Password Guidelines

Introduction

Your Pace password grants you access to protected IT resources and information.  For this reason, it is important to choose a complex password that will be easy for you to remember, but hard for others to guess. The password requirements listed below should help guide you to create a new, secure password.  See the useful hints section below for additional suggestions.

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Explanation

Complex Password Rules

Your password...

  • must not contain more than 3 consecutive characters of your first name, last name, or username
  • must be 12 or more characters long.
  • must contain at least one character from three of these four categories:
    • UPPERcase characters (A, B, C, ...)
    • lowercase character (a, b, c, ...)
    • numbers (1, 2, 3, ...)
    • special characters (! * + - / : ? _ # $)
    (i.e. must have at least one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, and one number)
  • must not be one that you have recently used
    (you cannot use one of your last 4 passwords)
  • cannot be changed more than once every 24 hours

Useful Hints for Creating a Password

  • Use the first letters of each word from a song, phrase, or quote and replace some letters with numbers.
    For example, "Mary had a little lamb who's fleece was white as snow!" would become Mha11wfwwa5! (substituting 1 for l and 5 for s). Include punctuation for a more secure password.
  • Try to make the password as long as possible. The longer the password, the harder it is to crack or guess it.
  • Do not write the password down and place on your desk!

Additional Resources

Below are links to different Pace password related articles.

For students, faculty, staff, emeritus, retiree and alumni who have forgotten their password, please go to the adam.pace.edu page. If you are having trouble accessing your account call ITS Help Desk at (914) 773-3333 or Toll Free (within U.S.A. only): 1 (855) 722-3487.

Please note, contractors having trouble accessing their account should reach out to their Pace sponsor. Your sponsor is authorized to make the call to the ITS Help Desk for further assistance.