This article is for NHS (and gnh.net) staff who need to get access the University of Southampton (UoS) applications and resources.
 
Before starting, please keep in mind that:

• NHS users from pre-approved organisations can log in to UoS applications using the credentials from their organisation
• All University of Southampton users must log in using their username and password. They do not need to register using this system.
• Users with visitor contracts will generally receive a Southampton account from HR and should access the relevant applications using this Southampton username and password.

Overview of Federated Accounts / Accesses

Federated authentication accounts allow users to access University of Southampton applications using their credentials from a trusted organisation, such as nhs.net or uhs.nhs.uk, and support single sign-on.

The NHS federated authentication service allows users from the NHS, or those associated with it, to:

1. Request access to University of Southampton applications
2. Log in to those applications using the credentials from their organisation

By following the steps below, NHS-affiliated users will be able to access University of Southampton applications without having to setup and maintain a separate user account.

Who can access the service?

The service is open to everyone, though:

• Users from pre-approved organisations will automatically be approved for access. Pre-approved organisations are:
  
  • dchft.nhs.uk
  • gnh.net
  • health.gov.je
  • hhft.nhs.uk
  • nhs.net
  • porthosp.nhs.uk
  • royalberkshire.nhs.uk
  • sabp.nhs.uk
  • solent.nhs.uk
  • southernhealth.nhs.uk
  • uhd.nhs.uk
  • uhs.nhs.uk
• All other users will have to be approved by a member of the administration team at the University. 

Applications accessible through an NHS account

Starting from September 2024, all NHS accounts will use federated accounts to access the following applications:

• Blackboard
• eAssignments
• ERGO2
• Panopto
• Vevox

At the moment, Medusa is not available through the federated account access. If you need access, please follow the instruction listed within the "Medusa" section. 

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How to access the service

Step 1 - Login to the Portal

1. Open a web browser and browse the Access portal 

2. You will be prompted to log in. If your organisation uses Microsoft 365 for authentication, you can log in using these credentials.



If your organisation do not use Microsoft 365 for authentication, you can:

1. Enter your work email address. You will be emailed a one-time password to complete the procedure. 
2. Log in using a personal Microsoft 365 account. In this case, your access request may require additional approval delaying your access. 



3. You will now see the Access Portal landing page

 

Step 2 - Request access to University of Southampton systems

Once you are logged in, you will see the Access Packages window. This will give you access to all applications and resources within the university.

How to request access to marking applications:

1. From the landing page please select either:

• The Browse available access packages button, or
• The Access packages link in the main navigation menu

2. Select the Request button

3. Select the Continue button

4. If you are from a pre-approved organisation, you will see the following form. You must complete the forename and surname fields, but the business justification is optional:

If you are not from a pre-approved organisation, then you will see this form. 

You must complete all fields including the business justification field, please add as much detail as possible to the business justification to allow us to determine whether you should be provided access or not. If you do not have a Faculty / School contact, please provide the name of the person who has alerted you to this service.

An example of a business justification can be: "Teaching on X module", "Conducting ACCs", "Supervising research project", or similar.

5. Check the consent form to share with the university:

• Your name
• Your email address 
• Your organisation details


6. If you are a member of a pre-approved organisation your request will be automatically approved, if not you will need to wait for your request to be approved by an administrator.

To see the status of your request select the Request History link in the left-sidebar.

7. Once your request has been approved, you will receive an email from Microsoft  confirming your access.

The sender's email address will appear as "mssecurity-noreply@microsoft.com". Please check your spam folder in case the email is miscategorized.

8. You will also receive an email with the details of all the applications that you can access. Please save this email for future reference.

 

Step 3 - How to access a university application

Once your request has been approved it will take up to 24 hours for your new account details to be added to the relevant applications.

After this period has elapsed, you will then be able to log in to all the listed applications. 

Accessing the applications by using a Microsoft 365 account

1. Select the relevant link for the application that you wish to log in to

2. When prompted to log in:

1. Enter your Microsoft 365 account username
2. Select Next

3. Enter your password and select Sign in


4. You are now logged in.

Accessing the applications by using a work email address

1. When prompted to log in:

1. Enter your work email address
2. Select Next

2. A one-time password will be sent to your work email address

3. Copy the verification code

4. Enter it in the login screen

5. Select Sign in

6. You are now logged in

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Troubleshooting and further information

Blackboard

Accessing Blackboard

You will need to be enrolled on any Blackboard modules you require access to. The eLearn guide "How do I request access to a Blackboard module? – NHS staff" explains this process.

Once your account is created, you will receive an email notification saying "Please allow 24 hours for your permissions to propagate before logging in."

How to know if you have been added to any courses in Blackboard

All NHS federated access users are automatically enrolled on the MEDI3048 module for the current year. You will see your courses by selecting the Courses tab:

 

If you have not been enrolled on any courses, you will see no courses when you select the Courses tab:

 

Ergo 2

Information for users with federated account

Your Ergo 2 account data has been moved over to your new federated account.

There is no further action on your part and you can now access Ergo 2 and any historical data using your federated account.

If you have any issues or questions, please contact ServiceLine.

Information for users without a federated account, Ergo 2 data not migrated

This section is for users that have not registered for a federated account yet.

On 15/10/2024, our technical team moved Ergo 2 data from old NHS accounts to new federated accounts. Unfortunately, we were unable to move your data as you have not yet registered for a federated account.

In order to retain access to Ergo 2 and access to historical data, please complete the following actions:

• Register for a federated account
• Email our ServiceLine team with the following information:
  • A subject of "Ergo 2 data migration"
  • Stating the email address used with your federated account as well as your old NHS.Soton username
  • Requesting your data to be migrated

Access to old (non-federated) NHS accounts will be disabled from Wednesday 23 October. You will not be able to access Ergo 2 or any other University of Southampton systems using the old account from this date.

No Ergo 2 data will be lost, this will still be able to be migrated beyond this date. If you have any issues or questions, please contact ServiceLine.

 

Medusa

Please note: at the moment, Medusa is not available through the federated account access. If you need access, please email ServiceLine adding the following information:

• Your first name and surname
• Your title 
• Your job title
• The NHS email address you want to be registered 

 

SharePoint access

If you have any issues accessing University SharePoint sites, please let us know by emailing serviceline@soton.ac.uk with a link to the specific site.

Please be aware that we cannot guarantee access to all SharePoint sites, but we will look in to your request and respond as soon as possible.

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Getting IT help

If you are having issues to log in or need further help or, please:

• Contact ServiceLine to receive support through phone call or chat
• Visit our Tech Hubs to receive in-person support

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Related content

eLearning Support and Resources for the University of Southampton

Blackboard - Manage course enrolment

Access Blackboard using a private or incognito browser window