Accessing Accounts

Your student network account gives you access to the many services Cascadia provides over the campus network including:

• Canvas
• Office365 applications (Outlook (e-mail), Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive)
• UW NetID (Parking permits, Library resources, Emergency Alerts)
• Navigate (Advising appointments, tracking academic progress and more!)
• Printing
• Campus PCs
• Student Service Desk portal (Borrowing equipment or reporting a technology issue)
• Eduroam wireless network
• Handshake (Student job opportunities)
• PantrySOFT (KodiakCave services)
• Student Views (Virtual desktops for remote classwork) 

Getting Started

You will receive an email from Cascadia's IT department the next business day after you are fully admitted to Cascadia with your user name (typically in the format of firstnamemiddleinitiallastname). The email will be sent to the email you provided in ctcLink when you applied at Cascadia. The email will also include information on the pattern we use to determine your initial password. If you do not receive that email or need assistance with getting that information, you may find the information you need in this student account creation and default settings document. If you still cannot determine your user name or password, please contact the IT Service Desk to get assistance by chat or via phone at 425-352-8228 during our open business hours. We must verify your identity before we can provide this information so we cannot complete this process via email.

Passphrases

Once you know your user name and initial password, you will need to use the Office 365 portal to set a new passphrase. The first time you log in to your email or other Office 365 tool, you will need to set your account up for first time use. Please refer to Setting up Your Cascadia Student Account for step by step instructions.

Cascadia Student Network Accounts require the use of strong passphrases. For details on the requirements to create an appropriate passphrase for your account, please visit the Strong Passphrases section below and review the requirements listed. These requirements are updated periodically so Cascadia IT Services recommends checking that page if you are having difficulties setting a new passphrase for your account.

Multifactor Authentication

Starting in September 2024, all Cascadia accounts will begin to be protected by multifactor authentication (MFA).  MFA is designed to protect your personal information and the resources provided to you, as a student of the college.  A quick explanation of the purpose of this security technology can be found in this YouTube video.

The following factors will be available for you to configure on your account, when prompted:

• Set up an authenticator app (Microsoft Authenticator is recommended for our systems but others will work)
• SMS/Text message code
• Voice call
• OATH hardware token (only available via the IT Service Desk, you must complete this form to be issued a token and agree to the terms of use)

 

To help you to get MFA set up on your Cascadia account, this document was created.

If you have questions about setting your account up withy MFA, please do no hesitate to contact the IT Service Desk.

Passwordless Authentication:

Exciting news! Have you heard about the fantastic passwordless sign-in feature offered by Microsoft Authenticator (MS-auth)? While occasional password resets are still part of the deal, with MS-auth, you can now enjoy the convenience of multi-factor authentication (MFA) without the hassle of typing your password every single time. This awesome feature is not just limited to Microsoft 365; you can also use it for our various single sign-on services like Navigate, Canvas, and Advocate.

 

The passwordless sign-in method does require your phone to have a screen lock enabled (which is a smart move anyway), using a PIN or your fingerprint. In this process, you'll receive a two-digit code to enter into an authentication notification sent to your phone by MS-auth. Once you input the code, you'll be prompted to enter your PIN or provide your fingerprint if you use biometrics. This method ticks all the boxes for MFA, requiring something you have (your phone/app) and something you know (your PIN) or something you are (biometrics).

 

To set up passwordless sign-in with MS-auth, first make sure you have set up MS-auth as an MFA option. You can find detailed instructions on how to do this here. Once you have configured your account to use MS-auth, remember to enable your account for passwordless sign-in if it's not already set up. To check if your account is ready for passwordless sign-in, open the MS-auth app, select your Cascadia account, and verify the status under 'Ways to sign in or verify,' where it should say "Passwordless sign-in enabled" at the top. If not set up, follow the instructions under 'Other ways to sign in' to "Set up phone sign-in." Just a heads up, registering your device with our 365 tenant is required for this, but don't worry; we don't make changes to your device unless it involves revoking access to Cascadia resources.

 

Once you're all set up, when you log in using your email address, you might still be asked for your password. Simply switch to passwordless sign-in by clicking the ‘Use an app instead’ link (this action is needed just once, and you can switch back by clicking 'Use password instead' in the new MFA prompt).

This exciting sign-in method is available to everyone! Why not give it a go? If you have any questions or want a demo, feel free to reach out!

Availability

Cascadia Student Network Accounts are issued to students the day after they are admitted in order to assist with the use of certain technologies on campus.  Prior to enrollment in a class, this account will provide an @student.cascadia.edu email address, access to Navigate (for access to Advising and other support teams) and Canvas. These accounts will have limited access to other resources and will not provide access to the following:

• Email to non-Cascadia email addresses
• Office365 applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive)
• Printing
• Campus PCs
• UW NetID
• Student Service Desk portal
• Eduroam wireless network
• Handshake
• PantrySOFT

Once you enroll for your first class, your account will be upgraded to allow access to all services listed at the top of this section automatically (this is an overnight process so services will be available by 8:00 a.m. the next morning). 

After you have completed your coursework, your account will stay active for five quarters, however, not all resources are available to students who are not actively enrolled in class. These accounts will have limited access or will not provide access to the following:

• Office365 applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive) - cloud versions available only
• Printing
• UW NetID
• Student Service Desk portal
• Eduroam wireless network
• Handshake
• PantrySOFT

If you have questions about access to resources, please contact the IT Service Desk.

Your employee network account gives you access to the many services Cascadia provides over the campus network including:

• Canvas
• Office365 applications (Outlook (e-mail), Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive)
• UW NetID (Parking permits, Library resources, Emergency Alerts)
• Zoom
• Navigate (Advising appointments, tracking academic progress and more!)
• Printing
• Campus PCs
• go.Cascadia (Employee intranet/SharePoint site)
• Employee Service Desk portal (Borrowing equipment or reporting a technology issue)
• Eduroam wireless network
• Employee Views (Virtual desktops for remote work)

Getting Started

You supervisor requests the creation of your Network Account via an Onboarding request and they are provided with your initial user name and passphrase.  You are required to change your initial passphrase upon first login.

Passphrases

You must use the Office 365 portal to reset your passphrase.  In order to do that, your account will need to be configured for self service password resets. The document below explains how to complete that task. Please refer to Setting up Your Account for Office 365 passphrase Management for step by step instructions.

Cascadia Employee Network Accounts require the use of strong passphrases. For details on the requirements to create an appropriate passphrase for your account, please view the Strong Passphrases section below. These requirements are updated periodically so Cascadia IT Services recommends checking that page if you are having difficulties setting a new passphrase for your account.

Availability

Cascadia Employee Network Accounts can still be active but have limited access to resources if the employee's status is marked as "inactive" in ctcLink (ie Associate Faculty or Part Time employees not offboarded but also not actively teaching/working). Not all resources provided by these accounts are available to employees in that status.  These accounts will have limited access or will not provide access to the following:

• Office365 applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive) - cloud versions available only
• UW NetID

If you have questions about access to resources, please contact the IT Service Desk.

To be considered strong, your passphrase must:

• Be at least 14 characters long.
• Be significantly different from previously used passphrases or passwords. If your new passphrase is too similar to your previous one, this will cause the passphrase to be rejected. If your new passphrase is an exact match to the last 24 passphrases you have used, it will cause the passphrase to be rejected.
• NOT contain your name or any part of your full name. This will cause passphrase to be rejected.
• NOT contain consecutive or repetitive characters (e.g. 12345 or aaaaa). This will cause the passphrase to be rejected.
• NOT be on the list of most commonly used passphrases or passwords . This will cause the passphrase to be rejected.