ITS Documentation

MCommunity: Sponsoring New Employees to Get them Uniqnames, UMIDs, and Access

S4369 • April 2013

This document explains how to get a UMID, uniqname and UMICH password for a new employee, such as an incoming faculty member or a temporary staff member, by having them sponsored by their department. Note that employees hired through the U-M online job posting and hiring system (eRecruit) get these things as part of the hiring process. Departmental sponsorship is a way of getting UMIDs, uniqnames and UMICH passwords for

  • Employees not hired through eRecruit (including faculty).

  • New employees who need uniqnames before they complete the hiring process.

  • Temporary staff members who did not get a uniqname when they were hired (that is, those hired before June, 2011).

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What Does a Sponsored Employee Get?

People who are sponsored by their department as either Incoming Faculty/Staff or Temporary Staff in the MCommunity Sponsor System receive the following as a result of the sponsorship process:

IMPORTANT! To request additional computing services for a sponsored person, such as printing in Campus Computing Sites, use the Computing Services for Sponsored Persons Request Form.

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Do It Yourself or Ask the Service Center

To set up sponsorships yourself, you must be a sponsorship administrator. You can then use the MCommunity Sponsor System to set up the sponsorship following the instructions below.

For complete information about sponsorships and the sponsorship process, see

To request sponsorships from the ITS Service Center, use the online MCommunity Individual Sponsorship Application. The Service Center will use the MCommunity Sponsor System to set it up for you. To request a sponsorship for someone,

  • You must be a regular (not temporary) staff/faculty member.

  • You must be acting on behalf of a university department/unit.

  • The sponsorship(s) must be for the purpose of university business or activities.

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Sponsoring a New Employee Who Already Has a UMID

  1. Log in to the MCommunity Sponsor System using your uniqname, UMICH password and MToken.

    TIP: For best results, we recommend that you use the Firefox web browser.

    NOTE: You must be on a U-M network to log in. If you need to connect from off-campus or via wireless, you can do so by using the U-M Virtual Private Network (VPN).

  2. Click the Create tab in order to see the Sponsor People box.

  3. In the Sponsor People box, fill in the appropriate information. Select either Incoming Faculty/Staff or Temporary Staff from the Reason pop-up menu, fill in the rest of your information, then click the Begin Sponsoring button.

    IMPORTANT! Pay special attention to the Expiry date. The sponsorship will expire on the expiry date. The sponsored person's uniqname and password will stop working, and he or she will lose all access to U-M computing services. Sponsorships for Incoming Faculty/Staff expire in six months (sponsorship is no longer needed once the person completes the hiring process) and those for Temporary Staff expire in one year—unless you change the expiry date. You can extend the sponsorship at any time, up to a maximum of one year, as long as it has not yet expired.

    Screen shot of Sponsor System page for beginning a sponsorship. Type the name of the sponsoring department. If you are authorized for only one department, the Department box will be filled in for you. If you are authorized for a small number of departments, you will choose the appropriate one from a drop-down list. ITS Accounts Office Staff and others who are authorized to create sponsorships for departments too numerous to list in a drop-down menu will need to type the first three or more lettersof the department name and will then see a list of department names that include those letters. Select the reason for the sponsorship. You are the sponsorship administrator, so your name will be here. Type the uniqname of the U-M employee who requested the sponsorship. Suggested Start and Expiry dates will be filled in based on the reason you select for the sponsorship. You can change the Expiry Date if you wish. Choose who will receive email confirmation of the sponsorship. Choose who will receive email notices before the sponsorship expires and when the notice(s) will be sent.

  4. Click the Sponsor by UMID tab.

    Screen shot of Sponsor by UMID tab.

  5. Type in the UMID and click Search.

    Screen shot of box where you type the UMID.

  6. If you want a specific uniqname, enter it in the Requested uniqname box, then click the Check Availability link to see if it is available. If you prefer, you can let MCommunity select one for you based on the person's name. If you let MCommunity select the uniqname, be sure to enter a middle name or initial for the person.

    IMPORTANT! Once a uniqname is generated, it is very difficult to change. By taking the time to request a uniqname, and reviewing uniqname options with the sponsored individual if the requested uniqname is not available, you can save a lot of time and trouble. Once a uniqname is generated, it may only be changed if it meets certain guidelines. See Changing Your Uniqname for more information.

    In the Non-UMICH E-mail box, type an e-mail address at which mail can be sent to the sponsored person.

    Screen shot of box where you enter the non-UMICH e-mail address. Note that you can request a specific uniqname if you wish. The only additional data you must enter is an email address. This address is used to send the uniqname to the sponsored person.

    When you are finished entering information, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Information.

    IMPORTANT! Any information you enter or change in the Personal Information section of this page stays in MCommunity. It is not sent back to Wolverine Access.

