NetID Assignment
How is an employee NetID assigned?
A Northwestern NetID and email address is automatically created for a new employee once the hire is processed by HR. Hires may be submitted in one of three ways:
- HR Talent Acquisition or Operations processes the hire for a regular staff employee or sourced temp (requires the employee to submit all onboarding paperwork to Talent Acquisition)
- A department submits a Position Data/Appointment Form and Personal Data Form to HR Operations for a new faculty, graduate student, research, or affiliate appointment
- A department submits a Personal Data From to HR Operations for a temporary or work-study student employee
Within three hours after the hire is processed by HR Operations, the hiring department's NetID Coordinator will receive an email that must be forwarded to the employee; this email contains an activation code and instructions for setting up the NetID.
- NetIDs are assigned regardless of the employee's start date, which may lead to a future employee receiving their NetID, email address, Wildcard, and associated system access prior to their start on campus. If this is not desirable, the hire paperwork should be submitted closer to the start date of the employee, or the department's NetID Coordinator should wait to forward the activation email.
- Access to myHR for direct deposit, benefits enrollment, and other self-service functions, is granted the morning after the NetID is created.
- The NetID and email address will be visible to administrators in myHR (on the Personal Data page, Contact Information tab) and in the Northwestern Online Directory the morning after it is created.
Note: Individuals paid via a Special Pay Request Form or Contracted Services request are not assigned NetIDs.
Who is the NetID Coordinator?
To see your department's current NetID Coordinator, ask a myHR administrator in your department or review the NetID Coordinator page in myHR Administration.
The NetID Coordinator must be changed directly in myHR by any administrator with data lookup security access, particularly when leadership roles change or when a new Position Number becomes responsible for maintaining NetIDs. For more information, please the Setting NetID Coordinator section in the myHR Data Lookup Guide, or contact askHR at 847-491-4700 or askHR@northwestern.edu.
How are duplicate NetIDs resolved?
If you submit paperwork for an enrolled student or active employee, a new NetID will not be created; the student or employee should continue using their current NetID.
If the individual already has a manually-created affiliate NetID, a second employee NetID will be created. Typically, the unit that assigned the affiliate NetID should deactivate it, and the employee should begin using their new account. If the employee must keep their original NetID and email address, however, they must complete these steps:
- Do not activate or use the new NetID
- Email Northwestern IT at consultant@northwestern.edu and request to "merge" the two NetIDs. In the message, clearly indicate which NetID to keep, and which to delete.
- Upon receiving confirmation of the merged NetIDs, email myhr-security@northwestern.edu and indicate which NetID was retained, and which was discontinued. This will ensure that myHR Self Service access is linked to the correct NetID.
As a proactive measure, do not manually request or create an affiliate NetID if the individual will ultimately be hired as an employee. If NetID access is required before an official hire date, work with your unit's HR representative to create an unpaid appointment or simply submit the hire paperwork for processing early.
Where can I learn more?
For more information about NetIDs, see the Northwestern IT website.