OCPass: Oberlin’s New Password System

On Tuesday, April 21, the Center for Information Technology (CIT) will introduce OCPass, a new system that students, faculty, and staff will use to change their ObieID passwords. OCPass will replace the ObieID Self Service Page.

OCPass will allow you to change your ObieID password quickly. It syncs instantly to OCMail, can be used on iOS and Android devices, and offers features common to password resetting systems, such as the ability to recover your password via text messaging.

“The old ObieID service page didn’t have modern features people expect in password changing,” says Jacquelynn Hongosh, CIT help desk manager. For example, she says, users had to wait 10 minutes after changing their passwords to use the new passwords to log into their accounts.

Many users also struggled with password recovery, she says. “We had a lot of students saying the password recovery questions didn’t apply to them. There is a question, ‘In what city were you at the turn of the millennium?’ Students were five, six, or seven years old then.” Hongosh says OCPass will include more than 40 password recovery questions, which is double the current number of options.

Students, faculty, and staff will receive an e-mail from noreply-passwordstation@oberlin.edu prompting them to enroll in OCPass on April 20 and will continue to receive the same message every four days until they enroll. These e-mails are legitimately from CIT and are not a phishing attempt. See a sample OCPass enrollment e-mail on the CIT website.

Enrollment takes a few minutes at most, Hongosh says. “Just enter your Obie ID, answer three questions, and enter your cell phone number if you want to take advantage of SMS text message recovery.”

You do not have to change your password when you enroll for OCPass; however, you must enroll before you can use OCPass to change your password the next time it is due to expire. If your password is due to expire before April 21, you will need to change your password using the existing system, and then enroll in OCPass when you are able. You will not need to change your password again when you enroll.

All existing password requirements, including having to change your password every 122 days, will remain in place after the transition to OCPass.

See the CIT website for more information about enrolling in OCPass. For assistance with the enrollment process, contact the CIT Help Desk at 440-775-8197 or cit@oberlin.edu.