Technology Guides

Passwords and Accounts

Passwords and Accounts

This page provides important information about the different accounts and passwords you’ll use at GCCCD. You may also find guidance on how to reset passwords and troubleshoot any access issues.

Two Accounts

Students and Faculty have two different accounts/passwords to manage.Your primary account is your @gcccd.edu email address, and your second account is for accessing Canvas. 

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For students and faculty both, your main account is your @gcccd.edu email. Credentials are sent to a student's personal email address shortly after they apply to the school. Faculty credentials are supplied as part of employee onboarding.

Generally speaking, the email username is either firstname.lastname@gcccd.edu or firstinitial.lastname@gcccd.edu (depending upon when you applied). Notable exceptions are listed in a separate section on this page.

Your primary account is used to access:

  • Self-Service
  • Computers on campus (PCs and Macs) · District/Grossmont/Cuyamaca email (@gcccd.edu)
  • Library Databases (Films on Demand, Kanopy, etc.)
  • Microsoft Office and OneDrive (office.com)
  • Specific online forms (DynamicForms)

Note: Students, faculty, and staff must set up Microsoft Authenticator to access Self-Service or their GCCCD Email account when off-campus.

When logging in to a campus PC or your @gcccd.edu email, you may receive a prompt to update your password. Do not ignore this prompt when you receive it. Otherwise, you may become locked out of your account.

Students are able to reset their password by the following the Microsoft's password recovery tool.

Note: A secure password is at least 16 characters in length.

Canvas is the District's Learning Management System of choice. For most courses, students will find course materials and submit their assignments in Canvas.

For Canvas, your Canvas username is the same as your username is the same as Self-Service minus the @gcccd.edu. A typical Canvas username would be firstname.lastname, or firstinitial.lastname. 

The Canvas account password format is listed on the Canvas login page if you're using a laptop or desktop.

Password reset is also available on the Canvas login page. An email will be sent to your personal email address with instructions.

For Canvas-related issues, support channels vary. If you need help with:

  • an assignment, due date, or quiz attempt - contact your Instructor. You may utilize the Inbox function within Canvas, or follow contact instructions provided in the course syllabus.
  • a technical issue like login or browser errors - you may contact the Canvas 24/7 Support Line  at 1-844-600-4953. You may also Live Chat with a Support Agent.

 

Username Exceptions

Name Too Long or Name Collisions

As indicated above, for most systems your username is simply your firstname.lastname. However, there are a few notable exceptions:

  • Continuing Students
    • If your first name and last name combination is common (e.g., John Smith) it may create a duplicate in our system. In this case, you may have numbers appended to the end of your username -- for example: john.smith47725@gcccd.edu.
    • Returning students with very long names or multiple last names may need to truncate, or cut, their username to 20 characters total (including the "."). Leonardo Michelangelo Donatello-Raphael's username, for instance, would be cut to: leonardo.donatellora@gcccd.edu.
    Newer Students (April 2025 forward)
    • If your first initial and last name combination is common (e.g., J Smith) it may create a duplicate in our system. In this case, you may have number(s) appended to the end of your username -- for example: j.smith1@gcccd.edu, j.smith2@gcccd.edu, etc.
    • Newer students with very long names or multiple last names may need to truncate, or cut, their username to 16 characters total (including the "."). Leonardo Michelangelo Donatello-Raphael would cut their username to: l.donatellorapha@gcccd.edu.

Note: If you are unable to discern your username, it can be looked up by any area that services students including Admissions and Records, Counseling, Financial Aid, or any Help Desk.

Zoom Accounts

Students do not need a Zoom account to join their instructor's Zoom Session.Instructors should be providing Zoom links for their students to join.

If you encounter difficulties joining or within a meeting, please review the Troubleshooting Zoom Meetings articles on their support site.

For Faculty/Staff: Zoom instance is managed by District Enterprise Computing team. If you are a faculty or staff member and you need a school-linked Zoom account, please reach out to the District IT Help Desk at helpdesk@gcccd.edu.

Updating or Resetting Passwords

No password is forever. Students and faculty must regularly update their passwords. If you receive a notice to update your email/campus account password, please follow the instructions in our Update Email Password guide.

Note: You don't have to wait until expiry; you may change your password to Self-Service, Canvas, or your main campus account at any time.

If you have lost access and need to reset a password, see the instructions in the Two Accounts section at the top of this page.

Need further assistance?

If you have questions or need clarification about this guidance, please reach out to the Help Desk.