An initiative to streamline password security will mean changes for University of Northern Iowa students and staff logging into their accounts.

UNI’s Information Technology Services will implement a new set of password requirements on April 1. The new passwords must meet a minimum of 15 characters and may contain spaces, a variety of special symbols and upper and lowercase letters.

The new passwords are called “passphrases.” An example would be “My name is Sally” or “I love this password,” making the password more of a phrase.

The reason for the change is to not only make it easier for UNI staff, faculty and students, but also to reduce the number of student login problems that require help from ITS personnel.

UNI’s on-campus ITS center “resets passwords for 1,000 to even 2,000 students a month,” according to ITS Director of User Services Tom Peterson.

“With a student body of 15,000, this becomes an issue,” Peterson said.

The password change will affect any student, faculty or campus employee with a CatID. The current password system requires that users have three different passwords: an eBusiness login, CatID login and a UNI Wi-Fi network login, all of which vary on their 90-day expirations.

The new system will simplify things for users. Instead of three different passwords, only one password will be needed for the three different systems, and it will have just one expiration date.

Peterson explained another benefit of making the switch will be ITS faculty having more time to consult, whereas before their main focus was helping students reconnect to the Wi-Fi and changing their frequently expiring passwords.

The change will go into effect after April 1, once the current passwords expire.

Peterson could not provide total cost for the new programming and software purchases.

The current password system has been used for more than 10 years. Shashi Kaparthi, chief information officer of ITS, pushed for the new system for many years. He has now made it a priority.

UNI student Beth Sullivan said the switch makes sense.

“The overall benefit will outweigh the fact that the password has to be 15 characters,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan, who lives and works on campus, uses UNI Wi-Fi, so she has the three separate passwords with the three different expiration dates.

“I’ll personally enjoy having one password rather than three different passwords,” she said.

One possible concern for users is that the passphrase must be at least 15 characters long.

“Once you say 15 characters it sounds like a lot, but not having to change your password every 90 days will be less of a hassle,” freshman sociology major Kayla Karrmann said.