Overview
These are the two types of accounts commonly used by faculty & staff at UC San Diego, Active Directory and Business Systems.
Active Directory
Active Directory (AD) is for access to email (including Gmail), the UCSD-PROTECTED wireless network, Virtual Private Network (VPN), computer labs, Canvas, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Microsoft Teams.
- Your Active Directory account will be set up automatically by your department. Contact your supervisor for assistance.
- If you don't remember your password, or need to change it, follow the instructions on the Active Directory Password Change Tool.
- Active Directory passwords must meet the following requirements:
- Not be compromised
- Be different from any previous passwords
- Be at least 12 characters long
- Include characters from at least 3 of the following 4 categories: uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols
- Not contain any part of your username
- Passphrases are preferred
Business Systems
Business Systems is for access to business tools such as the link family, MyServices, and other central applications. Some business systems / tools require prior authorization or training to access.
- You must self register for a business systems account.
- You will need a valid UCSD email address (abcd@ucsd.edu, not abcd@dept.ucsd.edu) and an active, paid appointment to register a new business systems account.
- If you don't remember your password, or need to change it, follow the instructions on Reset Your Business Systems Password.
- Business Systems passwords must meet the following requirements:
- Minimum of 6 and maximum of 8 characters
- Allowable characters - alphabetic, numeric, @, #, and $
- Must not contain a dictionary word
- May require numbers, symbols, or mixed case to meet the minimum complexity
- Must be different than previous passwords
- Must different than your Active Directory (AD) password