UCID, the New University Identifier
by Pat Krekeler
As part of continuing efforts undertaken by the University to protect the personal information of its students, faculty, and staff, we are implementing a new University identifier, the UCID. UCit and its business partners are currently working on a large project this summer to remove the social security number (SSN) as a key identifier in systems that serve students, faculty, and staff. The human resource system was replaced in July with UCFlex HR. As part of this implementation project the employee ID containing the SSN was replaced with the new University of Cincinnati IDentifier (UCID). In late August, the student information systems will use UCIDs rather than students' SSNs.
The UCID, assigned to an individual when he or she becomes affiliated with the University as a student, faculty, or staff, begins with the letter "M" and is followed by eight numbers (for example, "M12345678"). Unique for every individual at the University, a UCID will never change, and will be valid regardless of the number of types of affiliations one has with the University. That is, if you are both an employee and a student, you will have only one UCID.
Many departments and colleges that receive data from one of the core systems and use the old employee ID, student ID, or SSN in local applications are impacted by this change. As part of this project, we are reviewing the use of the SSN, to ensure that it is only being used for legitimate business purposes - and not solely as an identifier. In cases where the SSN is only used as an identifier, the University requires the use of the UCID instead.
Wherever possible, in cases where the employee ID, the student ID, or SSN were used to log into a system, the University username (used in your UC e-mail address and often referred to as "6+2") is being substituted. The username with a strong password will be used to log into most online services. A UCID web site will keep the University community informed of how these changes impact daily activities and when specific changes will occur.
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