University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Below are resources for activating your account:

• Activate your account
• Password complexity requirements
• What is my user name?

Once your account is activated, you may see a screen with the title More information required:

If you see this screen, it is requiring you to set up one of two necessary account protections: self-service password reset or multi-factor authentication. Below are resources for setting up both:

Self-Service Password Reset

If you do not set up the self-service password reset, you will need to contact the UWM Help Desk if you forget your password or for the yearly password update. Because the UWM Help Desk must verify your identity, this can be a time-consuming process and may take away time that you need to complete coursework. Once you configure the self-service password reset, you can quickly and easily update your password when necessary.

Follow our instructions to set up your self-service password reset.

Multi-factor Authentication

Once you are a student at UWM, you will be required to add multi-factor authentication (MFA) to your account. MFA is the combination of something you know (your password) and something you have (such as a cell phone). More information on MFA can be found on the MFA site or use our directions to set up MFA using the Microsoft Authenticator App.

You are required to change your password once every year. If you have set up the steps for self-service password resets, this process is quick and easy. Below are resources for password changes:

• Password expiration
• Forgotten password
• Change your password

If you have followed all the steps outlined above, your account should be set up properly and you will be able to use your account to register for classes, contact your advisor, perform coursework and utilize all the online resources available to you at UWM.

To test that your account is working properly, log into PAWS. If you do not see any error messages or the “More information required” screen, your account is properly set up.

If you had difficulties with any of the above steps, or do not have the technology to complete the above steps, contact the UWM Help Desk for assistance.

To access the Admissions Portal visit http://uwm.edu/admissionsportal. Before you do this, you must active your UWM account, to do so, use our instructions.

While your user name is an email address, applicants do not have access to all of UWM’s online services including email. Once you are a student, you will be given access to email and other UWM online services:

• Transfer students and Freshmen who will be 21 years old on the first day of classes should be able to access UWM email after you’ve been admitted to UWM.
• All other new Freshmen will have access to UWM email about a week before your Orientation date.

If you think you should have access, but are still having trouble accessing your email, follow the steps in this video.

Security questions are one of the ways to confirm that your email address belongs to you and is not someone else attempting to access your account. The security questions are used when resetting or changing your password, so you should fill them out so you can change your password yourself instead of going through the identity-verification process required when having the UWM Help Desk assist you with this process.