In case you missed it, the Canvas login page has changed.
Once bearing a high-angle shot of the campus landscape as its background, the page is now blank with the Montclair State University logo and name at the top left corner. However, the way students log in has not changed.
Over winter break, Montclair State’s Information Technology (IT) Division made the switch to ForgeRock Access Management for secure campus-wide logins.
Speaking on behalf of the IT department, Andrew Mees, university spokesperson, said the decision to make the change was made by the IT department. The IT department wanted to clarify that there was no incident that sparked the decision.
“Our Information Technology Division continuously makes upgrades to all solutions used by our community whenever new and more robust technologies become available,” Mees said. “This change was simply part of moving to a more reliable, more secure single sign-on platform.”
On Jan. 4, the Canvas login page layout officially changed.
Emails were sent out before the start of the spring 2023 semester about the expected change. Despite the outreach, some students did not take notice of the change to the Canvas login page this semester.
Ashley Sanchez didn't notice the change to the Canvas login page.
Kamil Santana | The Montclarion
Ashley Sanchez, a freshman educational foundations major, did not notice the change or catch the email announcement.
“I don’t check my emails over break,” Sanchez said.
Daniela Spero caught a glimpse of the email regarding the change of the Canvas login page.
Kamil Santana | The Montclarion
Daniela Spero, a senior communication and media arts major, did not notice the change either, especially since she doesn’t access Canvas on her laptop.
“I haven’t been on [Canvas] on my laptop,” Spero said. “I have the app and just go on my phone [to use it]. I did kind of see [the email], I just didn’t check to see what they were talking about regarding Canvas.”
Spero described having problems with Canvas before.
“I’ve had issues with it not loading or directing me to another page,” Spero said. “But, if it’s a concern of security and safety and your personal information, I think it’s important.”
Maria Deleon stays on top of email communications from the university and is glad that the change benefits the campus community.
Kamil Santana | The Montclarion
On the other hand, Maria Deleon, a psychology graduate student, checks her emails a handful of times a day and was aware of the forthcoming change.
“I did notice the change,” Deleon said. “I read the emails about it. I like that IT considered making this change because it makes me feel safer using the technology provided by the school and that it is protecting my information on a more reliable system.”
On top of the Canvas login page, the way students sign into Google to access products such as Gmail and Google Drive will require two-step verification. Faculty have already started following this routine; students will need to do so as well.
“While students will not yet need to do this when logging on to Canvas, the process is similar to the two-step verification via cell phone required of students to access Google Email and Drive beginning Jan. 31,” Mees said. “Communications were sent to students on Dec.12 and Dec. 20, and are also being currently sent to students who have not completed this process to date. They include detailed instructions to activate Google two-step authentication by Jan. 30 to avoid losing access to email.”
The IT department is providing this link for students to access instructions on how to activate two-factor authentication: https://tinyurl.com/Google-2-step.
Students who are having a hard time navigating this change or if issues arise, they may contact the IT department at itservicedesk@montclair.edu or 973-655-7971.
