Faculty, staff, adjuncts, vendors, and contractors with a Sacred Heart University issued laptop - a leased laptop through a 4-year Laptop program, Adjunct Laptop program, or short-term lease - must change their Account Password on their laptop.

Note: If you have forgotten your password, or it has expired, please see the bottom-most section.

About Account Passwords

Faculty, staff, adjunct, and vendor passwords expire every 180 days.

All users with a Sacred Heart University email will receive emails beginning 14 days before the password is set to expire, guiding them to reset the password. When the password is not reset in time, the user will be locked out of most services.

Prerequisites

1.  You must use your SHU issued laptop for the reset.
2. Connect your laptop to Sacred Heart network or use GlobalProtect VPN if you are off campus to connect to the network.
   • If off campus: GlobalProtect VPN is provided on all SHU issued devices. Use your laptop's search bar to open the app and click Connect.
3. You know your current password, and it is not expired.
4. You must follow password policies:
   • Passwords must be at least 12 characters long.
   • Passwords cannot be any of the last 24 passwords.
   • Passwords must contain three of the four following types of characters:
     1. Lowercase letters
     2. Uppercase letters
     3. Numbers
     4. Special Characters such as ! # $ % ^ * ( ) { } [ ] , ; / \  ? : @ & = < >

Steps for Windows Laptops

1. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL and click "Change a password."
2. Verify that your account name is showing in the top box.
3. Enter your old password in the Old password box.
4. Enter a new password in both the New password and Confirm password boxes. Make sure to follow password policies above.
5. Press the Enter key or click the OK button.
6. You will be informed that password change was successful.
7. Your device might ask you to lock the device and unlock it with the new password. You can do so by pressing Windows key + 'L'.
8. Make sure to update your applications with the new password. If you use a SHU account on your phone, make sure to update the Wi-Fi and app passwords to the one you just set to avoid lockouts.

Steps for Mac Laptop - MacOS before Ventura

1. Verify that you are on Sacred Heart network.
2. Open System Preferences.
3. Select Users & Groups.
4. Unlock the "Users & Groups" window by clicking the lock icon in the bottom left corner and signing in with the current password.
5. Click the Change Password button at the top of the General tab.
6. Enter your old password in the Old password box.
7. Enter a new password in both the New password and Verify boxes. Make sure to follow password policies above.
8. Enter a password hint if you wish.
9. Click the Change Password button.
10. You will be informed that password change was successful.
11. Make sure to update your applications with the new password. If you use a SHU account on your phone, make sure to update the Wi-Fi and app passwords to the one you just set to avoid lockouts.

Steps for Mac Laptops - Ventura and newer MacOS

1. Go to the Apple Menu on the top left and select System Settings.
2. Select Touch ID & Password and under Password press Change.
3. Type in your Old Password, then your New Password, then verify the new password. Add a hint if you’d like, then press Change Password.
4. You will also need to update your password with the Encryption software. To do this, follow these steps below.
5. Updating SecureDoc Password to your new Sacred Heart password:
   1. Go to the top right where you will see a key icon.
   2. Press this key icon and select Secure Doc Maintenance>Reset Preboot User Password.
   3. Enter your new password in the box. Wait for the dialogue box to appear to confirm success. The process is now complete.
6. Make sure to update your applications with the new password. If you use a SHU account on your phone, make sure to update the Wi-Fi and app passwords to the one you just set to avoid lockouts.

Password is Expired or Forgotten

When a password is expired or forgotten, it is not possible to reset it through the steps above. Follow these steps to regain access and ensure your laptop is caught up as well:

1. Browse to passwordreset.microsoftonline.com.
2. Enter your SHU email address and the characters appearing in the Captcha.
3. Click Next.
4. Choose I forgot my password.
5. Click Next.
6. Choose the contact method to use for verification and enter your phone number.
7. For example:
   1. Choose Text my mobile phone.
   2. Enter your mobile phone number.
   3. Click Text.
   4. Enter the code sent to your phone.
   5. Click Text.
8. Alternatively, if you have set up security questions, you can select and answer the security questions to reset your password.
9. Enter and confirm your new password:
   1. Minimum of 12 characters.
   2. At least one uppercase and lower case letter, a numeric character, and a special character.
   3. It cannot be any of your previous 24 passwords.
10. You will then receive a "Your password has been reset" message along with a link to sign in with your new password.
11. You will also receive an email from Microsoft on behalf of Sacred Heart University that your SHU password has been reset.
12. You can sign in right away.
13. You will need to have your laptop synced with the new password, to do so you will need to visit one of the IT Service Desk locations, who will be able to assist you in completing this.
    1. If you are off-campus or are a remote faculty/staff:
       1. You can use your old password if you know what it was until you are able to visit one of the locations or address it remotely.
       2. If you do not know the old password, you will need to contact the service desk to attempt recovering your account remotely. You might have to mail-in your laptop to sync it with the new password.