The NetID is the electronic identifier issued to members of the Cornell community—students, faculty, staff, alumni, affiliates. It is a string of alphanumeric characters based on the individual’s name followed by a number. NetIDs are unique and permanent. The same NetID is never reassigned to more than one individual; if you leave the University and return at a later time, the original NetID is reactivated for your use. In combination with the password the NetID enables access to non-public resources and information. For example, every student must log in with a NetID and password to access his grades in Just the Facts. It also serves as the unique portion of a Cornell email address in the form netid@cornell.edu.
A sponsored NetID is issued upon the request of a unit head or a designee to individuals, such as independent contractors, who are not eligible for a NetID as a member of the community, but who provide services to the University. Members of the Weill and Qatar Cornell communities may obtain a NetID upon request, should they require one to access resources on the Ithaca campus.
NetIDs were first introduced at Cornell in the early 90’s and from that time forward all new members of the community have been issued a NetID soon after they establish a relationship with the University. Since the mid 90’s NetIDs have been available upon demand to alumni who attended Cornell prior to the 90’s. The number of services which use the NetID and password to enable secure access has grown significantly over the years, reducing the number of user IDs and passwords Cornell users have to remember. This approach also eliminates the need for each service provider to create and maintain user accounts.
