Business Need

Although approximately 80% of CCC students currently have a CCCID, students who enroll outside of the online systemwide application (i.e., CCCApply) are more likely to not have a CCCID in their local college’s Student Information System (SIS). The objective for the new account creation tool is to provide our colleges and institutions with a simple and efficient process that will ensure every student has a lifelong CCC systemwide account and student identifier.

Use Cases

New OpenCCC Account Creation Tool

A new OpenCCC account creation admin tool has been implemented in the CCC Administrator, the same system that houses the CCCApply Administrator. The feature allows authorized staff to manually create student accounts using the same type of role-based authorized access in place for the CCCApply Administrator.  

Single User Account Creation: Available now! This new account creation feature allows authorized staff to create a single user account and generate a CCCID on behalf of a student who may be unable to complete the CCCApply application process.

Multi-Account Creation (Coming January 2024): This enhancement will enable colleges to upload a list of students, along with all the required data elements, that will generate a missing CCCID if needed and/or identify if a duplicate account already exists in the system. Staff can then add the missing CCCIDs into their SIS system for MIS and other reporting purposes. This enhancement is expected to be available by the end of January 2024 and will be communicated via the appropriate channels.

How It Works

In order for the OpenCCC Account Creation tool to create an account on behalf of a student, the college or institution will use a process where multiple additional user accounts can be generated from one OpenCCC account with a verified (parent) institution email address. The institution or master account is created using the existing OpenCCC account creation and verification processes. With the email address from the master account verified, the staff user can use the tool to create additional (proxy) accounts with email addresses that employ the “plus 1” workaround which will bypass the sign in email verification requirement (2FA) when the staff member creates an application or signs in on behalf of the student. All accounts created using the master or parent email address, including each instance using “plus 1”, will resolve back to the parent email account - which has already be verified.

Tool Mimics the “plus 1” email workaround

• Allows authorized staff users to create student accounts under a single parent email account

• No need to create a unique email account per student

• No need to verify each account when created

Security Considerations

• Access requires college/district Director-level approval

• OpenCCC Administrators must agree never to share their account with other staff

• Accounts created with the OpenCCC Account Creations tool will bypass the IDme student verification process; and a value of “staff_verified” will be returned for the <idme_workflow_status> field.

• Accounts created with the tool will also bypass the Spam Filter.

College Preparation & Prerequisites

Prerequisites

• An authorized CCC Administrator staff account is required before access can be given to the new OpenCCC Administrator tool

• Access to the new tool must be requested in writing by a director-level administrator, supervisor, or Dean at the institution

• A separate, institution (or master) OpenCCC account and email address is needed to effectively use the tool to create accounts and submit applications on behalf of students
  

Request Authorized Access

Obtaining access to the OpenCCC Administrator first requires the user to have a CCCApply Administrator account. Once that’s established, written approval must be submitted to enable access to the OpenCCC Administrator.

Step 1: Establish your CCCApply Administrator staff account

• If you do not already have a CCCApply Administrator staff account, send an email to CCCTC Staff Support to get that started.

• Work with your IT department to obtain your EPPN credentials and provide them to the Enabling Services engineer for account setup.

• Once your staff account is established, use your college-specific CCCApply Administrator URL to sign in through your institution IdP.

Step 2: Provide written approval from a director-level authority to use the OpenCCC Administrator tool

• Send an email to CCCTC Staff Support (staffsupportccctc@openccc.zendesk.com) that includes a statement from a director-level administrator or supervisor authorizing you [your name, title] access to the new OpenCCC Administrator “for the purposes of creating and maintaining one or more OpenCCC student accounts (CCCIDs) on behalf of students outside the online systemwide application (CCCApply).”

• Once approved, a support team member will update your Administrator account to include access to the account creation tool.

Create an institution or master OpenCCC account and email address for creating CCCIDs

Work with your college or district IT Administrator to set up a master (parent) email address using your institution IdP that will be used for this purpose. This will allow multiple accounts to be created from one verified email address using the “plus 1” workaround. (See How It Works above for more details.)

Step 1: IT sets up an institution email account associated with the college or district

• Email address for this account must be associated with your institution, not a personal account.

