Every Boston College student, faculty, and staff member has a unique username that is assigned when you first become a member of the BC community. Your username is usually some variation of your last name. Most electronic services and resources restricted to the BC community, including email and Agora Portal, require authentication by entering your username and password.
Username
Every Boston College student, faculty, and staff member has a unique username that is assigned when you first become a member of the BC community. Your username is usually some variation of your last name. Most electronic services and resources restricted to the BC community, including Agora Portal, require authentication by entering your username and password. A student usually receives his/her username in a letter or during orientation. New faculty and staff will receive their usernames during the hiring process. If you do not know your username, contact the Help Center at 617-552-HELP (4357) or your Technology Consultant if you are faculty/staff.
Changing Your Username
BC usernames are generated using a portion of your last name, often combined with random letters. Usernames are only needed to sign onto BC systems and will not be changed unless there is a very good reason, such as a security issue.
- For your BC email address, we recommend using your "friendly" address (firstname.lastname.#@bc.edu). Using this format helps to protect your BC credentials.
If there is an issue with your Username, contact the Help Center at 617-552-HELP (4357) or your Technology Consultant if you are faculty/staff.
BC Password
Do not leave your password written on a piece of paper or share it with anyone else. Your password and other security credentials are confidential and should be protected.
Your BC Password enables you to access many BC applications and systems including Agora Portal and UIS. Make sure to set the answers to the Challenge Questions. In the event you forget your BC Password, your answers to these questions will allow BC Help Center staff to confirm your identity and reset your password.
If you're new to BC, you will be assigned a temporary password, which you must change the first time you log into Agora Portal.
Saved BC Passwords
Some applications on your computer or mobile devices may provide the option of remembering your BC password. This option allows you to use these applications without having to enter your password each time. For security reasons, we strongly recommend against using this feature. If you have allowed any of these applications to remember your password, you will find that you cannot log in after you change your password using Agora Portal. This is because the application will continue to try to log in with the old, locally stored, password. To correct this, see the application's online Help documents to learn how to delete or change a stored password.
All employees (including student employees, faculty, and staff) must also use BC 2-Step Verification to confirm their identity when changing their BC Password. This added level of security is in place to protect private employee information.
If You Know Your Current Password
Through Agora Portal, you have the option to change your BC Password to one of your choosing. If you use a computer that is on the BC Domain (most faculty and staff BC-owned Windows computers are on the BC Domain), you will need to follow separate instructions to change your BC Password, for both on and off campus.
If You Don't Know Your Current Password
If you forgot your password and you set up Challenge Questions in Agora Portal, you can conveniently change your password using Agora Portal (click "Forgot Password?") or by calling 617-552-HELP (4357) and correctly answering the Challenge Questions.
If you're a BC applicant who does not remember your password and you did not set up Challenge Questions in Agora Portal, you can have it reset using Agora Portal (click "Forgot Password?"). You will be asked to enter the email address you used for your application.
If You Don't Know Answers to Your Challenge Questions
If you cannot correctly answer your Challenge Questions or you have not completed your Challenge Questions, you must call the Help Center at 617-552-HELP (4357).
Note About Eduroam
When you connect to the eduroam wireless network at Boston College, it requires you enter your BC Password. When you change your BC Password, this will disconnect you from the eduroam network, and you will be prompted to re-enter your BC Password. Before changing your BC Password, we recommend you open the network settings on your mobile devices, and "forget" the eduroam wireless network. This will help to prevent you from being locked out of your BC account temporarily, as those devices may attempt to use the old password to connect to eduroam.
Create a Strong Password
- Include both uppercase and lowercase letters (case-sensitive).
- Include both letters and numbers (alpha-numeric).
- Do not include your login name, a.k.a. username, in any form (as-is, reversed, capitalized, doubled).
- Avoid words that can be found in a dictionary (including foreign and technical dictionaries).
- Do not use a password that has been given as an example of a good password.
- Do not use a password that begins with a number.
Make It Easy to Remember
One possible way to pick a good password is to make up your own acronym. Create a phrase that has meaning to you and pick the first letter of each word or abbreviate. A combination of numbers and letters is harder to guess or crack with a computer program.
For example:
- "My friend Brittany is 5 feet tall in heels." (mfBi5ftih)
- "I work 8 hours a day." (wrk8hrsdy)
Protect It
- Memorize your password.
- If you must write down your new password because you are afraid to forget it, then:
- Never write your username and your password on the same piece of paper.
- Do not place a written copy of your password on the side of your monitor, under your keyboard, etc.
- Destroy the written copy as soon as you have memorized your password.
- Do not allow anyone to look over your shoulder while you are entering your password.
- Do not use public computers to log in to anything -- if you do, change your password immediately-- they frequently have key logging software on them.
- Do not answer password reset "challenge" questions with information that is already online about you (on Facebook, your resume, your LinkedIn page, etc.), or someone can take over your account without even knowing your password.
- Do not use your BC password for other web sites or other purposes besides BC systems.
- Do not use the same password for any logins that are important to you -- financial institutions, tax filing, etc.
- Change your password regularly.
- Change your password immediately if it has been compromised.
Need help remembering all your passwords? There are many 3rd party software programs designed to help you store and manage your passwords and login IDs, therefore making it easier to setup unique and strong passwords for each individual account. However, if you choose to use one, be aware of the following security warnings:
- A password manager is only as secure as the strength of the master password.
- Use a different password for your password manager than the ones you use to login to BC services.
Recommended Products & Support
Although these products are not officially supported by BC, ITS Security has reviewed and approved the following products for personal and work use. If you choose to use one of these services, please note that all support should be from the vendor or online community, and not ITS Support. Please note: ITS Security does not recommend the use of Password Manager “browser add-ons.”
Secondary Password
Use your secondary password to log into Google Workspace applications (e.g., Gmail and Google Drive). Note: Log in to BC Google Workspace using the format username@bc.edu.
Your Secondary Password must be a different password than your main BC password. Requirements are detailed on the Secondary Password Change/Create page in Agora Portal.
Create/Change Your Secondary Password
- Log in to Agora Portal.
- On the My Services tab, click Change Secondary Password.
PIN
Your PIN (Personal Identification Number) is the password you use to access your BC voicemail.
New to Boston College
Your initial voicemail password/PIN is your Eagle ID (the first eight digits on your BC ID card). You will be required to change it at first login following PIN security requirements.
Change Your PIN
To change your voicemail password/PIN:
- Via phone: Log in to your BC voicemail via phone [call 2-4006 (on-campus) or 617-552-4006 (off-campus)], and press 4 from the main menu, then press 3 and follow the prompts.
- Via the web: Log in to vmail.bc.edu and click the Personal tab. You can change your voicemail password/PIN at the bottom of the page.
Reset Your PIN
If you forget your voicemail password/PIN, you can have it reset:
- Online: Log in to vmail.bc.edu and click the link next to Having trouble logging in?
- Phone: Call the Help Center at 617-552-HELP (4357).
Challenge Questions
Challenge Questions are used to verify your identity in the event you forget your password. You are required to set answers to three challenge questions, such as your favorite color or your favorite food. Your answers will allow BC Information Technology Services staff to confirm your identity and reset your password.
Create/Change Your Challenge Questions
- Log into Agora Portal, and select the Change Challenge Questions link. Note: Student employees, faculty, staff, and anyone using Eagle VPN will also be prompted to use BC 2-Step Verification to confirm their identity.
- Follow the online prompts to change your Challenge Questions.