Special Purpose Accounts (SPA) Overview
What is a Special Purpose Account (SPA) and Who Owns it?
Special Purpose Accounts (SPAs) are functional CalNet IDs intended for collaboration and sharing. A SPA can have its own bConnected Google address and a Box account.
Ownership: SPAs, their contents, data, and the shared email account are owned by the institution and the primary department of the employee who creates the SPA. Department managers have the authority to modify membership, manage content, or disable a SPA at any time. To transfer a SPA to a different department, managers can email calnet-admin@berkeley.edu.
Creation and Management
SPAs are created and managed via the SPA Admin App. You can manage any SPA for which you are a Direct Member through this application.
- Changing Display Names: To change how your SPA name appears in the directory, follow the instructions in KB0015446.
Sharing and Collaboration (bMail)
There are two primary ways to share access to a SPA and its resources:
- Direct Membership: Add users to the SPA management group. See Managing SPA Membership in CalGroups (KB0015444).
- Email Delegation: Delegate access to the SPA-affiliated bMail account without making the user a full member. See Managing SPA-Affiliated bMail Accounts (KB0015445).
Technical Details: UIDs and LDAP
How to find the UID of a SPA account
- Go to calgroups.berkeley.edu.
- Search for the spa-name.
- Click on the SP_Account-name entry. The Unique ID (UID) will be displayed at the top of the page.
LDAP Representation
For technical details on how SPAs are structured within the directory, see: People OU - SPA LDAP Attributes (KB0015289).
Deletion Policy
SPAs cannot be deleted by users at this time. If your department no longer needs a SPA, you should "decommission" it by performing the following:
- Remove all delegated access from the bMail account.
- Remove all Direct Members via CalGroups.
- Email calnet-admin@berkeley.edu to request that the account be marked for future deletion.
Contact Us
- Self-Service: Use the Special Purpose Accounts Admin App to create accounts.
- Support: For technical questions or assistance, contact itcsshelp@berkeley.edu.