• Recommend the email format identifies the department or project@yourInstitution for this purpose (e.g., restorativejustice@imperial.edu)

Step 2: Create & verify a generic OpenCCC account using the institution email address

• Navigate to the OpenCCC Sign In page using your CCCApply application link for your college.

• Click the “Create An Account” link and complete all required account fields for master user

• Set email as your primary contact method and verify the email address using the 2FA verification process

(Add note about the verification process requirement only once - IF you are using the Email +1 process - which resolve back to the parent account which has been verified)

Best Practices & Recommendations

Implement a Standard Format for Creating Usernames

Establish a standardized format for generating the new user account Username - a required field in the Add OpenCCC User process. The Username is an existing data field in the OpenCCC account system and is required for creating users in the new account creation system.

Implement a Password Generator Tool for Creating Passwords

It is always important to generate, store, handle, and transmit passwords and other user credentials in a secure manner, especially when creating CCCID accounts and/or applications on behalf of a student. The Password field in the tool requires at least 8 characters, one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number, one special character (!, @, #, $, %, ^, & or *), and may not contain your name.

However, for security purposes, the CCCTC recommends implementing a password generating tool such as LastPass Password Generatorto ensure strong, random passwords that meet general information security policies.

Maintain a Secure Tracking Sheet for User Accounts

In order to track and manage the accounts you create on behalf of students, we recommend maintaining a secure, password-protected spreadsheet for capturing the new user account data, including the username and password. This process can help in the following ways:

• Easily sign in as the user to create an application on their behalf

• Maintains a roster/record of all accounts created for a specific Term, institution and/or agency

• Provide students their account information when they leave the institution, should they request it.

Below is an example of a simple tracking sheet created in Google Sheets that includes all the data fields in the

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Adding A New OpenCCC User

The steps below pertain to the process for creating a single OpenCCC user account (one individual user). Instructions for creating multiple accounts will be provided along with the enhancement release (coming January 2024).

Step 1: Navigate and Sign In to the OpenCCC Administrator

1. Navigate to the CCC Administrator homepage using your college-specific URL configured to your college MIS code

2. Select OpenCCC Administrator from the Applications drop menu in the header. The Add New User page will appear.

Step 2: Complete all fields in the Add OpenCCC User form

The Add OpenCCC User form includes all the same input fields required for the creation of an OpenCCC student account, as well as a required Username field. See the Implement a Standard Format for Creating Usernames section above for more information.

Add OpenCCC User Fields	Notes / Recommendations
*Required fields are shown in bold.
Username*	Recommend using an institution abbreviation & student name. ex: fsp-jlinder See “Implement a Standard Format for Usernames” section above.
Email Address* / Confirm Email Address*	Must be a verified email account that can be accessed. Ensure email address is formatted with: parent email plus username ex. jlinder+fsp-jlinder@ccctechcenter.org
Primary Phone Number	Recommend using the main phone number for the college or institution. This field is not required.
Phone Type	Phone type should always be landline if main phone number for college or institution is used. This field is not required.
Address: Homeless	Homeless flag should always be “No”.
Country*	Enter the Country of the new user or the college or institution.
State*	Enter the State of the new user or the college or institution.
Street Address 1*	Enter the Street Address of the new user or the college or institution.
Street Address 2	Enter the Street Address 2 of the new user or the college or institution. This field is not required.
City*	Enter the City of the new user or the college or institution.
Postal Code*	Enter the Postal Code of the new user or the college or institution.
Legal First Name	Enter the new user’s Legal First Name. This field is not required but highly recommended.
Legal Middle Name	Enter the new user’s Legal Middle Name. This field is not required.
Legal Last Name*	Enter the new user’s Legal Last Name.
Preferred Name	Enter the new user’s preferred first name, if applicable. This field is not required.
Suffix	Enter a Suffix for the new user. This field is not required.
Date of Birth* / Confirm Date of Birth*	Important! Enter the new user’s actual Date of Birth for account recovery purposes. Confirm the user’s actual Date of Birth.
Password* / Confirm Password*	Important! Enter a unique Password that follows the security guidelines described below. Passwords MUST be unique and non-predictable.
Terms of Use Agreement*	Important! The Terms of Use agreement must be accepted to complete the process and save the new account.

