NetID & Email

NetIDs

A "NetID" is the core computing account assigned to each faculty member, staff member and student at Towson University. It consists of a username, email address, a password and provides access to TU’s computing services, including email, online file storage, Blackboard access, web publishing, chat, video conferencing, and wireless access services.

Who can have a NetID?

These individuals can have a NetID, each with various services: 

• students 
• faculty 
• staff 
• retirees 
• faculty emeritus 
• server administrators 
• sponsored guests of the university  

Learn more about requesting NetIDs and see links to TechHelp Knowledge Base articles on the NetID Management webpage. 

Activating a NetID

A one-time NetID activation is required. All NetID holders should follow TU’s Guidelines for Responsible Computing. If you need help submit a TechHelp service request or contact the OTS Faculty/Staff Help Center or Student Computing Services.

Students

Your NetID is automatically created if you are an admitted student or an English Language Center student, but you'll need to activate it.

Faculty and Staff

Your NetID is automatically created upon hiring, but you'll need to  activate it. 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. 
• You'll be able to set up TU’s required multi-factor authentication (Duo) on your devices. 

Sponsored Guests & other types of NetIDs

Request and manage a sponsored guest NetID for vendors, contractors and other TU visitors through NetID tools. When the guest NetID is created, OTS will notify the sponsor of the NetID, who can inform the guest NetID holder. Learn more.

There are "non-employee" staff who work for vendors with a permanent presence on campus (e.g., Chartwells, Aramark) who are eligible for a NetID. A supervisor or other faculty/staff sponsor can request it through NetID tools. 

Student employees might need additional access to services to perform their job. They don't need a separate NetID for this. Supervisors and permissions group sponsors can update access using the Sponsored Group tool or see how to request student employee access to file shares. If you need assistance or have questions, please submit a TechHelp service request. Learn more.

Managing a NetID 

Once activated, you can reset a forgotten password and update your security info using the NetID Management tools. 

NetIDs after leaving the university

• Students: you'll retain your NetID for a period of time after ending enrollment or after graduation and will be notified when your NetID is going to be deactivated. 
• Faculty/staff: when employment ends, your NetID will automatically be disabled in and later purged from the system. 
• Retirees and faculty emeritus: you can continue to use your NetID after leaving the university, with a subset of services.
• Guests: for some sponsored faculty/staff NetIDs, 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. 
• Returning to TU? Students and faculty/staff will be given the same NetID and email address. 

Email

TU students use Google-hosted email accounts. Email is accessible once you have activated your NetID. TU is moving student email from Google to Microsoft 365 Outlook in 2023. Learn more about the project. 

TU faculty and staff use Microsoft 365-hosted Outlook email accounts. Email is accessible through office.towson.edu or on a TU desktop once you have activated your NetID. Learn more about using Outlook.