Before you can use your NetID and access any services, you must claim and activate your account. The Identity Claim process will set up your account and assign your NetID. Please take note of your NetID since you will need it to access Rice systems.

To begin the claim process, you must have your:

• Student ID Number (students) or OwlID (employees and visitors) (This information is provided in an email from Rice.)

• Legal First and Last names

If you have not received any email or instructions, please contact the Office of Registrar if you're a student, or the Office of Human Resources/Visitor Management if you're an employee or visitor. 

Once you initially claim your NetID, you will be prompted by Duo Mobile to set up your access method(s) that will be used for multi-factor authentication (MFA). Rice uses Duo Mobile for MFA to protect your accounts. To learn more about Duo, please see: Duo: Complete Guide to Duo.

Your NetID Password

Use a strong and unique password for your NetID account according to the instructions in the WhooRU.rice.edu portal. The password should be long, 30 characters or more, random, and include letters, numbers, and special characters. We strongly recommend using a password manager like 1Password, LastPass, or Google Password Manager to make and store these credentials.

For more guidance on the required password criteria, please see: WhooRU: All About Passwords. You must be logged in to view this document.

Please keep your contact information updated in the WhooRU.rice.edu. Profile and contact information, including your phone or external email, should be kept current for better account management. For example, to reset a forgotten password yourself, the system requires a cell phone number, a secondary email address, or both. This way, a reset token can be sent to the contact points external to the password that needs resetting. 

To make changes, log in to WhooRU.rice.edu. Click the downward arrow (⌵) next to your initials in the top right corner and select My Profile from the drop-down list.

Enter your email address and your SMS-capable phone number. You can also update any information that is not grayed out. Then press Submit.

Security is an essential responsibility for everyone with an affiliation and account with the university. It ensures that credentials are managed effectively so that individuals can access the necessary university services and resources.  You must keep critical information up to date for proper security and management of your accounts.

At the time of Identity Claim, you must register an SMS-capable device and email address for authentication with Duo Mobile, our multi-factor authentication provider. Using the registered device(s), Duo Mobile will prompt you to verify yourself whenever they attempt to access a university service. 

Once the Identity Claim process is done and the account setup is complete, you can update and manage your own security and settings for your profile in WhooRU.rice.edu. 

Rice IAM strongly recommends that you always use an authentication method with a security score of 3 or greater. For more information about Duo authentication methods, please visit: Duo: Complete Guide to Duo

Update Your Security Devices

The devices you register and use to authenticate with Duo to university services and resources will be managed through WhooRU. 

To update or manage these devices, log in to the WhooRU portal and select My Security.

Any authentication methods tied to your account will be listed under Duo Devices here. You can also add a new device by selecting the (+).

Travel and Security

Duo provides multiple options for securing your account while traveling. Please enroll your device(s) in the correct plan, according to your scenario, before your trip. See also: Duo: Using Duo while Traveling

• I will not have a cellular connection or WiFi

If you do not have cellular connectivity or WiFi during your trip, you can still use the Duo Mobile App to generate a passcode for authentication. After getting a prompt from Duo, press Other Options and then Passcode. Now, go to the Duo Mobile App, and enter the passcode listed under your Account. 

• I will not have access to my smartphone

If you do not have access to your smartphone during your travel, you can get up to ten (10) bypass codes to use and authenticate with Duo for the duration of your trip. 

To generate these, you can go to the WhooRU portal. Select My Security, then under Duo Bypass Codes, select Generate Codes at the bottom of the page.

New codes will be generated each time you click this button, and the previous codes will be invalidated.

• Authentication while out of the country

If you have cellular service or a WiFi connection, you can use Duo Mobile as you regularly would for authentication. Push, passcode, and phone options will all work outside the country. You can also add an international phone number as one of your authentication options if needed. 

By default, a netid@rice.edu email address will be created and assigned to you when your NetID is initially created (for example: so1912@rice.edu). Each individual can create up to three alternate or vanity email aliases that are all delivered to your one email mailbox. Log in to WhooRU.rice.edu and select My Aliases from the options on the home screen.

NOTE: When creating and choosing a new alias, be mindful. An alias cannot be deleted once it has been created and you are limited to three.

Examples of acceptable alias formats:

• sammyowl@rice.edu
• SammyOwl@rice.edu
• sammy.owl@rice.edu
• Sammy.Owl@rice.edu

Basic Identity Profile Example

NetID: so1912

Legal First Name: Samuel

Legal Last Name: Owl

Preferred Name: Sammy

Affiliation: Student/Mascot

Title: Best Mascot Ever, Rice University Mascot, Marching Owl Band (MOB) Drum Major

Each person at Rice can have one email address published in the online directory (https://search.rice.edu/).  This is often called your primary email address. You may use WhooRU.rice.edu to indicate which of your email addresses you prefer to appear in the online directory.

