A Temporary IT account (also known as a "temp IT account") is a University user account, sponsored by a University staff member, for an external partner/associate who is not an employee or student at the University.
These accounts must be managed and used in accordance with the University's Policy for Temporary IT accounts.
Temp IT accounts have access to most of the same services as a staff account. However, they cannot access electronic library resources due to licensing restrictions, and most Pegasus systems are not available to them. For details, see Accounts for external users.
Temp IT accounts can be requested by any member of staff, on behalf of an external user. However, before making such a request, you should consider whether this type of account is appropriate or necessary for them. For many types of external user, a temp IT account may give them more privileges than they want or require, such as an @strath email address. A limited access account may be more appropriate for such users : or, you may not need to get a University account created for them at all. For details on the services available to temp IT accounts, and a comparison with other types of account, see Accounts for external users.
Temp IT accounts should always be created for named individuals, not generic roles. They can be configured to last for up to one year. If access is still required after that point, the account can be renewed.
For further details about temp IT accounts, please see the University's Policy for Temporary IT accounts.
How to request a Temporary IT account
If you're a member of staff, and you're sure you'd like to request a temp IT account for your external partner/associate after reading the above, then please follow our User Guide for Temp IT Requestors (login may be required).
Once submitted, the request will be routed to the nominated sponsor, who must also be a member of staff, and have a working relationship with the intended account user. The sponsor will be notified by email, and asked to approve. The process for sponsors is straightforward, but if help is needed, sponsors should refer to our User Guide for Temp IT Sponsors (login may be required).
Once sponsorship has been approved, the request will be routed to the intended account user. The account user will be notified by email, and asked to provide further details. Again, the process for account users is straightforward, but if help is needed, they should refer to our User Guide for Temp IT Account Users (no login required).
Finally, the request will be routed to the appropriate temp IT account admins, who must be members of IT staff. They will approve or deny the request, and carry out any person-matching required. If help is needed, account admins should refer to our User Guide for Temp IT Account Administrators (login may be required).
After the above process is complete, Temp IT access requests will be processed immediately, with access available for the user within 10 minutes.
Temp IT account users will receive a notification to their external email address, informing them of their DS account username. It will have instructions to set their own password online with our password reset page. On setting their password the user will also be prompted to agree to the terms and conditions of the University’s Information Security Policy.
Please contact your Faculty IT support staff, or the Professional Services Helpdesk via our contact Information Services page, if you have any questions about temp IT accounts.