University Hosts and Sponsors' Guide
This page contains information about how University-affiliated individuals can provide network access for their guests.
This page is intended for University of Illinois-affiliated individuals who may need to request short-term or long-term network and computing service access for their guests.
Will your guest be on campus for a short time?
There are several different types of network, computer lab, and online courseware access options available for short-term guests.
Short-term guest accounts typically last for three days from their creation, though they can be created for longer or shorter periods of time.
Short-term guest account types include:
- Short-term network guest accounts
(including UIUCnet Wireless and UIUCnet Walkup) - Short-term Instructional Computing Services (ICS) lab accounts
(for access to the ICS computer labs) - Short-term Active Directory accounts
(for access to many other departmental computer labs and applications) - Bluestem non-NetID accounts
(also known as a PWF account)
Multiple guest accounts
If you're a campus IT professional or a departmental registrar who needs to create many guest accounts at once, the following pages will provide more information.
Multiple short-term network guest accounts
If you need to create multiple short-term network guest accounts at once, you should apply to be an authorized guest account registrar for your department or unit. With this authorization, you can create multiple guest accounts at a time.
For more information, see UIUCnet QuickConnect and VPN Guest Accounts: Who's Authorized to Create Them?.
Other types of short-term accounts, such as ICS and AD
If you have multiple accounts to create, you'll want to contact the individuals listed as service managers rather than use the online forms that some services provide. The service managers have tools to help them create many accounts for your guests at once.
Will your guest be on campus for a month or more?
Guest Network IDs are recommended for guests who will be on campus for a month or more; these temporary NetIDs provide access to more services than short-term accounts do.
A guest NetID provides the most unified and comprehensive network access available to campus guests, providing network access and also offering CITES Express Email, CITES NetFiles (online file storage), and online application privileges if needed.
Special arrangements
Make sure to mention any special arrangements during your first contact with the service managers.


