
• Use of a university computing account by anyone other than the account holder is strictly prohibited.
• Account holders are responsible for the activities performed under their accounts.
• Account holders are responsible for changing their passwords and keeping them secure.
• Additional service procedures and restrictions:
  • Account activation, deactivation and deletion
  • Unity ID and default password
  • Changing a password
  • Changing a Unity ID. See OIT Account Rename Procedure and Exception Process.
  • Email address
  • Email forwarding
  • Account access for students during summer break
  • Account access for Life-Long Education (LLE) students
  • Account access for students in Study Abroad programs
  • Account access for Co-op students
  • Extended access for new graduates

Unity ID and default password

• The Unity ID (also called Unity userid, login ID) is generated automatically from the user’s name.
• A default password is based on the account holder’s birthdate and Campus ID number.
• A secure password must be created immediately by the account holder whenever the account’s default password is active. See Unity Credentials for details.

Changing a password

• Using the Password Change Form, Unity account holders must change their passwords at least once a year.
• Some employees must change passwords more frequently.

Email address

• G Suite is the official email provider for NC State.
• An email address is in this format:
  unityid@ncsu.edu
  where unityid is the Unity ID of the account holder
• Student email addresses are published in the campus directory unless Registration and Records receives notice of a request for a Privacy Block.
• Students can make these changes online through the MyPack Portal.

Email forwarding

Students who wish to forward mail from their university email account should use Google’s procedure to automatically forward Gmail messages to another account.

Account access for students during summer break

NC State students who were registered for the spring semester and eligible for fall registration will continue to have account access.  During the summer, students can continue to do the following (no extra fees required):

• Use workstations in the Unity labs
• Check email
• Access campus servers remotely
• Transfer files to and from their Unity file space via the university’s server:  ftp.ncsu.edu

Students can register for the fall semester as early as the spring semester.

NOTE:  Those who do not register by the fall Census Date will lose access to their Unity accounts by the next day.

Account access for Life-Long Education (LLE) students

• Students enrolled through the LLE program, including Post-Baccalaureate Studies (PBS) and Undergraduate Studies (UGS), automatically receive Unity computing accounts.
• An LLE student account is generated when the student is enrolled with Registration and Records.
• Account access for LLE students may be delayed several weeks.

Account access for students in Study Abroad programs

• Students enrolled in an NC State Study Abroad program that includes being registered in an NC State course (e.g., ISE 900 or ISE 910) and paying tuition and fees will continue to have full access to their Unity computing accounts.
• Students enrolled in study abroad programs that they have arranged on their own typically do not have Unity account access, because they are not enrolled at NC State and are not paying NC State tuition or fees.

Account access for Co-op students

NC State students who are registered in the Co-op Program will maintain normal access to their Unity computing accounts

Extended access for new graduates

• Access to Google Workspace
• In the spring of 2021, Google announced that it would discontinue unlimited storage for education institutions, which significantly impacted NC State Workspace users. Due to the new storage limitations, the decision was made to offer students the opportunity to retain an affiliation to NC State with an alumni email-only account.
  • Students will retain access to their NC State Google account (@ ncsu.edu) for six months after graduation.
  • OIT will contact each graduate with details and information about the new Alumni Email Service and how to proceed.
  • Former Graduates from May 2010 through Fall of 2021 are being contacted and offered the same Alumni Email Service.
• Access to Other IT Services
  • For one month after graduation, new graduates will have access to:
    • campus-based file space and other services, eduroam and the Virtual Private Network (VPN) service.
  • New graduates will not be able to log in to public workstations in campus computing facilities; e.g., Unity labs.
• Access to MyPack Portal
  • New graduates are allowed to log in to the MyPack Portal Self-Service page to access their student information, but access to other items within the portal may change; e.g., ability to register for classes.
  • Access to the portal remains until the account is deleted from the system.

Additional information

To learn more about Unity computing accounts see Unity Credentials.