Accounts & Passwords

A Cal Poly account consists of a username and password and acts as your key to many campus services including the My Cal Poly portal, email, calendar, Wi-Fi, and other administrative tools.

Usernames and Passwords

• Applicants and Students

  To activate your Cal Poly account and get access to the My Cal Poly portal, visit the Applicant First Time Account Activation page for instructions. If you've already activated your account and have forgotten your password, go to the Cal Poly Password Manager or call the ITS Service Desk at 805-756-7000.
  
  Accounts are set to forward email to the email address provided in the application. Applicants should verify the email delivery address associated with their account.
  
  Incoming students for the fall quarter get access to email and calendar (Office 365) mid to late July.
   

• Former Students

  Former students lose access to Cal Poly services eight quarters after graduation. 
   

• Faculty and Staff

  To reset your password on your own, go to the Cal Poly Password Manager. If you need help resetting your password call the ITS Service Desk at 805-756-7000. 
  
  Cal Poly Corporation (CPC) and Associated Students (ASI) personnel should follow procedures for obtaining accounts through their personnel or technical support department.

Password Requirements

Password requirements are designed to help you pick a strong, secure password. A passphrase is typically safer and secure, as well as longer, more complex and easier to remember than a password with minimal guidelines.

For passwords under 16 characters, several rules are necessary to ensure your password strength and keep your account secure.

Password	passphrase
Minimum length of 8 characters Maximum length of 15 characters	Minimum length of 16 characters  Maximum length of 40 characters
Must contain at least one (1) character from three (3) of the following:  Uppercase Alphabetic (A-Z)  Lowercase Alphabetic (a-z)  Numbers (0-9)  Any of the following special characters: ! $ % & , ( ) * + - . / ; : < = > ? [ \ ] ^ _ { | } ~	Can include the following special characters: ! $ % & , ( ) * + - . / ; : < = > ? [ \ ] ^ _ { | } ~ and the "space" character
Passwords less than twelve (12) characters must not contain any of the following: Any words of 3 or more characters, including non-English words Any groups of 3 or more characters of the same character type Any names, person, places, or things found in a common dictionary Any of your names (first, middle, last) or any current Cal Poly username Any previous Cal Poly Portal passwords used within the last two (2) years Repetitive characters (sequences)

Get Help

ITS Service Desk
Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.  
Location: Natatorium (No. 46), across from Spanos Stadium 
Phone: 805-756-7000
Email: servicedesk@calpoly.edu