Usernames and Passwords
Whenever possible, St. Olaf College employees will have only one computer system username and password and will use this single username and password to gain access to authorized systems. Some of the college’s business systems do require a unique username and password.
Employees must keep their password confidential, are not share it with others, and absolutely are not to write it down and "hide it" at their desk. They should never log someone else in to their account or use another person’s username and password. Many of our business systems track data changes by username. For auditing purposes it is imperative that we know who made changes to the data.
Passwords are the employee’s responsibility and employees will be held accountable for activities within their account and activities associated with their username and password. Individuals who violate this policy risk the revocation of their computing and network privileges.
In some cases, setting a password on highly confidential documents may be appropriate. Word and Excel are two programs that allow this option. To maximize the security of these files, a separate password should be used. Employees are reminded that it is difficult to break these files passwords and if the password is forgotten, the file will become inaccessible.
