About staff accounts

All University of Portsmouth staff receive a computer account for access to University systems and services. Accounts for paid staff are created automatically once HR has fully onboarded you. If you haven’t received your account details after onboarding, please contact your local admin team or the IT Service Desk.

 

How accounts are created

  • Staff accounts (automatic): created for paid staff after HR onboarding is complete.
  • Affiliate accounts: for approved non-staff who need access (e.g., partners, contractors, visiting researchers). Request here.
  • Temporary accounts: short-term access for visitors/guests. Request here.

 

Activate your account

  1. Go to password.port.ac.uk and choose Activate account.
  2. Use the username provided to you when HR onboarding is complete (Format: ST123456).
  3. Create your password and set up MFA (multi-factor authentication). You can use an authenticator app or phone-based method.
  4. Finish the steps shown on screen. Changes may take a short time to apply across all systems.

 

Using your credentials

  • You’ll use your username (ST123456) and password to sign in to most University services.
  • Some services, such as Microsoft 365 use your University email address with the same password.
  • Employee Self-Service (ESS) will become available after HR adds your contract details to the HR system (Trent).

Advice on choosing a password

Passwords are the lock on the door to your data and are the first point of attack for anyone trying to steal that data. The University guidelines state a password should be made up from a mixture of :

  • English uppercase characters (A–Z)
  • English lowercase characters (a–z)
  • Numbers (0–9)
  • Non-alphanumeric characters (e.g. !, $, #)

Passwords should not be only a single dictionary or slang word nor should they be personal information such as names, pet names, maiden names, birthdays, car registration and similar personal data. Also do not reference hobbies such as football teams, actors, band names and the like.

Create and use ‘strong’ passwords - which are easy to remember and difficult to guess. Below are three strategies

Use a passphrase
A longer version of a password typically composed of multiple words: 

  1. Pick three short unrelated words: e.g. tree, witch, rock
  2. Capitalise the first letter of each word: Tree, Witch, Rock
  3. Separate each word using a punctuation symbol: Tree?Witch?Rock
  4. Add a number : Tree?Witch?R0ck

Use word association
e.g. Amazon - b00ks_&_DVD5 or B00K5//on=line

Use a song or poem
Mary had a little lamb, it’s fleece was white as snow.
This becomes: MHALLIFWWAS or mhall-IFWWA5

  • Never share your password with anybody. No reputable service representative will ask you for your password. This kind of attack is known as phishing, someone will pretend to be from your bank or payroll office or Service Desk and ask for the password. This will never be required by a legitimate organisation.
  • All modern mobile devices will allow you to protect your data with a secure pin or password. We encourage everyone to use this feature.
  • Use different passwords for different systems
  • If you have been given administrator access to a system, only use this log in when you are required to perform a task which requires your access privileges to be raised.

Change and recover your password

You can change or recover your password on the following page.

Password Change

Need Help?

Contact the Service Desk: