• A generic account is used for a project, department, or student worker*.
• A generic account has access to the same Google Workspace apps (e.g., Gmail, Calendar) as an individual account.
• Access to the mail and calendar of the generic account may be granted to other employees. The account owner is responsible for managing all account delegation.

Owners of generic accounts that contain any PHI (Protected Health Information) data are the stewards of that data and have formal responsibility for assuring appropriate use of the data. Owners must also confirm annually that the generic account is still required.

*For more information on student worker accounts, see section "Does a student worker need a generic student worker account?"

Create a support ticket to request a generic account. 

1. Select options to begin a new support ticket.
2. Type "Generic account" in the search box and click the magnifying glass icon.
3.  Select "Generic Account Support" and then "New Generic Account" from the dropdown menu.
4. Complete all fields and submit the ticket.

Under State and Federal laws, we are required to manage official University records and be able to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests, subpoenas and other legal discovery proceedings for email records. 

To determine if the student worker needs a student worker account separate from their own student account, ask yourself the following questions about the student worker's job duties:

Does the student worker conduct university business via email or create and share documents via Google Drive related to their position in your department?

Yes - student workers should have a student worker account if they are conducting university business with a Google Workspace account like sending email and sharing documents. They may also have delegated access to a departmental generic account in lieu of a specific student worker account, depending on the department’s workflow and preferences.

Does the student worker only require access to departmental generic accounts or calendars?

Account or calendar owner may delegate access directly to student account. No student worker account is needed. 

Share the calendar

Delegate account access

Create a support ticket to request a generic account. 

1. Select options to begin a new support ticket.
2. Type "Generic account" in the search box and click the magnifying glass icon.
3.  Select "Generic Account Support" and then "New Generic Account" from the dropdown menu.
4. Complete all fields and submit the ticket. Note: Student worker suggested account name(s) (The naming format is 2-3 character department code plus “stwk#”, ie OTSSTWK2.)

Follow these step by step instructions to set it up

To maintain an active generic account, the account owner must reset the password annually. When reminder notices arrive, take action to set the account password. Failure to reset the password will result in account suspension. Once the password is reset, the account will automatically reactivate. This document provides step by step instructions.

Account owners should also log directly into the account annually, review account delegation for accuracy, and perform cleanup as generic accounts often accumulate email that may no longer be relevant. It is the account owner's responsibility to manage the generic account delegation to others. If the account owner can no longer manage the account, they may request account ownership change.

• Reset the password
• Log directly into the account
• Add or remove delegated email access (May take up to 24 hours from account creation time before delegation can be enabled)
• Share the calendar with someone
• Access a delegated account
• Accept or reject an account email delegation invitation
• Locate the generic email account once it has been delegated
• Locate the generic account's calendar once it has been delegated
• Forward email to other accounts