About The EDUCAUSE/InCommon Partnership
Access to EDUCAUSE Online Resources is Now Easier and Safer for You
EDUCAUSE has partnered with the InCommon Federation to provide members who use our web resources, the benefits and ease of Federated Identity Management access.
What is Federated Identity Management?
Federated Identity, and its management, refers to the policies, processes, and technologies that establish user identities and enforce rules about access to digital resources. In other words, rather than having separate credentials for each system, "federated identity management" allows you to use a single digital identity (i.e., User Name & Password) to access all resources to which you are entitled.
To learn more, check out the EDUCAUSE 7 Things You Should Know About Federated Identity.
What does this mean to you?
If your institution or organization is a member of Incommon and a member of EDUCAUSE, you’ll be able to login to the EDUCAUSE website using your institution’s User Name and Password—the same login you use on campus. No more need to remember yet another set of login credentials!
How do I get started?
- Find out if your institution is a participant of InCommon
- If yes, your institution will need to be set up on our site—because of the technical information required, this needs to be completed by a designated EDUCAUSE representative at your institution.
- Follow the set up process. (Be sure to let your IT management staff know that you’ve set up InCommon login access with EDUCAUSE.)
- After set up completion, any member of your institution can login with your institution's credentials.
Why are we doing this?
EDUCAUSE is committed to being on the front-end of new technology trends. We’re proud to be a federated identity management service provider, providing convenience and security to our members. Our goal is to signal to institutions of all sizes and types—from small private colleges to large research universities—the importance of building an identity and access management infrastructure that can be leveraged through federations such as InCommon.
“The InCommon Federation is a community endeavor that represents the future of how colleges and universities will enable trusted interactions with each other, government agencies, and other organizations, such as EDUCAUSE, in a digital world.”
-Diana Oblinger, President Emeritus of EDUCAUSE.
Who is InCommon?
InCommon is a formal federation of organizations focused on creating a common framework for collaborative trust in support of research and education. InCommon makes sharing protected online resources easier, safer, and more scalable in our age of digital resources and services.
How it works
Leveraging SAML-based authentication and authorization systems, InCommon enables cost-effective collaboration among InCommon participants. InCommon eliminates the need for researchers, students, and educators to maintain multiple, password-protected accounts. The InCommon Federation supports user access to protected resources by allowing organizations to make access decisions to resources based on a user's status and privileges as presented by the user's home organization.
Does my InCommon login get me into everything I use thru EDUCAUSE?
Almost. You can access all EDUCAUSE resources, with the exception of .EDU Administration using your InCommon credentials. As our roll out progresses we’ll monitor usage and evaluate further expansion to other EDUCAUSE services.