The first time you log into your CWSL Office 365 account you will need to provide some account recovery information. You will be prompted to enter either an external (non-CWSL) email address or a mobile phone number on which you can receive SMS text messages.  It does this to enable the self-service password recovery feature of Office 365. Once this information is added to your Office 365 account you will never need to contact IT again in the event you forget your password.  


Let's demonstrate:


  1. Browse to the CWSL Office 365 portal: go.cwsl.edu

  2. Enter your full CWSL login username (your userID including the @cwsl.edu), then click Next:




  3. Enter your CWSL password, then click Sign in:




  4. Click Next. You'll then be prompted for your alternate access information.
    (NOTE: if you don't see the screen just below, but you see the "Stay signed in?" screen of Step 6, you must have already logged into Office 365 at least once before. In that case you are done!)
  5. On the following screen, set up at least one of the two alternate contact options. The alternate contact options are either a personal mobile phone number or a personal (non-CWSL) email address. Click "Set it up now" next . This is how Office 365 will confirm it's you if you forget your password and perform a self-service password reset. You'll give it either your mobile phone number or an external email address (like a Gmail address), or you can give it both. That is typically the safest option. After providing at least one option, click Finish.




  6. Click Yes





  7. When you get to the screen that looks like this, you're done. You have logged into Office 365 for the first time! You won't be asked for the alternate contact information again.



If you have any questions or difficulties with this, please send an email to HelpDesk@cwsl.edu