Courtney DeMoss was caught off-guard by a message on her computer saying she had been denied access to her university e-mail account.

That was until the people around her at Morris Library reminded her of the change to all campus network IDs.

Students received new logins consisting of the letters ‘SIU’ and their Dawg Tag numbers, and old network IDs became invalid Sunday. For example, John Doe’s previous network ID may have been ‘jdoe,’ but he would now have a username similar to ‘SIU123456789.’

Until June 2008, students and faculty used their Social Security numbers to obtain a network ID that would allow them to log in to online databases, such as SalukiNet and Blackboard, and access on-campus computers. Because of concern that using Social Security numbers could lead to identity theft, the server was overhauled to incorporate the new Dawg Tag identification system, said Frank Scobby, director of university information technology.

Scobby said the change would not amend university e-mail addresses, but the new network IDs will be how students and faculty log in to all campus computers and online databases.’

The change was not automatic, which means students and faculty have to go through a process to prove their identity to unlock their new ID.

Katie Breen, a senior from Jacksonville studying biology and health care management, said it took her 20 minutes to get through the process without assistance.

‘There are no clear directions at the login page at the Google Apps,’ she said.

But when she helped Landon Kennel, a senior from Arthur studying agricultural business and mechanical engineering, it took less than five minutes.

Scobby said e-mails were sent to all SIUC e-mail accounts and a notice of the switch was advertised in the Daily Egyptian.

‘I don’t know how we can reach everyone,’ he said. ‘Not everyone uses their SIU email.’

Scobby said users should make sure they are entering all of the claim code, which is made up of a word and numbers. He said the technical support center had received a number of calls from people whom had only used the numbers, but not the word in front of them.

David Schremp, systems analyst at Morris Library, said a number of students had come to the information desk with questions concerning the change. He said students should read all of the directions without skipping any of the steps.

‘Slow down and it’s going to be fine,’ he said.