Set Up a Friend Account for Guest Access to U-M Computing Resources

This document tells how to set up a U-M guest computing account—called a Friend account. For more about Friend accounts, see Frequently Asked Questions about Friend Accounts.

What is a Friend Account?

A Friend account is a U-M guest computing account. It allows someone who does not have a U-M uniqname and UMICH password to authenticate to the U-M computing environment; to log in to the environment and be identified. It does not, however, authorize that person to use any services.

There are two steps in the process that a non-university person follows to gain access to a U-M computing service.

1. Set up a Friend account.
2. Be authorized to use a service by the appropriate service provider.

For example, a parent who wants to access his or her student's university billing statements and financial aid data on Wolverine Access must first set up a Friend account and then be authorized by his or her student to access the relevant data. Someone who wants to use CTools, for example, would need to have a Friend account and would then need to obtain authorization from the people who provide the CTools service. To use any other Friend-enabled service, you need authorization from the provider of that service.

How to Set Up a Friend Account

You need to have an e-mail address that does not end in "umich.edu" in order to set up a Friend account.

1. Navigate to the Request a Friend Account Web page: https://friend.weblogin.umich.edu/friend/

2. In the Your e-mail address box, enter your full e-mail address (your e-mail address will be your login ID), and then click Request.

   

3. Confirmation shows that your Friend account request has been submitted and a message has been sent to the e-mail address you provided with further instructions.

   

4. The U-M Friend Account Request e-mail message sent to you contains a link. Click the Create Friend Account link in the message to go to a Web page where you continue to create your Friend account. (Depending on which e-mail program you use, the message may be formatted differently.)

   

   IF YOU DON'T RECEIVE THE MESSAGE: Most people who report not receiving the message find that it has been caught by their spam filter. If your e-mail program files suspected spam messages in a spam or junk folder, please check that folder in case the message was put there. The message will be from friend-noreply@umich.edu. If you cannot find the message, it may have been caught by a server's spam filter before it could reach your computer. Contact your e-mail service provider for more help.

5. In the Your e-mail address box, type your full e-mail address.

   Select a password and, in the Password box, type the selected password.

   In the Re-enter password box, retype the password to confirm your selection.

   Click Set Password.

   

6. A confirmation screen lets you know that your Friend account has been created.

   

7. An e-mail message confirms the creation of your Friend account and provides you with information about it. We recommend that you save this message for reference.

   

   IF YOU DON'T RECEIVE THE MESSAGE: Most people who report not receiving the message find that it has been caught by their spam filter. If your e-mail program files suspected spam messages in a spam or junk folder, please check that folder in case the message was put there. The message will be from friend-noreply@umich.edu. If you cannot find the message, it may have been caught by a server's spam filter before it could reach your computer. Contact your e-mail service provider for more help.

Using Your Friend Account

You can use your Friend account login name and password to log in to U-M Web-based computing resources at: https://weblogin.umich.edu/

Your login name is your full e-mail address, the one you used when creating your Friend account.

After you log in, click any service link to open that service.

NOTE: You can only use services that you have been authorized to use. If you want to use a service that you have not yet been authorized to use, contact the service provider and ask for authorization.

Get a Friend Account Authorized to Use a Service

Contact the service provider to get authorization to use any particular service.

The student eBilling service is provided by Information and Technology Services (ITS). Students can log in to Wolverine Access and can authorize access to their eBills, account data and financial aid data for up to four e-mail addresses. Students can also authorize others to receive informational e-mails from U-M about student accounts, financial aid and housing, as well as alerts about emergencies.

Individuals who have either a Friend account or a U-M uniqname and UMICH password—and who have been authorized by a student to access that student's information—can log in to Wolverine Access and view that student's data by clicking MY STUDENT'S INFORMATION (under the parents & family heading).

Changing Your Friend Password / If You Forget Your Password

If you forget your Friend password, go to: https://friend.weblogin.umich.edu/friend/account/, and follow the instructions. You can also go there when you want to change your Friend password.

Additional Resources

See the Friend Accounts page and list of Frequently Asked Questions.

Also, visit ITS's Information System to obtain ITS computer documentation and other resources. A list of relevant documents follows:

• Sending Invitations to Create Friend Guest Accounts (S4337)

• Responding to a Friend Guest Account Invitation (S4336)

• Using Web-Authenticated Resources (Weblogin Using Cosign) at U-M (S4307)

The ITS Service Center provides a variety of computing help resources.

For further help with this or any other topic, call 734-764-HELP [4357] or submit an online service request.