New Password Policy Goes Into Effect April 15

Release date: April 10, 2008 |

What is the new password policy?
As of April 15, 2008 all Faculty, Staff, and Students will be required to change their password every six months. If you do not change your password prior to April 15 and your current password is older than 6 months, your password will become expired and you will need to change it. Additionally, new passwords will require a bit more complexity.
New passwords must be 8 characters long and meet three of the following four criteria:
• Upper case letter
• Lower case letter
• Number
• Special character such as one of these, for example: !@#$

Examples that meet the requirement s include:  Gouc2008, Home1103, Sp@ce2001, SK8board
Please be creative and do not use the example passwords.

What systems are affected by this password change?
These systems will use your new password once it has been changed:
• On-campus Goucher-owned computers
• Blackboard
• E-mail
• myGoucher
• Virtual Private Networking and Dial Up
• Wireless network card utilities connecting to "goucher"

What systems will NOT be affected by this password change?
These systems are not integrated with our directory services and will not use your new password:
• PowerCAMPUS
• Student Manager
• FRxWebPort
• Personal computer passwords, except for the wireless utility if it connects to "goucher"

How can I change my password?
There are a number of ways to change your password from both on and off campus.
• Visit http://password.goucher.edu and enroll in the password management system. This will allow you to setup security questions and reset your password.
• If logged into an on-campus, Goucher-owned, Windows computer, you can simply press Ctrl-Alt-Del and select the Change Password... button. This will give you a window where you can change your password.

What happens if I do not change my password?
If you do not change your password, your account will most likely have an expired password as of April 15, 2008. Accounts with expired passwords cannot access critical systems such as Blackboard, myGoucher and E-mail. If your password is expired and you attempt to login to a campus computer, you will be prompted that your password has expired and you will be required to change it before proceeding.

How can I avoid problems on April 15?
We strongly encourage everyone to change their password now so that they will not be affected by the policy change on April 15.  To change your password, please see the questions above: "How do I change my password?"

Faculty and Staff Laptop Users Please Read:
Faculty and Staff laptop users should change their passwords while on campus.  Once changed, log off and back on while connected to the Goucher network and prior to taking their laptop off-campus. Laptops use cached credentials when they are not connected to the Goucher network. By logging off and back on, you are updating these cached credentials with your new username and password.
Additionally, please update your wireless utility to reflect your new password. Instructions for configuring your wireless utility can be found here: http://www.goucher.edu/x20031.xml

If you have questions regarding this announcement, please contact the Help Desk.