Oxford username and Single Sign-On password

Your Oxford username is usually of the form abcd1234, where abcd is a code for your college or department. It is administered by IT Services and is separate from any other local college or departmental accounts you may have. 

Your Oxford username gives you access to many web-based services at Oxford.

Your Oxford username and Single Sign-On password can be used to log in and this will start a Single Sign-On session.  Single Sign-On means that after your initial login, you can use associated services without having to re-enter your username and password.

Oxford Single Sign-On is the only login page where you should enter your Oxford username and Single Sign-On password. You can think of the Single Sign-On as a central authentication system that is trusted by various services in Oxford to handle all the username and password checking so that each individual service doesn't need to do it for itself. Once you have entered your Single Sign-On details you will need to enter your additional authentication credentials to proceed.  See Multi-factor authentication.

To end your Single Sign-On session ("logout") you will need to close your web browser (that includes quitting all running copies of your web browser).

Single Sign-On (SSO) now uses multi-factor authentication (MFA) for added security.  This includes:

• Second factor – A second step is added which involves customers receiving a code (e.g. via a mobile, landline or text message) or generating a code using the mobile app (which can be used without mobile data or Wi-Fi), clicking approve or entering the code into the required field when prompted. Once the second factor is activated, the requirement to enter a code will depend on individual circumstances such as devices, settings and location, and so most users will rarely be prompted.

The Oxford username and Single Sign-On password is used to access the following, from IT Services:

• Nexus365 (As this is a Microsoft service, you will need to use the Oxford username in the format of abcd1234@OX.AC.UK)
• Sending email from outside the Oxford network
• The GNU/Linux service
• Personal web space on users.ox.ac.uk
• IT Services Self Registration for software downloads, managing accounts and viewing data about you
• Course Booking System  (CoSY)

There are also many services hosted outside IT Services that use Single Sign-On.  For example:

• SOLO the Search Oxford Libraries Online service

See Login to a service for which credentials you require to access our popular services.

Whether your password has expired or you have forgotten it, our online facilities for managing your Single Sign-On/SSO account will allow you to change or reset the password to get it working again.

• If you do not remember your current or expired password, then the password reset facility will allow you to set a new one.
• If your password is due to expire or has expired and you still know what it is, you can use the change password facility to select a new one.
• If you have forgotten your username and you are using Outlook on a PC you can look yourself up in the Address Book on Outlook. You need to right-click on your own entry and then choose "properties". Your username is shown as your alias in the information box that appears.
• If you can't find your username as above or are having other difficulties with the above facilities, contact your local IT Staff or the Service Desk.
• If your University card has expired then your Oxford Username may well have done as well.  If you still have access, you can view your information held in the Registration database.
• If you no longer have access to Single Sign-On and you need to have your University card renewed, you must contact the college or department you are affiliated to, as this is an administration request.

Note : If your University Card expires your Oxford username and Single Sign-On account will expire simultaneously. Your Oxford username account may also be expired on instruction from the Proctors or Registrar offices.

Most web browsers (including Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari) work with Oxford's web services out-of-the-box.

The particular features your browser must support are:

• Cookies - these are used to hold information about your Single Sign-On login status.
• SSL Certificates - these are the digital equivalent of ID cards which help other people identify you, and help you identify other people, websites, and organizations. Certificates are issued and administered by Certificate Authorities (CAs). Oxford uses certificates that have been signed by either QuoVadis or Trend Micro, both of which will automatically be accepted as a trusted CA by most modern browsers.

If you are security-conscious enough to use a custom security configuration then you may want to bear in mind the following points:

• For javascript settings - you will need to trust scripting from nexus.ox.ac.uk
• For cookie settings - you will need to accept cookies either automatically or when prompted. If you are very concerned about cookies you can delete them at the end of your browser session to avoid any ongoing tracking
• For CA certificates - you will need to trust certificates issued by the Certificate Authorities that we use (QuoVadis or Trend Micro)