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Reminder to Create Secure Passwords It is important to generate, store, handle, and transmit passwords in a secure manner, especially when managing user credentials on behalf of students. CCCTC recommends using a password generating tool such as LastPass Password Generator to ensure strong, random passwords.

Step 3: SaveForm & Capture CCCID

After completing all required fields in the Add OpenCCC User page, click “Save” to finish creating the new account. A Success notification box will appear displaying a confirmation of the new user’s key credential elements: username, email address, and the CCCID.

We recommend capturing this information on your secure tracking sheet. Please ensure that the sheet is password-protected and stored in a secure location.

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Post-Account Creation Workflows

The following workflow checklists can be used by authorized staff when using the account creation process for various use cases.

General Workflow

Tasks

Best Practices

• Add new credentials to tracking sheet (including CCCID)

• Safeguard (email, username & password) if submitting an application on behalf of the new user

User Flow: College creates

a new

an account

&

and submits

a CCCApply

an application on behalf of

the

a student.

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This flow

is primary used for students who are unable to Using the data provided by the student*:

supports the use case where the college needs to support a student who is does not have access to technology and/or the internet, or may have already enrolled outside the systemwide online application process.

1. Navigate to the OpenCCC Administrator and sign in with your staff admin account.

2. Enter all required student-provided information into the Add OpenCCC User form to create the student account.

3. Capture the new account credentials on your secure tracking sheet (email address, password, username).

4. Continue to your college’s CCCApply Application and click on “Sign In”.

5. On the OpenCCC Sign In page, enter the email addressyou justcreated for the new student.

6. On the Password page, enter the passwordyou created for the student.

7. If prompted: On the Provide Username page, enter the username configured for the student.

8. On the My Applications page, click “Start A New Application” to submit a CCCApply application on behalf of the student.

9. On the Confirmation page, capture the submitted applications confirmation number.

10. Suggestion: Return to your secure tracking sheet and add the application Confirmation number to the sheet.

11. Repeat process with next new account, as necessary.

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Note: The workflow above is intended for creating a single user account.

Institution creates an account (CCCID) on behalf of an existing or legacy student

Create Process: Using all available data provided by or about the student, complete the Add OpenCCC User form to add a single new user account.

1. Capture/document the new user’s account details on your secure tracking sheet.

2. Test the newly created credentials to confirm successful OpenCCC Sign In.

3. Using a secure process, provide the credentials created for the new account to the student:

   1. Username

   2. Email Address

   3. Password

   4. CCCID

4. Suggestion: Return to your scure tracking sheet, document the time/date that credentials were delivered to the student in the Notes column.

5. Repeat process with next new account.

Student wants to take ownership of the account created on their behalf

Create Process: College or institution created an OpenCCC account and/or CCCApply application on behalf of student. Student is now able to take ownership of their account from the college.

1. Confirm identity of the student attempting to claim their account credentials.

2. Once confirmed, provide the student with the credentials created by the college for their account:

   1. Username

   2. Email Address

   3. Password

   4. CCCID

   5. Link to OpenCCC.net

3. Student navigates to OpenCCC to update their Profile information.

4. On the OpenCCC Sign In page, enter the email address created by the college.

5. On the Password page, enter the password created by the college.

6. On the Username page, enter the username created by the college.

7. On the OpenCCC Edit Profile page, update the following fields:

   1. Update your email address and confirm the new email address.

   2. Ensure the Preferred Method of Contact field is set to Email.

   3. Ensure all personal data is current and accurate.

   4. Change/reset your password and confirm new password.

8. Click Save Changes and exit.

9. Return to the OpenCCC Sign In page, enter the updated email address.

10. On the Password page, enter the new password.

11. Student will then access their email account and retrieve the six-digit security code from the email.

12. Return to the OpenCCC Verification Code page and enter six-digit code.

13. With the verification process complete, confirm Profile information once more time, then Sign Out.

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Multi-Account Creation Enhancement Coming Soon! The ability to create multiple user accounts (bulk account creation) is currently under-development. This enhancement is scheduled to be released in December 2023. Watch this page for more information and update notifications.