| 1. | What is the IMSP? |
| | It's a set of arrangements negotiated by EDUCAUSE with vendors of products and services related to identity management. The primary purpose of the arrangements is to help higher education adopt better identity management practices by providing lower prices for those products and services. In most cases, the products and services are the same as the vendor sells to the rest of its customers; only the price is different. In some cases, EDUCAUSE will arrange for customized products or services that will only be available through the Program. |
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| 2. | What is identity management? |
| | Identity management refers to a wide variety of activities related to establishing and verifying a person's identity online. Directories, passwords, public-key certificates, smart cards, SSO (single sign-on) technologies, and access-control systems are among the many components of identity management. |
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| 3. | Why is EDUCAUSE doing this? |
| | Many government and commercial-sector entities are focusing on improvements in identity management to help foster Internet security, combat network abuse, and increase efficiency of inter-organizational collaborations. EDUCAUSE believes it is in the interest of the higher education community to be a part of this movement, and the IMSP is one of several efforts undertaken by EDUCAUSE to help. For more, see the Net@EDU Identity Management Working Group page. |
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| 4. | Does EDUCAUSE receive any revenue from purchases made under IMSP? |
| | No. |
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| 5. | Is EDUCAUSE endorsing the vendors in the IMSP? |
| | EDUCAUSE believes that all of the vendors participating in the IMSP are offering high-quality products and services and hopes that the negotiated discounts and customizations enhance their value to member campuses. But EDUCAUSE also believes that many other vendors offer high-quality products and services and that each campus must make its selections based on its unique needs and resources. |
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| 6. | How much does it cost? |
| | There is a $2,000 annual fee to subscribe to the IMSP. This fee defrays the EDUCAUSE cost to administer the program, including legal fees for contract negotiation and, in some cases, payments to vendors for the creation of customized services. |
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| 7. | Who can subscribe? |
| | The EDUCAUSE IMSP is open to all institutional members of EDUCAUSE. Corporate members are not eligible. |
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| 8. | How do I subscribe? |
| | You can subscribe via the IMSP Subscription Form. |
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| 9. | How do I renew? |
| | Subscribers will receive an invoice when it is time to renew. |
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| 10. | How do I cancel? |
| | The $2,000 annual subscription fee is nonrefundable. Cancellations and/or refunds for products and services acquired under the Program are governed by the terms of each vendor's contracts. |
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| 11. | What vendors are part of the program? |
| | Today our arrangements are complete with CertAlert, Cybertrust, GeoTrust, Lancope, and VeriSign. Active discussions with other vendors are under way. |
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| 12. | What products and services can I get today? |
| | CertAlert Software Cybertrust Family of Identity Management Services GeoTrust Products and Services Lancope Products and Services VeriSign Products and Services |
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| 13. | What if I'm dissatisfied with the products or services of a participating vendor? |
| | Customer service is under the control of each vendor, and EDUCAUSE is not in a position to intercede on a member's behalf. EDUCAUSE does request notification, however, if members are dissatisfied with a vendor's performance, as such reports will be taken into consideration for future dealings between EDUCAUSE and the vendor. |
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| 14. | What are the contract terms? |
| | The Identity Management Services Program Participation Agreement [PDF 48 KB] is available from the IMSP Web site. |
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