Note for Students: If you prefer not to be listed in the Rice online directory, you can request it to be withheld within the ESTHER system. See also the Office of the Registrar's web page on FERPA.

Log in to WhooRU.rice.edu, which is Rice's Online Account Management System, and confirm the Duo prompt for multi-factor authentication.

From the homepage, select My Alias.

Under the Active Aliases section, click on the Edit (pencil) icon next to the email address you want to publish to the online directory.

Toggle the Primary button. 

Click the Save (floppy disk) icon.

The pop-up box will show indicating that your primary alias has been edited successfully. 

To troubleshoot what to do if you can't log into your account, walk through the following steps:

Has your NetID been enabled?

Have you received your onboarding packet or email from the university? If you haven't, your NetID is likely not yet enabled.

If you have not received any email or instructions, please contact the Office of Registrar if you're a student, or the Office of Human Resources/Visitor Management if you're an employee or visitor.

Have you claimed your NetID?

If you've received instructions about activating your NetID and have your Student ID or OwlID, you must use the Identity Claim process to claim your account. Go to WhooRU.rice.edu and use the Claim Your Identity link at the bottom of the front page.

This claim process can only be completed once, and an error message will be received if an attempt is made to activate the NetID again.

Are you using the correct password?

You can check to see if your password is correct by signing in to WhooRU.rice.edu. If you can log in successfully, you've entered the correct password for your NetID account. If you receive an error message, you can select the Forgot Password link to initiate a password reset. 

Have you changed your password recently?

Anytime you change or update your password, update any other accounts and systems that may reflect the old password, including anywhere on your computer, tablet, or smartphone.  Failure to update the password across your devices and/or software may result in the inability to access the system. 

Places where you can check for and update your previous password:

• Applications or Software (E.g., Zoom, Teams, Gmail, etc.)

• WiFi and other wireless settings

Did you receive an email that your account has been locked?

If you receive an email that your account has been locked by an administrator, this is likely due to a security concern. In most cases, when an account is locked, that account and user will be disabled from accessing the Identity portal.

Is the service experiencing problems?

To check and see if the system you are trying to access is working, check the Rice status page at http://status.rice.edu/. Any service outages will be automatically updated here by OIT Staff.

Has your affiliation with the University changed recently?

An affiliation is the connection or relationship that an individual has with the university, for example, a student, employee, or visitor.

The services available to an individual will depend on this affiliation(s). If you are unsure about your affiliation status, please contact the Rice OIT Help Desk.

None of these steps helped.

Take some time to evaluate any points where your account may have been compromised or if there are any other potential problems affecting your access to university resources.

If an administrator has blocked your account due to a security concern, it will take time to clear automatically. Otherwise, if you have investigated the error and are still having issues, please contact the OIT Help Desk for assistance.

Q: Why is it essential to have a NetID?

A: Your NetID account is your ticket to sign in and access campus systems. You only need to remember and use this account to gain access to most other university services. 

Q: How does a NetID account work?

A: A NetID account ties specific attributes to an individual account (Identity), automatically allowing access to resources based on your affiliation with the university. (E.g., student, faculty, or staff)

Q: Will my NetID expire?

A: No. You will keep the same NetID throughout your entire affiliation with the university, even if you leave and come back later. So if you are a former student returning as an employee, you will have the same NetID. 

Q: I'm returning to Rice University after an extended period. What if I can't remember my account password to log in?

A: If you do not remember your previous password, you can use the Forgot Password or Password Reset process to change it. 

Q: Can a NetID be reassigned? 

A: No, once a NetID has been assigned to an individual, it will remain with them for life. It will not be transferred to anyone else, even if that individual leaves the university and returns after an extended period. 

Q: Can I change my NetID?

A: No, it's not generally IAM policy to change a NetID. There are allowed exceptions to this policy, for instance, if the NetID causes emotional distress to an individual. However, we cannot guarantee that there will be no data loss or service disruption to the individual. 

Q: I am a former student returning as an employee, will I have a new NetID?

A: No. You will have the same NetID as during your student affiliation. 

Q: How do NetIDs get created?

A: NetIDs are automatically generated as an individual's data is received by the Identity and Access Management (IAM) group. The format of the NetID is generally two or three alphabetic characters followed by a number. 

A NetID can exist in four possible states. These states follow a user's life cycle and track their affiliation with the university to understand what kind of access should be granted. Please refer to the table below to understand these life cycle states.