SRU rolls out password retrieval system
Aug. 29, 2018
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. - As a part of everyday life, there are some things that have just become second nature to a 21st century person's daily routine: reading social media posts, responding to email and checking on your latest Amazon order. Oh, and occasionally forgetting the passwords that are needed in order to access those very things.
In today's security conscious world - with various online scams and email phishing attempts - the frequency with which many people change their passwords can often time leave them drawing a blank when logging in to even the most often visited of sites.
Slippery Rock University's Information and Administrative Technology Services is helping to alleviate some of the stress of having to tax your brain for the long-forgotten password with a new recover tool for student users of the MySRU portal.
The new password reset tool can be easily accessed from either an internet browser or mobile device. To configure the tool, users should access the MySRU account home page via the University's website at sru.edu and click on "Account Maintenance." Once the current password is entered, users are prompted to enter a phone number or email for password recovery. When the tool is activated, a code will be sent to the user's email or mobile device for verification before the account password can be reset.
John Ziegler, SRU associate provost for IATS, said that the University regularly use to receive 100-200 password reset requests per day from students that required manual changes to be made by IATS staffers.
"We were looking for something that was easier for people to use, something that was secure and would allow our staff to focus on larger issues," Ziegler said. "Having a user based, immediate change tool for the students that was available to them at any time was the way to do it.
"Everyone has a cell phone or alternate email address (outside of their sru.edu address), so we thought it was made sense to provide a tool anyone could access at any time, day, evening or weekend, right when they needed it."
Zeigler said the hope of having the new tool is that it will result in a projected 90 percent decrease in change requests made to IATS. "As people get used to the tool being available, and people become accustomed to being able to do it themselves, it will make life easier for everyone involved," he said. "Providing self-service items around campus in any form is a good thing. There won't always be a Help Desk available in the real world, so being able to look after it yourself is important."
MEDIA CONTACT: Lesa Bressanelli | 724.738.2091 | lnb1009@sru.edu