  7. On the confirmation screen, click the Show Password button to get the sponsored person's UMICH password. It is your responsibility to get the password to the sponsored person. See Communicating and Resetting Passwords for Sponsored People (S4371) for details.

    Screen shot of the sponsorship confirmation screen. Record the uniqname that is displayed. Click the Show Password button to see the password, and then record it so you can give it to the sponsored person. When you are finished, click either Finished Sponsoring or Create another sponsorship.

    WHAT IF YOU FORGET TO GET THE PASSWORD? If you forget to get the password on this screen, the sponsored person will need to contact the ITS Service Center to get it reset.

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Sponsoring a New Employee Who Does Not Yet Have a UMID

  1. Log in to the MCommunity Sponsor System using your uniqname, UMICH password and MToken.

    TIP: For best results, we recommend that you use the Firefox web browser.

    NOTE: You must be on a U-M network to log in. If you need to connect from off-campus or via wireless, you can do so by using the U-M Virtual Private Network (VPN).

  2. Click the Create tab.

  3. In the Sponsor People box, fill in the appropriate information. Select either Incoming Faculty/Staff or Temporary Staff from the Reason pop-up menu. When you've entered all your information and selected the notification e-mails you want sent, click the Begin Sponsoring button.

    IMPORTANT! Pay special attention to the expiry date. The sponsorship will expire on the expiry date. The sponsored person's uniqname and password will stop working, and he or she will lose all access to U-M computing services. Sponsorships for Incoming Faculty/Staff expire in six months (sponsorship is no longer needed once the person completes the hiring process) and those for Temporary Staff expire in one year—unless you change the expiry date. You can extend the sponsorship at any time, up to a maximum of one year, as long as it has not yet expired.

    Screen shot of Sponsor System page for beginning a sponsorship. Type the name of the sponsoring department in the Department box (If you are authorized for only one department, the Department box will be filled in for you. If you are authorized for a small number of departments, you will choose the appropriate one from a drop-down list. ITS Accounts Office staff and others who are authorized to create sponsorships for departments too numerous to list in a drop-down menu will need to type the first three or more letters of the department name and will then see a list of department names that include those letters). Select the reason for the sponsorship in the Reason drop-down box. You are the sponsorship administrator, so your name will be here. Type the uniqname of the U-M employee who requested the sponsorship in the Requester box. Suggested Start and Expiry dates will be filled in the Expiry box based on the reason you select for the sponsorship. You can change the Expiry date if you wish. Choose who will receive email confirmation of the sponsorship (requester and/or sponsored person). Choose who will receive email notice before the sponsorship expires and when the notice(s) will be sent.

  4. You'll be prompted to search MCommunity to see if the person you want to sponsor is already in a U-M system that connects to MCommunity. Enter as much information as you can to help you in your search.

    IMPORTANT! If the person already has a UMID or uniqname, it is essential that you find them and sponsor them using their existing online identity rather than creating a new one; otherwise, you could end up with two UMIDs, two entries in Wolverine Access, or other situations that lead to chaos and confusion for the sponsored person until the duplications are manually cleaned up. See Tips for Searching the System to Prevent Duplicates in Using the MCommunity Sponsor System Via the Web (S4356) for search tips.

    Screen shot of the search page for a strong identity. To see if the person you want to sponsor is already in the system, enter ONE of these combinations: first name and last name; SSN; last name and birthdate; uniqname. The box to the right of the screen shows you where you are in the sponsorship process. The bold text shows you what step you are on.

  5. If There Are No Matches

    If there are no matches, click Add a New Person to continue.

    Screen shot of the search results page showing no matches. Click Add a New Person button.

  6. If You Find Matches

    If you get one or more matches, you can click the blue i button to the far right of each match listed to see more information about the match. Use this information to determine if one of the entries listed is the person you are trying to sponsor.

    If you find an entry for the person you want to sponsor, select it by clicking the radio button next to it, then click Use Selected.

    Screen shot of the search results page showing matches. Click the radio button next to the person you want to sponsor. Then click the Use Selected button. Click the blue i button for more information about a person.

  7. Next, enter the required information about the person you wish to sponsor. For employees, you will need enough information to create a Wolverine Access entry. If you selected an existing identity to sponsor, much of this information will already be filled in for you.

    Screen shot of the Sponsor People / Provide Personal Information page. Under Uniqname Creation heading, The sponsored person has the option to select a uniqname or you can generate one now. To request a specific uniqname, type it in the Requested Uniqname box, then click on the Check Availablity button to see if it is available. a green checkmark will indicate that it is available. if it's not available, different uniqname options will be listed. To have MCommunity generate a uniqname, leave this box blank. MCommunity does NOT store social security numbers. It passes them on to M-Pathways so a UMID/Emplid number can be created. After that, it deletes its copy of the SSN. One of the Wolverine Access Required Data Combinations must be provided for all employees. This box to the right of the screen shows the three data combinations; the checkmarks indicate what data you have provided. If the person already had a UMID, the required data is already on file, so this list will not appear.

