What must I do to sign in to my account?

When you go to sign in with your school account, you will first enter your school email address. Then, you will enter your password. With Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), you will then be asked to verify your identity. Once this is finished, you will be signed in to your account so that you can access a website (e.g. Student Gateway, Canvas), application (e.g. Canvas mobile app), etc.

How does MFA affect the sign-in process?

When signing in to your account, we now use Azure Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for students/alumni to further secure your account. This means that after putting in your email and password, you will then be asked to use another method to verify your identity in order to sign in to your school account. See this article for more information on MFA.

You can see the steps it takes to sign in to your account including the MFA process below. What you will see when signing in depends on what methods you have enrolled in and your default sign-in methods (see this article to check what methods you have enrolled in for MFA and how to add new ones and see this article to check what your default sign-in method is and how to change it).

How do I sign in to my account (including MFA)?

Through a code texted to my phone

1. Enter your school email address and click Next.
   
   
   
   
2. Enter your password and click Sign in.
   
   
   
   
3. If your phone is enrolled for MFA, you will see the option to have a code texted to your phone and the option to call your phone in order to verify your identity. Click Text.
   
   Note: Depending on the methods you have enrolled in for MFA, you may also see a button that says Sign in another way. If you click this, you will see other authentication methods available to you that you have enrolled in.
   
   

   
   
   

4. A code will be sent to your phone via text. Open the text message on your phone to see the code.
   
   
   
   
5. Enter the code from the text message into the Code text box and click Verify.
   
   

   
   
   

6. You will be directed to a screen asking if you would like to stay signed in. Click No if the computer you are using is a public machine. Click Yes if you are using a trusted personal device and would like to reduce how many times you are asked to sign in.
   
   

   
   
   

7. You should now be signed in to your account.

Through a call to my phone

1. Enter your school email address and click Next.
   
   
   
   
2. Enter your password and click Sign in.
   
   
   
   
3. If your phone is enrolled for MFA, you will see the option to have a code texted to your phone and the option to call your phone in order to verify your identity. Click Call.
   
   Note: Depending on the methods you have enrolled in for MFA, you may also see a button that says Sign in another way. If you click this, you will see other authentication methods available to you that you have enrolled in.
   
   

   
   
   

4. An onscreen notification will appear saying that your phone number is being called and that you should answer it in order to approve the sign in request.
   
   

   
   
   

5. Answer the call on your phone and you will hear the following message:
   
   Thank you for using Microsoft's sign-in verification system.
   Please press the pound key to finish your verification.
   If you did not initiate this verification, someone may be trying to access your account.
   Please press 0 pound to submit a fraud alert.
   This will notify your company's IT team and block further verification attempts.

    

6. Click the # sign to approve the sign in request and you will hear the following message:
   
   Your sign-in was successfully verified. Goodbye.

    

7. You will then be directed to a screen asking if you would like to stay signed in. Click No if the computer you are using is a public machine. Click Yes if you are using a trusted personal device and would like to reduce how many times you are asked to sign in.
   
   

   
   
   

8. You should now be signed in to your account.

Through a mobile app push notification

1. Enter your school email address and click Next.
   
   
   
   
2. Enter your password and click Sign in.
   
   
   
   
3. If the Microsoft Authenticator mobile app is enrolled for MFA, you will either see the option for a notification to be sent to your phone through the app (Approve sign in request) or the option to copy and enter a code from the app (Enter code) to verify your identity. Notification is the default sign-in method for the mobile app unless you have changed your default sign-in method.
   
   For the notification method, you will see a screen telling you to approve the sign in request through a notification sent to the app on your phone.
   
   Note: You may also see a button that says I can't use my Microsoft Authenticator app right now or Sign in another way. If you click this, you will see other authentication methods available to you that you have enrolled in.
   
   

   
   
   

4. There are two ways to approve the notification on your phone:
   
   1) Open the app on your phone, if it's not open already. You will get a pop up on your phone asking if you approve sign-in. Click Approve.
   
   2) A push notification from the app will show up on your phone. Click the push notification. This will bring you to the app where you will see a pop up asking if you approve sign-in. Click Approve.
   
   Note: You may have to put in a passcode or complete another authentication method (e.g. FaceID) for your phone to finish approval. The method depends on what method you use to unlock your phone.
   
   

   
   
   

5. You will then be directed to a screen asking if you would like to stay signed in. Click No if the computer you are using is a public machine. Click Yes if you are using a trusted personal device and would like to reduce how many times you are asked to sign in.
   
   

   
   
   

6. You should now be signed in to your account.

Through a mobile app code

1. Enter your school email address and click Next.
   
   
   
   
2. Enter your password and click Sign in.
   
   
   
   
3. If the Microsoft Authenticator mobile app is enrolled for MFA, you will either see the option for a notification to be sent to your phone through the app (Approve sign in request) or the option to copy and enter a code from the app (Enter code) to verify your identity. Notification is the default sign-in method for the mobile app unless you have changed your default sign-in method.
   
   For the code method, you will see a screen telling you to enter the code that is shown in your app.
   
   Note: You may also see a button that says I can't use my Microsoft Authenticator app right now or Sign in another way. If you click this, you will see other authentication methods available to you that you have enrolled in.
   
   

   
   
   

4. To find the code, open the Microsoft Authenticator app in your phone. Then, find your school account (the one that shows your school email address). You may be able to see the code next to the account in this home screen of the app. If you don't, click on your school account.
   
   

   
   
   

5. Once you click on your school account in the app, you will see the code under One-time password code. You will have 30 seconds to enter this code. A new code is generated every 30 seconds.
   
   

   
   
   

6. Type the code from the app into the Code text box and click Verify.
   
   
   
   
7. You will then be directed to a screen asking if you would like to stay signed in. Click No if the computer you are using is a public machine. Click Yes if you are using a trusted personal device and would like to reduce how many times you are asked to sign in.
   
   

   
   
   

8. You should now be signed in to your account.

Through a security key

1. Enter your school email address and click Next.
   
   
   
   
2. Below the text box for your password, click Sign in with a security key.
   
   
   
   
3. A notification will show indicating that your computer will open a window with instructions for signing in with your security key.
   
   
   
   
4. Your computer will check to make sure the security key is properly plugged in. If your security key is not plugged into the computer, you will receive a prompt to insert your security key into the USB port.
   
   
   
   
5. If it isn't already plugged in, plug your security key into the appropriate USB port for your key and computer (either USB-A or USB-C port).
   
   
   
   
6. You will be prompted to enter your PIN. Type your PIN into the Security Key PIN text box.
   
   
   
   
7. Once you have entered your PIN, click OK.
   
   
   
   
8. You will be prompted to touch your security key to complete sign-in.
   
   
   
   
9. Your key may light up / flash to indicate that you should touch it to proceed. Find the circle with the key icon on your key and touch it.
   
   
   
   
   
10. You will then be directed to a screen asking if you would like to stay signed in. Click No if the computer you are using is a public machine. Click Yes if you are using a trusted personal device and would like to reduce how many times you are asked to sign in.
    
    

    
    
    

11. You should now be signed in to your account.