In a further attempt to make Tufts' system of passwords more user-friendly, University Information Technology (UIT) has implemented TuftsTools, a web application that allows members of the Tufts community to change and update their Active Directory (AD) password and e-mail account information online.
Students use their AD passwords to access campus computers and their accounts on the Microsoft Exchange e-mail platform that will by June replace Trumpeter Webmail across Tufts' campuses.
TuftsTools goes hand-in-hand with UIT's Simplified Sign-On (SSO), the project which has been replacing all of the passwords students are currently required to remember with the AD password. The SSO project will improve the security of Tufts' various online applications, Director of Communications and Organizational Effectiveness for UIT Dawn Irish said.
Students and faculty can now use TuftsTools to change their passwords online whenever needed, according to Irish. Before UIT developed the service, the passwords had to be changed in person when they expired with a UIT worker authorized to complete the process.
Lee Raymond, manager of the e-mail transition and head of the SSO project, said this in-person system was inefficient for busy students whose schedules may not align with UIT's office hours.
"Right now, if you want to have your password reset, you need to have an IT colleague assist you, whether it's going to Eaton Hall or working directly with other support staff," Raymond said. "We saw many people resetting their passwords at 10 o'clock at night or 11 o'clock at night, and we know that students are up working at different times than we are working."
UIT made both the TuftsTools and SSO initiatives available to students and staff at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy early last month, according to Raymond.
TuftsTools offers other features beyond password resets, Irish said, including e-mail forwarding and reminders of students' Tufts usernames.
"It's a self-service portal for all things password," she said.
Tufts OnLine Supervisor Judi Vellucci commended the service for making the password system more accessible to the student body and comprehensive in its offerings.
"Most importantly, it's user-friendly," Vellucci said. "It takes so much time for reviews and approvals, and sometimes it seems slow, but it's thorough."
Password consolidation through the SSO initiative has already begun and will occur in phases throughout the rest of the semester. All members of the community, including all graduate students and staff, are expected to switch to the new password system by the end of June, according to Raymond.
"We're constantly bringing in new technology. Our overall goal — not just UIT, but for the entire university — is to make life for students and faculty members both easier and better," Irish said. "It's a very simple tool that does great things."