  8. Scroll down to the bottom of the window, and click the Add Person button.

  9. You will see confirmation that the individual is now sponsored.

    IMPORTANT! Be sure to write down, or copy and paste, the password. This is the only opportunity you will have to do so. If you see a Show Password button for someone who already had a uniqname before sponsorship, it means their password was reset and that you'll need to give them their new password. This happens when someone whose uniqname was inactive (a terminated staff member, for example) is sponsored and their uniqname is reactivated. If you do not give the sponsored person their password, they will need to contact the ITS Service Center to get it reset.

    IMPORTANT! Note the UMID and uniqname for your records if you will need them for requesting computing services or filling out employment or other paperwork.

    It is your responsibility to convey the password to the sponsored individual in a secure manner. The initial password, because it is generated randomly, will be difficult to remember. Please direct the sponsored person to the Change UMICH Password page, where they can change it to something that will work better for them.

    Screen shot of the confirmation page. The UMID and uniqname are listed here. Click the Show Password button to see the password. Important! Write down (or copy and paste) the password, so you can provide it to the sponsored individual. Note the UMID and uniqname if you need them for requesting computing services or filling out other employment paperwork.

  10. Click Finished Sponsoring to return to the Sponsor System home page. Or, click Create another sponsorship if you want to sponsor another person.

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Requesting Computing Services

To request additional computing services (beyond those provided automatically) for a sponsored person, fill out this online form:

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Transitioning from Sponsored to Employed

Incoming faculty and staff members will transition from being sponsored to being regular members of the university community when they complete the hiring process and have an entry in Wolverine Access as faculty or staff. After this happens, the person no longer needs a sponsorship. The sponsorship can be allowed to expire with no ill effects. As a faculty or staff member, the formerly sponsored person will continue to receive standard computing services.

If the incoming faculty or staff member does not complete the hiring process within six months, you will need to extend the sponsorship to avoid termination of computing services. See Extending a Sponsorship below.

Temporary staff members will retain use of their uniqname and computing services for as long as they remain a university employee (whether they remain temporary or become a regular staff member). The sponsorship can be allowed to expire with no ill effects.

Temporary staff now receive uniqnames during the hiring process. Temporary staff hired before June 27, 2011, need to be sponsored to get uniqnames.

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Extending a Sponsorship

To extend a sponsorship, change its Expiry date. You can contact the ITS Service Center and ask for a sponsorship extension, or you can do it yourself using the MCommunity Sponsor System if you are a sponsorship administrator.

  1. Log in to the Sponsor System. You will see a View and Modify Sponsorships screen. From this screen, you can update the expiry date of one or more sponsorships and edit individual sponsorship entries.

  2. To change the sponsorship expiry date, select the checkbox of one or more sponsorships.

    Then enter the new expiry date and click Update Selected.

    Screen shot of View and Modify Sponsorships. To change the expiry date, select the checkbox of one or more sponsorships. Then enter the new expiry date in the Expiry Date box, and click on the Update Selected button.

  3. You'll see that the Expiry Date has been changed to the new date you entered. Confirm that the new Expiry Date is correct.

    Screen shot of View and Modify Sponsorships, containing confirmation message: The expiry date of the selected sponsorships has changed. Confirm that the new Expiry Date shown is correct.

  4. To view or change sponsorship Expiry Notification settings for a sponsorship, click the uniqname of the sponsored person.

    Screen shot of View and Modify Sponsorships. Click on a uniqname to view or edit an entry.

  5. To edit Expiry Notification options, click Edit.

    Update the notification options, then click Save.

    Screen shot of View and Modify Sponsorships.

  6. IMPORTANT! Click Save Changes when finished.

    Screen shot of changed Expiry Date and Save Changes button. Important! The changes are not updated unless you click Save Changes.

Additional Resources

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

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.

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Appendix: About UMIDs

Most members of the U-M community receive an eight-digit identification number. This number is called the UMID (U-M ID). It is also sometimes called the Emplid (employee ID). The UMID number remains with the person as an identifier throughout their connection to the university, even if their affiliation changes (for example, from student to alumni) or if they have multiple affiliations (for example, alumni and staff).

The UMID is used in many ways. Here are some of them:

  • It is printed on the front of each Mcard.

  • Many units, such as the Benefits Office, ask people for this number as an identifier when providing services.

  • It is a key identifier in Wolverine Access. It is required if the person will receive any sort of payment from the university.

University guests who receive temporary uniqnames (such as conference participants), do not get UMIDs. Other sponsored guests with weak identities (long term guests) also do not get UMIDs.

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