Email Password Problems

Anyone with a Columbia email address must select a password for their account when it is made active, via the Manage My UNI web site. To ensure a high level of security, your password has to meet certain requirements:

• It must be between 6 and 8 characters in length - no more, no less.
• It must include a mixture of letters and non-letters (this includes numbers and special characters such as @, $, ?).
• It cannot be close to any term found in any dictionary.

By meeting these guidelines, your UNI (email) password is much less likely to be cracked by a person or virus.

What should I do if I forgot my password?

Please contact the CUMC IT Service Desk at extension 5-Help to have it reset.

1. We will require that you verify your identity with us prior to resetting your password.
2. Once your password is reset, please go to the Forgot Your Password site.
3. When filling out the form to select a new password:
• You must know your UNI.
• You must know your full Social Security number (enter it without dashes).
• You must use the 3 rules listed above when selecting a new password.

If you receive an error message when trying to pick a new password, it should indicate specifically why the selection did not work (too close to a dictionary word, UNI not found, incorrect number of characters in the password).

If you do not understand the error, please note what it says and contact the Service Desk with the exact error message.

I changed my password and now I can't access my email in Outlook, Apple Mail, etc.

Most email applications have an option to save your password so you won't have to enter it every time you start the program. If you change your email/UNI password and can no longer open or send email from your program afterwards, please follow these instructions:

Change the password saved in an email program

Anyone who logs in to the myColumbia web site to view their payroll and benefits information is forced to change their password every 90 days. This is an additional security measure to protect the sensitive information - including your Social Security number - that is accessible via myColumbia. After changing your password, you will see a page reminding you to remove any saved passwords from your email program that also includes a link to these instructions.

We recommend that you do not save passwords in email or other programs if possible. This helps prevent access to your email from others who might gain access to your computer. It also keeps your password fresh in your memory.

If you do not save your password in your email program, you will only be prompted to enter your password each time you start the program, and the first time you send an email after opening the program.

If I change my email password, will this effect other programs where my UNI is my username?

It depends. If the program or system is University-wide, or if you are brought to a CUIT logon screen within your browser, it will most likely use the same password as your email.

If it is a program that is specific to a campus, department (such as your logon to your work computer), school program, or NYPH, the logon information is probably not managed through the same system and therefore the password will not be the same. Your UNI may have been selected as your logon so that you wouldn't have to keep track of too many logon IDs.

Almost all programs allow you a few tries when entering your password, so you can always use the one you think is correct and then try a different one if it doesn't work.

Why can't every program I use just recognize the same password?!

From the standpoint of having to keep track of everything, it's unfortunate that technology isn't at a point where every system uses the same logon information. In general this is actually more secure, so one system that only needs access to limited information doesn't also "know" your logon and password to other unrelated or more sensitive information.

We do have tips and tricks that can make remembering your password and picking a secure, complex password, easier for you. Please visit our Password Use page for details.