Employee Password Change Policy
[updated March 5, 2021] Every Sheridan employee is required to change her/his password every 120 days. After changing your password, you will need to manually enter your new password for the systems and services that utilize your Sheridan network password. These include:
- Wireless Network (Sheridan Secure Access)
- Network Shared Drives
- Personal Network Drives (home directories)
- Printing
- Various secure web services, including Sheridan Central and PeopleSoft applications
Changing Your Password
How will I know when I have to change my password?
You will receive email notification 20 days prior to your password expiring. Failure to reset your password within the 20 day period can result in you being locked out of your account. Below is a sample of the email notification you will receive when your password expires:
SUBJECT: *First* Password Expiry Reminder
Dear Sheridan Colleague,
Sheridan employee passwords must be changed every 120 days. Your password will expire in three weeks. Please change your password at your earliest convenience.
Please see Changing your Network Password on the IT website for instructions.
For more information see the Employee Password Aging Policy on the IT website.
As per security best practices, Sheridan IT will NEVER send you an email asking you to divulge account details or with links asking you to log into your account.
How do I change my password?
Choosing a Secure Password
The following rules must be followed when choosing your Sheridan password:
- Cannot be your Sheridan ID number
- Must be between 8 and 32 characters long
- Cannot contain your username
- Must contain 3 of the following 4 character types: upper case alphabetic, lower case alphabetic, numeric, and symbols
- Must not contain 4 or more characters in sequence. (e.g. qwert, 3456, ghij)
- No more than 3 numeric digits consecutively. (aF483nc# is okay, aF4836nc# is not)
- Only 1 pair of repeated characters (non case-sensitive). (gJ5dd84$ is ok, gJdDd84$ and gg5dD84$ are not)
- Must not be found in a dictionary check of approximately 1.4 million words
Timing of Password Changes
In the majority of cases, password changes take effect immediately. For the exceptions listed below, password changes can take up to 24 hours to go into effect:
- SSH/FTP access to Atlas
- SSH/FTP access to Helios
- SSH access to any of the PeopleSoft or Oracle servers
After You Change Your Password
Attention Laptop Users Running Windows…
If you are using a college-provided laptop running Sheridan's Windows disk image, before changing your password, you will need to do one of the following…
Off-Campus
- Connect to Sheridan via VPN (Virtual Private Network) and follow the password change instructions
On-Campus
- Restart your computer and log-in while plugged into an administrative network jack (i.e. like those found in faculty and administrative offices - NOT labs/classrooms) to complete the password change process.
You will need to update the saved Sheridan passwords on any and all devices that utilize any of the above mentioned Sheridan services, including:
- Your work station (desktop or laptop computer)
- Your smart phone and/or tablet
- Your home computer (you may have it configured to access your Sheridan email or other service)
Windows users can take advantage of the Credential Manager to update many or all of their stored network passwords from one place.
Mac users can take advantage of the Keychain Access program to easily update credentials on their system.
If you have further questions or concerns, please contact the IT Service Desk at extension 2150 or email servicedesk@sheridancollege.ca.