CalNet Sponsored Guests: Sponsor FAQ
Sponsored Guests are external collaborators who are invited to use campus resources using their non-Berkeley Google account. If a guest does not have one, they must create a Google account before they can accept an invitation.
Who can create a CalNet Sponsored Guest?
Only UC Berkeley employees can create CalNet Sponsored Guest accounts. Sponsored Guests are invited by academic and staff employees via the Sponsored Guest application.
Multiple sponsors can invite the same guest, and sponsors can end, extend, or renew guests as needed. Please review the CalNet Guest Account Sponsor Guide (KB0015448) before getting started.
How do I sponsor a guest?
A sponsor needs three pieces of information to invite a guest:
- First name
- Last name
- Personal Email Address (Gmail)
Use the Cirrus Invitation Service to send an invitation: https://apps.cirrusidentity.com/console/auth/index.
Note: Guests should be sponsored for a maximum of one year at a time and can be easily extended later if needed.
Expiration and Concurrent Access
Guest account sponsorship defaults to one year from the date the invitation was accepted. You can extend your guest at any point, either before or after they expire.
Critical Access Warning: Multiple employees can sponsor a single guest concurrently. Because of this, you should manage access control to your specific application or class directly within that system. If you do not remove the guest from your application, they may still be able to access it after your specific sponsorship expires if another employee is still sponsoring them.
When guests expire, they are no longer able to log in to campus applications and are noted as expired in Cirrus, CalNet LDAP, and the CalNet Account Manager.
Transfer and Conversion
Can I transfer my Sponsored Guest to a new sponsor?
No, but there is no need to perform a transfer. Any employee can send an invitation to any Gmail account (except @berkeley.edu accounts). If the original sponsor leaves or no longer wishes to manage the account, a new sponsor can simply send a new invitation to the same email address.
Can I convert my Sponsored Guest to another type of account?
No. Sponsored Guest accounts cannot be converted to, or combined with, other CalNet account types (such as Student or Employee accounts).
Can my guest use bCourses?
Yes, but there are specific timing requirements:
- Activation First: Your guest must successfully activate their Sponsored Guest Account before you add them to your course.
- Data Sync Delay: Due to the way bCourses retrieves CalNet data, you may need to wait six hours after your guest claims their account before you can add them to your bCourse.
Adding guests to bCourses falls under the purview of the bCourses support team. See the bCourses Help page for assistance.
Questions? Email calnet-admin@berkeley.edu for assistance.