Email on Mobile Devices – New Policy Requirement

Faculty/Staff,

With the migration to Exchange 2013 in the earlier part of the year, we now have the ability to enforce a password requirement on all mobile devices connecting to our email system.  This means we can require your phone or tablet to have a PIN/passcode setup to help ensure that TCU’s data is protected in the case that your device is lost or stolen.

On Friday, December 11th at 10am, we will be implementing a policy requiring a passcode to be enabled on any Faculty/Staff mobile device that has TCU email setup.

What do I have to do?

A large percentage of the recent mobile device operating systems already require you to setup a passcode when you get the device so most of you will not even notice that a new policy requirement was applied.  This will work with the fingerprint feature on iOS devices since they just input the user’s passcode when the print is identified.

If you don’t have a passcode enabled on your device and are connecting to the TCU email system, then you will be prompted to create a PIN/passcode once we push this out.

What if I already have a PIN/passcode enabled?

If you already have a PIN/passcode enabled on your device, then no action is required. Your existing PIN or passcode will not be modified and you can continue to use it as normal.

Alert:  Some Android devices offer a pattern locking feature where you can swipe your finger in a certain direction or shape to unlock the device.  This feature is NOT supported by the new policy and the system will require you to change to a PIN or passcode once we make this modification.

Why are you doing this and can I opt out?

No, you cannot opt out of this policy if you have TCU email setup on your device.  You can remove the email connection from your phone or tablet and opt to check your email using a web browser to avoid the requirement.  This will keep the policy from being applied to your device and provides you with an alternative way to check your email.  Please, remember that we must be good stewards of University data and this policy helps to ensure that we are doing our best to protect TCU’s internal communication.

If you have any questions, you are welcome to reach out to the IT Support HelpDesk for assistance.