One Identity Manager

One Identity Manager is the new enterprise application platform that will launch the transformation of GW’s approach to identity and access management. 

One Identity Manager will help GW:

  • Enhance identity and access governance and administrative capabilities
  • Provide a complete view of all digital identities and access rights
  • Strengthen GW’s cybersecurity risk management
  • Meet attestation and recertification requirements
  • Ensure the right users have the right access to the right resources for the right reason

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. I have already claimed my GW Identity, will anything be changing for me?
    • No, if you claimed your GW Identity before May 22, 2022 your email and UserID (formerly NetID) will remain the same.
  2. Will I be able to choose my email address?
    • If you claim your GW Identity after May 22, 2022, your email will be auto-generated.
  3. How will my email address be auto-generated?
    • Your auto-generated email will be either LegalFirstName.LegalLastName@ or ChosenName.LegalLastName@ (if a chosen name exists in Banner), followed by "@gwmail.gwu.edu" if you are a student, or "@gwu.edu" if you are faculty or staff.
    • In the event there are multiple individuals with the same first and last name, a number will be added to your last name.
    • Email addresses do not support special characters. If your name contains special characters or spaces, they will be removed from your email address.
    • Email addresses can be no longer than 32 characters for the first name, and 32 characters for the last name plus a dot. 
    • Ex: [email protected]
  4. How do I know what my UserID is?
    • If you claimed your GW Identity after May 22, 2022, your UserID will be your GWID.
    • If you claimed your GW Identity before May 22, 2022, your UserID is the first part of your GW email address (formerly NetID) and is followed by "@gwmail.gwu.edu" if you are a student, or "@gwu.edu" if you are faculty or staff.   
  5. Can I use special characters or spaces in my email address?
    • Email addresses do not support special characters. If your name contains special characters or spaces, they will be removed from your email address.
  6. How do I claim my GW Identity?
    • Once you have been hired/admitted an email will be sent to you via the email address you have provided to GW. Learn more about how to claim your GW Identity.
  7. Is there a timeline to move legacy users to using GWID for their UserID?
    • There are no current plans to migrate legacy users to using GWID as their UserID at this time. 
  8. Can existing staff, faculty and students request to change their current UserID to GWID?
    • The ability for legacy users to migrate to using their GWID as UserID will become available in future project phases.   
  9. Are Org Accounts Affected?
    • Existing accounts, such as org accounts, will not be affected.   
  10. What if I add a Chosen Name or change my legal name after I claim my GW Identity, can I get my email address changed? 
    • Yes, if you claimed your GW Identity after May 22, 2022. Once you have updated your chosen name, or your legal name has been updated in Banner, you can submit a request to change your email address. 
    • If you claimed your GW Identity prior to May 22, 2022, you will have to wait until this feature is offered in a future phase of the project.  
  11. What happens if I change my email address after I claim my GW Identity? Does my former email address forward automatically? 
    • If you claimed your GW Identity after May 22, 2022, your former email address will remain associated with your GW Identity as an alias. You will continue to receive any emails sent to your former email address, along with emails to your new email address, in one inbox. 
    • If you claimed your GW Identity prior to May 22, 2022, you cannot change your email address at this time. This will be offered in a future project phase. 
  12. For legacy accounts, what would happen if I use my GWID to try to sign into a GW-supported application with [email protected]? 
    • If you are not using your proper UserID to login to GW applications, you will receive an error. 
  13. What about adjunct professors who had a previous email account and are returning? Do they keep their original email address? 
    • Yes.  Returning faculty, staff and students who have claimed GW Identities prior to May 22, 2022, will retain their original email address and UserID (formally NetID).
  14. Will alumni maintain their same email address once they transition from student/staff/faculty to an alumni affiliation?
    • Yes, if the alumni was issued a UserID (formally NetID) prior to May 22, 2022, they will retain their current email address and UserID. 
  15. What do I need to do if I forget my GWID? 
    • In the event you forget your GWID, you should call GW IT at 202-994-4948. 
  16. What happens if I need a GW Identity to be extended beyond graduation or employment? Is there a grace period?
    • Faculty will continue to have a grace period of 365 + 30 days from the end of their employment with the university
    • Students will continue to have a grace period of 30 days beyond the date their degree has been conferred. 
    • There is not a grace period for Staff, Wage or Affilliates.
    • Access to your GW Identity is dependent on how you are coded in our GW systems and will vary based on scenarios such as being converted to wage or affiliate, or no longer having a role. If you no longer have a role in our GW systems, then you no longer have access to GW applications. If you are converted to a different role, your access will also be converted to reflect the access that your new role requires, such as student to alumni. 
  17.  Why will GWID become UserID for all GW community members claiming their GW Identity after May 22, 2022?
    • For many years GW IT received feedback that the process to change your email address was too difficult. One of the goals/benefits of the One Identity Manager project is to make this process easier by removing the association between UserID (formally NetID) and email. 
    • The choice to use GWID for UserID was done in consultation with the Privacy Office and was selected to reduce the number of identifiers to remember and leverage one that was already issued when someone joins the GW community. This also facilitated the separation of email from UserID which was a limiting factor and complicated supporting name changes, among other considerations. 
  18. Is GWID considered public information?  If not, isn't typing one's GWID as a UserID in a public place likely to force people to involuntarily divulge private information to others?
    • GWID is a unique identifier for students, faculty, and staff so that other sensitive, non-public personal information such as Social Security Number (SSN) or a Driver's License Number (DLN) would be protected from the risk of unauthorized access or use. While any identifier is not ideal to have in the hands of someone with malicious intent, a GWID does not create elevated risk as we have many other more useful protections in place (think two-step authentication or credential verification).