Kentucky College System Simplifies Password Management
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 07/24/09
The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) has chosen Password Reset PRO self service software from SysOp Tools. The System has 16 community and technical colleges with 67 campus locations state-wide. It relies on Microsoft Active Directory Services as the core component for user account security and access authentication.
KCTCS regularly received large volumes of help desk calls regarding forgotten/expired user passwords and locked-out user accounts. The System's requirements for the self-service system were very specific: The solution had to be easy to use, scalable to meet its user base of 270,000 domain accounts, look like an internal system, and pass external compliance scans. Also, the solution couldn't require schema modifications or client software agents, store sensitive user data or passwords in external databases outside of Active Directory, or place sensitive administrator functions directly in the external Web portal. After testing and ruling out several other products, the System chose the SysOp Tools application.
"Password Reset PRO has allowed our users to enroll for password self-service management with a highly secured, easy to use Web interface that is accessible to them at any time. Users are able to self-service their password needs without help desk intervention, allowing them to gain access to KCTCS systems faster, regardless of their location," said Tony Eversole, project manager. "Password Reset PRO is easy to use and manage, yet robust enough to meet our strict security standards and regulations."
Features of the product include:
- Wizard-driven activities: The system automatically directs users to the appropriate Web portal activity based on status of their account or password;
- Enrollment stored in Active Directory: Should the password reset server ever go down, the administrator can re-install the software to make existing enrollments available;
- IP-to-user identity tracking: Resolves the IP of the client browser visiting the Web portal and maps it to user's Active Directory account, aiding resolution of network and security issues; and
- Deployment tracking and reporting: A reporting console shows password update information for each user, enrolled status, users not yet enrolled, user accounts excluded from enrollment, and the history of Web portal events. Each day a 24-hour rollup summary of events is e-mailed to the administrator.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.