Requesting a new University IT account

You can use the UIS account registration and changes (Jackdaw) form to request a CRSid and UIS account for staff and registered visitors. 

This page covers:

• how to request a new account
• what happens after you have submitted the form
• when can the new user collect their University account password 
• changing a person's name or CRSid
• correcting errors on the form

Requesting a new account 

Watch a demonstration of how to use the form (University login required).

If you’re requesting a new IT account you need to fill in the following fields: 

• the full name of the person you are registering 
• their standing (visitor, staff or other) 
• their date of birth 
• previous CRSid (only if they’ve worked or studied at the University before)   

If relevant you may also need to add: 

• academic title 
• College 
• start date 
• review date 
• the IT accounts that you wish the person to have 
• previous surname 

You can read more information about each of the form fields below. 

Standing 

This is asking for the persons status.  

There are 3 options: staff, visitor or other. 

You should use 'Other' if the person only needs a University Card. This gives them a CRSid without any IT accounts. 

It is important to get the Standing right because this will be used to grant access to IT services in future. 

Institution 

If the Institution is a College, the College field will automatically match this and can’t be edited. 

If the Institution is not a College and the person also has a College affiliation, the College field must be selected manually. This ensures the College scarf is printed on their University Card. 

College 

The College field controls which is scarf printed on University Cards (not the Institution). 

College will be automatically filled in when the Institution is a College. 

Start date

This is the date you want the CRSid to be available, which may be different to the contract start date. 

The default value is now set as today's date. 

Review date  

This is the date when UIS will review the continued need for these IT accounts.  

You may be required to enter a Review Date. This will be indicated with an asterisk (*) next to the field name. This is required for: 

• People with the 'Visitor' Standing must have a Review Date set. It can’t be longer than 3 years 
• If the Institution is a College, a Review Date is required. It can't be longer than 3 years. 

Accounts 

You can add the IT accounts that you want the person to have. 

The ‘Raven’ checkbox is checked automatically when the 'Staff' or 'Visitor' standings are selected. Raven is the previous term we used to describe University accounts. 

‘DS-MCS' is no longer relevant so please ignore this field. 

If a user does not have an @cam email account, you can use the form to request this. Your user will need to wait 24 hours for the new email account to activate. 

Previously at the University 

If you check this box, you must enter the person’s previous or current CRSid. This includes people who worked or studied at the University or Colleges previously. 

The Previous surname is optional and only used if the surname has changed. 

What happens if two institutions request accounts for the same person? 

The Jackdaw system uses a strict hierarchy of data: 

1. the Student data feed from CamSIS, 
2. the Staff data feed from CHRIS, then  
3. the information provided in a registration request

These data are prioritised as the feeds are updated overnight. The User Administration team can't override details provided by these data feeds.

• If a user is on the CamSIS or CHRIS feeds, they will be listed as either student or staff, and their institution will be set from this data
• If the user is not on a data feed and 2 registration requests are received, the last registration request to be processed will set the user’s institution in Jackdaw and Lookup. 

After you have submitted the form 

When you have completed the form, the confirmation page includes a link to a web page with a registration code. 

The next day the CRSid will be ready (unless you completed after 5pm on working days). Select 'review recent registrations' on the UIS account registration and changes (Jackdaw) form. Selecting a name will take you to a web page with the registration code and CRSid. You can print this page off and give it to the new starter.  

The registration code is valid for 6 months from the date the account is created. It is deactivated when the new user sets their own password for the first time. 

If you are using the form to request an @cam email account, the user will need to wait 24 hours for the new service to activate. They will need to resync their UIS password to access the email account.

Professional services accounts 

If you the new starter will be working in professional services, you will also need to fill in a new account (UA1) form. This gives them access to shared accounts including emails, calendars and folders. Please complete this form as soon as you can. It's helpful to have as much notice as possible to schedule the account creation.

Professional services include staff working in the Unified Administrative Service (UAS). It also includes some staff in faculty offices, school offices and other offices who get IT support from UIS.  

When can the new user collect their University account password 

The new user will need to visit the signup page and enter their registration code. When they can access this depends on their start date. 

Immediate start date, or no start date supplied 

For requests submitted on working days, in working hours, passwords will normally be available for collection the next day. Requests may be processed more slowly, depending on staff availability. 

With a future start date 

Accounts will be created so that passwords are ready for collection about a week before the start date.  

If the user arrives before the expected start date 

If a user arrives early and the accounts are not yet created, submit a new account request with a blank start date. You will usually be able to give them the registration code the next working date. 

New starter guidance 

The new starter should go to our new starters page: https://help.uis.cam.ac.uk/new-starters. This has further information on setting up IT. 

Changing a name or CRSid

We can change a person’s name or CRSid in certains circumstances. You need to submit requests to the User Administration team at UIS. Please email user-admin@uis.cam.ac.uk with the details.

Correcting errors on the form 

In the case of simple errors in requests, it is now possible for user administration staff to correct the record. Requests for error correction should be made to user-admin@uis.cam.ac.uk.