The iVIP program at USC, briefly
The iVIP program at USC enables departments to sponsor non-USC individuals for electronic access to USC services that are normally restricted to active USC faculty, staff, and students. For example, visiting scholars, outside consultants, or temporary agency staff may need to use University services such as an “@usc.edu” email address, library e-resources, or Dornsife computers, printers, and network drives. Once sponsored, these individuals are known as USC affiliates.
Step-by-step guides
The iVIP program at USC, in detail
Useful terms
- USC affiliate
- An individual who has been granted electronic access to USC services and who does not hold the status of active USC faculty, staff, or student
- iVIP system
- The system USC uses to grant affiliate status
- iVIP
- Technically refers to the iVIP system, but colloquially, iVIP is used interchangeably with affiliate (e.g. "Sasha is an iVIP" just means "Sasha is a USC affiliate")
Roles within Dornsife
- Affiliate
- The individual who has been granted electronic access to USC services and who does not hold the status of active USC faculty, staff, or student
- Sponsor
- The department requesting affiliate status for an individual; represented by the senior administrator for the department or by a member of Faculty Affairs
- iVIP administrator
- The DTS admin able to access the iVIP system used to process the affiliate
Eligibility for affiliate status within Dornsife
Non-USC individuals who may qualify for affiliate status within Dornsife include:
- Adjunct faculty who are not in Workday (USC payroll system)
- Affiliated organization employees
- Scholars in residence
- Temporary agency staff
- Visiting scholars
An individual who previously held the status of USC faculty, staff, or student can also qualify for affiliate status if they fall into one of the above categories.
A note about emeriti affiliates
Emeriti faculty are eligible for affiliate status but should request sponsorship through the Emeriti Center rather than through their home department within Dornsife.
Requesting affiliate access
Individuals cannot request access for themselves; rather, a sponsor must submit a request on their behalf. Within Dornsife, the senior administrator of the relevant department or a member of Faculty Affairs can submit the request by following the steps outlined in our guide, "Sponsoring an affiliate through the iVIP program."
Once the sponsor submits the request, the iVIP administrator within DTS processes the individual as an affiliate using USC's iVIP system, and lets both the sponsor and affiliate know that access has been granted.
The affiliate can then follow the steps outlined in our guide, "Getting started as an affiliate in the iVIP program," to electronically access USC services.
Services available to affiliates
USC services
Once an individual has been processed as a USC affiliate, they have access to the following services:
- USCard services
- An "@usc.edu" email account, accessed through Outlook
- myUSC portal
- Microsoft Office 365, including OneDrive
- USC Zoom Pro account
- VPN access to USC resources
Depending on the nature of the affiliate's work, the sponsor may also request that the affiliate be granted access to the following services:
- Library e-resources, on-campus only
- Library e-resources, on- and off-campus
- Library borrowing privileges
- LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com)
- Brightspace
- myDornsife
- ITS software distribution
- Inclusion in the online USC directory
Dornsife services
Before Dornsife account services can be requested, the affiliate must first activate their USC account and receive their NetID.
The sponsor will need to request a Dornsife account for the affiliate if the affiliate needs access to any of the following services:
- Departmental computers
- Departmental printers
- Departmental shared drives or folders
Contributor(s): Chris Huntley, Han Tran.