Computer Account Standard

Introduction

An Odin account is the primary computer account used by employees, students, and affiliates at Portland State University (PSU). Additionally, there are other types of accounts that are used in certain situations for specific access or functions.

Purpose and Applicability

The purpose of this standard is to define the different types of computer accounts and when access expires. This standard applies to all PSU computer accounts defined below.

Standards and Procedures

Types of Odin Accounts

To meet a wide range of user needs on campus, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) provides two types of Odin accounts: Standard Odin Accounts and Affiliate Accounts. These accounts will have limited access after expiration (see: “Odin Access Expiration”).

Standard Odin Account: A standard Odin account is created for all faculty, staff, and students.
Affiliate Account: An affiliate account is created for individuals who are not eligible for a standard Odin account, but still need to access PSU IT resources. A new affiliate account must be requested on the individual's behalf by an employee with the access level at or above that of a dean, director, or department head. For more information, refer to the Affiliate Accounts Overview article.

Other Computer Accounts

For more specific functions, OIT provides two additional account types: Service Accounts and Provisional Accounts.

Service Account: A service account is a shared account typically used in cases where access to computing resources cannot be adequately delegated to more than one user, such as a departmental email account.
Provisional Account: A provisional account is created for prospective students when they begin their application and has very limited system access. Students will claim and begin using a standard Odin account to log into PSU systems after they are admitted. This type of account can also be utilized by non-credit-seeking students to attend non-credit courses.

Odin Account Expiration

OIT follows the guidelines in the Access Expiration and Data Deletion table below when removing an Odin account’s access. Expiration means that the account holder will not have access to most PSU services, including email or the ability to sign in to a PSU computer. After Odin account access expires, former students and employees will have limited system access, primarily to myPSU and Banweb to access student and employee records such as transcripts, tax forms, and pay stubs.

Note: Email messages will bounce back to the sender as undeliverable once an Odin account’s Gmail access has expired.

Access Expiration and Data Deletion

Account Type	Description	Grace Period	Account/Data Deletion
Standard Odin Account - Admitted Students	All admitted students who have not yet registered for a course.	If course registration has not occurred, access will expire 6 months after the admit date, or when the account is made inactive, whichever happens first.If course registration has not occurred, access will expire 6 months after the admit date, or when the account is made inactive, whichever happens first.If course registration has not occurred, access will expire 6 months after the admit date, or when the account is made inactive*, whichever happens first.	If course registration has not occurred, the non-Banner account data may be deleted after 1 year.
Standard Odin Account - Registered Students	All students who have registered for a credit-bearing course	1 year from the end of the last term of attendance; access will expire when the grace period ends, or when the account is made inactive*, whichever happens first.	1.5 years after the last term of attendance, non-Banner account data may be deleted.
Standard Odin Account - Re-Enrolled Students	All students who are re-enrolling after an absence of two terms or more.	If course registration has not occurred, access will expire at the end of the re-enrollment term, or when the account is made inactive*, whichever happens first.	1.5 years after the last term of attendance, non-Banner account data may be deleted.
Standard Odin Account - Faculty/Staff	PSU faculty and staff.	Access will expire shortly after the separation date.	6 months following the separation date, non-Banner account data may be deleted.
Standard Odin Account - Adjunct Faculty	Adjunct faculty.	1 year from the end of the last term taught; access will expire when the grace period ends.	1.5 years following the last term taught, non-Banner account data may be deleted.
Standard Odin Account - Emeritus	Emeritus as officially denoted in Banner.	N/A	Does not expire for lifetime of the account holder, unless officially requested otherwise.
Affiliate Account	Volunteers, courtesy appointments, contractors/vendors, PSU Foundation staff, and others needed access to PSU resources who do not have an existing account type.	Access will expire on the assigned expiration date.	6 months following the separation date non-Banner account data may be deleted.
Service Account	A non-person or role account typically used for departmental email, automated processes, etc.	None, the account will be disabled within 24 hours of the expiration date or upon request.	6 months following the expiration date account data may be deleted.
Provisional Account	Provides access to the PSU undergraduate application and non-credit courses in certain cases.	Upon creation of an Odin account	None. Accounts remain until conversion to standard Odin accounts.

*Accounts may be classified as inactive for various reasons, including if:

A student’s admission is rescinded
A student doesn’t matriculate in their first term of admission
A graduate student doesn’t meet minimum enrollment requirements
A student requests that their account be inactivated

Related Policies, Procedures, and Information

For more information on the IT resources that can be accessed with an Odin account, such as how to activate or request an Odin account, refer to the Odin Accounts Overview article.

Other related policies include:

Point of Contact

Contact the OIT Helpdesk for assistance with Odin accounts.

Approver
Chief Information Officer

Owner
Director, Technology Infrastructure

Date
Originally Approved: December 2015
Last Revised: May 2025