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Account: How to set up your Acadia account
Overview
Your Acadia account is your primary identity for accessing technology services at Acadia University. Depending on the service, you may sign in using your Acadia email address or username together with your password.
Your account is used to access services such as Microsoft 365 and other university systems. Access to specialized systems, shared drives, or departmental resources may require additional authorization and is not covered by this article.
The process for receiving your initial account information differs for:
- Employees and guests, whose accounts are created after an approved account request.
- Students, who receive their account information through the Acadia Application Portal after accepting their offer.
After receiving your account information, both groups must activate the account, change the temporary password, and configure the required security information.
Before you begin
You will need:
- Your Acadia email address or account information.
- Your temporary password.
- Access to a phone or other device that you can use to configure your authentication methods.
- Internet access.
Employees and guests must have an approved account request before an account can be created.
Students must have accepted their Acadia offer before retrieving their account information through the Acadia Application Portal.
Never share your Acadia password or authentication codes with another person. Do not approve an authentication request that you did not initiate.
Instructions
1. Obtain your account information as an employee or guest
If you are an employee or guest:
- An Acadia account must first be requested and approved. Use Request Account if an account request has not already been submitted.
- After the account is created, the person who requested the account will receive information containing your username or Acadia email address.
- Your temporary password will be sent separately to the alternate, non-Acadia email address provided for you.
- Keep your temporary password available for the account setup process below.
If you have been told that your account was created but have not received the temporary password, check the alternate email address associated with the account request, including its junk or spam folder.
2. Obtain your account information as a student
If you are a student:
- Accept your offer to Acadia.
- Sign in to the Acadia Application Portal using the personal, non-Acadia email address and password you used for your application.
- Locate your Acadia network account information.
- Record your username and temporary password.
Your username is the portion of your Acadia email address immediately before @acadiau.ca. The temporary password is the initial password provided by Acadia and will be changed during account setup.
Keep this information private. Technology Services staff should never need you to disclose your password.
3. Sign in and change your temporary password
After obtaining your account information:
- Go to Microsoft 365.
- Enter your complete Acadia email address.
- Enter the temporary password provided to you.
- Follow the prompts to create a new password.
- Sign in again with the new password if prompted.
Use your new password for subsequent Acadia sign-ins.
Important: If your temporary password is rejected, do not repeatedly attempt to sign in. Confirm that you are using your complete Acadia email address and the temporary password exactly as provided.
4. Configure your security information
After signing in, follow the prompts to configure your account security information.
You will be required to configure at least two authentication methods for your account and set up multi-factor authentication (MFA).
Technology Services recommends using Microsoft Authenticator push notifications as your primary verification method.
Depending on the options presented to you, follow the on-screen instructions to register the required authentication methods.
For additional help:
Documentation required: The employee section of the original article labels a link to the current article itself as the “MFA Set Up Guide.” That should be replaced with the dedicated MFA guide above, or another current MFA article, before publishing.
5. Test your account
After changing your password and registering your security information:
- Close your existing Microsoft 365 browser session.
- Open Microsoft 365 again.
- Sign in using your complete Acadia email address and new password.
- Complete an MFA prompt if requested.
- Confirm that the sign-in completes successfully.
A successful sign-in confirms that your password and authentication methods are working.
Your account may not automatically provide access to every university application. Some systems and resources require separate authorization.
Troubleshooting
| Problem |
What to check |
| I don't know my username or Acadia email address |
Employees and guests should check the account-creation information sent after the account request was completed. Students should sign in to the Acadia Application Portal and review their network account information. |
| I did not receive my temporary password |
Employees and guests should check the alternate, non-Acadia email address supplied with the account request, including junk or spam folders. Students should check their account information in the Acadia Application Portal. |
| My temporary password does not work |
Make sure you are signing in with your complete Acadia email address and entering the temporary password exactly as provided. Avoid repeated attempts if the password continues to fail. |
| I am not receiving an MFA notification |
Open Microsoft Authenticator directly and check for a pending request. Confirm that the phone has an internet connection and that notifications for Microsoft Authenticator are enabled. |
| I have a new or replacement phone |
Your existing authentication registration may still be associated with your previous device. Review the MFA guides or contact the Service Desk for assistance updating your authentication methods. |
| My Acadia account works, but I cannot access a particular system |
Successfully setting up your Acadia account does not necessarily grant access to every system. Specialized applications, shared resources, and departmental systems may require additional authorization. |
Outcome
Your Acadia account has been activated, your temporary password has been replaced, and the required authentication methods have been configured.
You can now use your Acadia account to sign in to the university services for which you have been authorized.
Further Reading
Need help?
Contact the Service Desk by submitting a ticket or by initiating a Live Chat.