UCS

To use WOU technology, you will need a Pawprint account. This is a single username and password that works for all but a few specialized applications. It also includes a WOU email address (username@wou.edu) and access to our Google Apps for Education tools – along with many other services which you can access through the WOU Portal. You also use your Pawprint account to access wireless, and to log in to computers on the campus network.

How do I get a Pawprint account?

If you are a student, your account is automatically created for you as soon as you are admitted to WOU. If you are an employee, your account is created when your HR paperwork is completed.

If my account is automatically created, how do I know my username and password?

All campus users can access Account Lookup. It will tell you your username, WOU email address, and Student ID number (called a V number), and let you set your password.  If you forget your password, you can reset it by going through Account Lookup again. We recommend changing your password at least once a year for security reasons.

What will my username and email address look like?

If you are a student, your username will be your first initial, followed by your last name, followed by the two-digit year the account was created. Example: jdoe16. If you are an employee, your username will be your last name, followed by your first initial. Example: doej.

If you have a very common name, your username may also include your middle initial and possibly more letters of your first name. Examples: jmdoe16, doejm.

Your email address will be your username followed by @wou.edu. Example: jdoe16@wou.edu. In Google Apps, you may also see it as jdoe16@mail.wou.edu; this is effectively the same address, and all messages sent to either one will go to your WOU Gmail inbox.

What features does this account include?

• Access to the WOU Portal. (Single access point for all online services.)
• Wolf Web (Course registration, grades, other student and employee services.)
• Canvas (Online courses, and online features of conventional courses.)
• Google Apps (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Chat, etc.)
• Library services (Including EZProxy and many online journals and databases.)
• Wireless network access.
• Secure, backed-up file storage on the WOU network, including a special public_html folder for webpages.
• Login to computers on the WOU network, such as lab workstations.

What if my name changes?

If you inform the registrar or business office of a name change, they will enter it into the Student Information System. We automatically detect this, and will send you an email warning you that your Pawprint account will be renamed to match your new name. That rename process generally will be done after 5:00 PM within a few days of the notification.

After your account is renamed, your old username will no longer work. If you were not told what your new username would be, you can always go to Account Lookup to find it. You will not need to change your password, though. All email messages, stored files, Canvas coursework, etc. will remain with your account under the new name. Any email sent to your old address will automatically be forwarded to your new one.

How long do I keep my Pawprint account?

If you are a student, your Pawprint account stays active as long as you take at least one course every two years. It will be deleted two full years after your last class attended. If you graduate from WOU you can keep your email address for the rest of your life; just log in at least once every five years. The rest of your account features, such as network file storage, will be deleted after two years as normal.

If you are an employee, your account remains active as long as you are employed. If you retire from WOU and/or have Emeritus status, you may keep your WOU email address for the rest of your life. By special arrangement, you may also keep other account features.

Why do I have two Pawprint accounts?

If you are both an employee and a student, you have two separate Pawprint accounts. You should use the student account for student activities, including storage of course-related documents, and Canvas coursework. All job-related activity should be kept in the employee account. You are responsible for keeping confidential job-related data out of your student account. If you leave employment at WOU, you will most likely immediately lose access to your employee account, so it’s a good idea to keep student information out of that account. If you are a WOU alumnus, it is your student email address that you get to keep for life, so you should use that address for anything you want to keep after you are no longer employed at WOU.

What if I have another question?

Please contact the UCS Service Request Desk at ucshelpdesk@wou.edu or 503-838-8925 (campus extension 88925.)