Faculty/Staff NetIDs & Email

The Office of Technology Services (OTS) maintains free computing and email accounts, known as NetIDs, for all current faculty and staff.

What is a NetID?

A "NetID" is the core computing account assigned to each employee at Towson University. It consists of a username, email address, a password, and a set of computing services to which the NetID provides access including email, online file storage, web publishing, chat, video conferencing, and wireless access services.

There are other types of faculty/staff-like NetIDs which offer a subset of services to retirees, faculty emeritus, server administrators, and sponsored guests of the university.

All NetID holders should follow TU’s Guidelines for Responsible Computing. If you need help, contact the OTS Faculty/Staff Help Center.

NetID Activation and Management

Your NetID is automatically created upon hiring, but you'll need to activate it. Use the NetID Management tools to activate a NetID for the first time or manage an existing one. When your faculty/staff NetID is created:

  • OTS will automatically notify you if your personal email address is on file.  
  • Your supervisor will also be notified, if one can be identified.
  • For new sponsored guest NetIDs, OTS will notify the sponsor of the NetID, who can inform the guest NetID holder.

New NetID Requests

NetIDs can be requested for sponsored guests, employees of other vendors and organizations on campus, student employees, and server administrators. To start this process, Faculty/Staff should submit a TechHelp service request.

Password Management

Established passwords must be changed every six months, and must follow TU Password Guidelines. Password expiration warning notifications will be sent automatically through TU email in advance. Use the NetID Management tools to reset a forgotten or expired password. Never give out your NetID password to anyone - OTS staff will never need it.

Accessing Email

In partnership with Microsoft, the university provides TU faculty and staff with Microsoft Office 365-hosted email accounts. Email is accessible once you have activated your NetID. To access your Office 365 email account online:

  1. Visit office.towson.edu.
  2. Enter your NetID and password, and log in.
  3. Click the Mail icon to open your mailbox.

NetIDs After Leaving the University

  • After a faculty/staff member's employment ends, their NetID will automatically be disabled in, and later purged from, the system.
  • Retirees and faculty emeritus can continue to use their NetID after they leave the university, with a subset of services.
  • For guest NetIDs, for some faculty/staff NetIDs that are sponsored, and for student employees, the sponsors will automatically receive an email prior to the NetID being disabled, and will have the opportunity to extend the expiration date up to one year.
  • If the faculty/staff member returns to the university, they will be given the same NetID and email address.