NetID Account Creation
Faculty/Staff NetID Usernames and Passwords
Student NetID Usernames and Passwords
Changing Your NetID Password
Additional Help

What is my NetID?

Your UW-L NetID (Formerly known as your 8.4 Username) is used to log into most UW-L technology services.  This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Campus Wireless Network & Network Authentication
  • Desire2Learn (D2L)
  • ITS Computer Labs and Pay-for-Print
  • Online File Storage
  • OLF Cabinet
  • Qualtrics
  • WINGS
  • Classroom Technology Podiums
  • Library Services (Online Databases like Ebscohost and ProQuest)

Your NetID is NOT the same as your Email Address (although your username is the same for both systems).

NetID Creation

Every new UW-L student, faculty, and staff member is assigned a unique account name to access the Campus Wireless Network, Desire2Learn (D2L), ITS Lab Computers, Online File Storage, and other campus resources. This is referred to as your NetID (Formerly known as your 8.4 Username).  New Staff and Faculty accounts are created once all paperwork is properly filed with Human Resources and the hiring process has been completed.  New Student accounts are created after the student has officially enrolled in coursework at UW-L.  After registering for class, please allow up to a week for your NetID account to be created.  Once you are assigned a NetID Username, it remains the same for as long as you are at UW-L.

Faculty/Staff NetID Usernames and Passwords

NetID Username = first letter of your first name followed by your full last name.

Default Password = the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number followed by your birth month (two digits) then followed by your birth date (two digits), and @UWL.

EXAMPLE
Faculty Name: Bill Winters
NetID: bwinters
Social Security Number: 123-45-6789
Birth Date: June 14, 1970 (06/14/1970)
Your Password: 67890614@UWL

*please note exceptions

Back to top of page

Faculty/Staff Using Campus Owned Laptops Off Campus

If you are using your campus owned laptop off campus and 1) Have never logged onto the computer before or 2) Need to change your NetID password you will need to follow these steps:

  1. Bring the computer on campus and plug it into the network using an Ethernet cord (Wireless will not work).

  2. Login to the computer using your current NetID username and password.

  3. Reset your NetID password using our password reset utility found at www.uwlax.edu/password  (Note: If you are only trying to login to your laptop for the first time this step can be skipped)

After following these steps you will be able to login to your machine, as well as other online campus services, off campus using your NetID username and password. If these steps are not followed, you may not be able to login to your machine, or other online campus services, off campus.

 

Back to top of page

Student NetID Usernames and Passwords

NetID Username = first 8 characters of your last name (or your full last name if it is less than 8 characters long) followed by a period (.) then followed by the first four characters of your first name.

Password = the last 4 digits of your UW-L student ID number followed by your birth month (two digits) then followed by your birth date (two digits), and @UWL.  Your UW-L student ID number is also your username for WINGS; it is a 9 digit number that begins with an 8 or a 9. 

EXAMPLE
Student Name: Jill Shannon
NetID: shannon.jill
UW-L Student ID Number: 987654321
Birth Date: February 11, 1980 (02/11/1980)
Your Password: 43210211@UWL

*please note exceptions

Back to top of page

Changing Your NetID Password

Please note: While EagleApps (email) and NetID accounts are different, you can change both passwords at once by using our password reset utility found here http://www.uwlax.edu/password. If you would like to change only your NetID or only your EagleApps password there are separate links at the bottom of that page.

When changing your password, please be sure to follow the Strong Password guidelines listed on that site. Strong password requirements are as follows:

  • At least eight characters in length
  • Meet three of the four requirements:
    • CAPITAL LETTERS
    • lower case letters
    • Symbols (!#$%^&*(@)
    • Numbers (0-9)
  • Passwords must be changed every 120 days
  • Your password may NOT contain any part of your 8.4 Username
  • You cannot change your password to a password you have used anytime in the previous 24 changes

Faculty, staff, and students may also stop in the Eagle Help Desk located in 103 Wing Technology Center for assistance with changing their passwords; students must provide a photo ID at the Eagle Help Desk to have their password changed. 

Back to top of page

Faculty/Staff Exceptions

The following exceptions are for cases when the standard naming convention may not apply.

Duplicate Names
       In cases of duplicate names -- where there is more than one person on campus with identical last and first names or   where the first letter of the first name is identical as well as the last name -- the NetID will be the first letter of the first name, followed by the last name, then followed by a unique one digit number based on how many duplicates for that username exist.

If there are more than nine duplicates of the same NetID, then, instead  a unique two digit number will follow.  NOTE: To eliminate confusion, NetIDs will never include the number one (1).

EXAMPLE (Multiple persons on campus named Robert Smith.)

1st Robert Smith
Login ID:  rsmith

2nd Robert Smith
Login ID:  rsmith2

10th Robert Smith
Login ID: rsmith20

11th Robert Smith
Login ID: rsmith22

Hyphenated Last Names
    For hyphenated last names, the hyphen will be included.

EXAMPLE

Name:  Jennifer Brown-Olson
Login ID:  jbrown-olson

Names with Spaces
    For those who have a space in their last names, that space will be ignored.

EXAMPLE

Name:  Cari Mathwig Ramseier
Login ID:  cmathwigramseier

 Back to top of page

Student Exceptions

The following exceptions are for cases when the standard naming convention may not apply.

Duplicate Names
       In cases of duplicate names -- where there is more than one person on campus with identical last and first names or   where the first eight characters of the last names are identical as well as the first four of the first name -- the NetID will be the first eight letters of the last name, followed by a period (.), followed by the first three letters of the first name, then followed by a unique one digit number based on how many duplicates for that username exist.

If there are more than nine duplicates of the same NetID, then, instead of using the first three characters of the first name, only the first two characters will be used along with a unique two digit number following it.  NOTE: To eliminate confusion, NetIDs will never include the number one (1).

EXAMPLE (Multiple persons on campus named Robert Smith.)

1st Robert Smith
Login ID:  smith.robe

2nd Robert Smith
Login ID:  smith.rob2

10th Robert Smith
Login ID: smith.ro20

11th Robert Smith
Login ID: smith.ro22

Hyphenated Last Names
    For hyphenated last names, the hyphen will be included unless the hyphen appears as the eighth character of the last name.  In this case, the hyphen is dropped and only the first seven characters of the last name are used.

EXAMPLE

Name:  Jennifer Brown-Olson
Login ID:  brown-ol.jenn

Name:  Melissa Jackson-Smith
Login ID:  jackson.meli

Names with Spaces
    For those who have a space in their first names, that space will be ignored, and only the first four characters of the first name before the space will be used.

EXAMPLE

Name:  Ann Marie Williams
Login ID:  william.ann

Back to top of page

Additional Help

If you need additional help with your NetID, please contact us:

By Phone: (608) 785-8774

By Walk-In:
Eagle Help Desk Regular Hours
103 Wing Technology Center
Monday-Friday, 7:30am-4:30pm

Eagle Help Desk Extended Hours
Monday-Thursday, 4:30pm-6:30pm

By E-mail: helpdesk@uwlax.edu

Back to top of page