NetID Utility - Troubleshooting Multiple LDAP Records
Publicly Visible Identifiers (PVIs)
When users are entered into source systems such as Workday, SIS, Special Authorizations (Spec Auth), etc. they are assigned a unique identifier referred to as a PVI (Public Visibility Identifier). If enough demographic information matches between two records with different PVIs they will linked with a new single PVI. Ideally, a person should only have one PVI which is linked to records from all source systems.
Unlinked Records
If a user is entered into two source systems and one or more of the individual records does not contain enough demographic information to merge, the user will have "unlinked" records with different PVIs. Below is an example of what you may see in the NetID Utility (LDAP data) when you encounter someone with unlinked records.
Note: The NetID Utility does not display records from other UW campuses and may not be useful for troubleshooting cases involving users external to UW Madison.
How does this problem affect users?
Workday Services: Users with unlinked records may not be able to access necessary HR resources. For example: Bucky Badger's NetID is linked to PVI A which is associated with his student record, but his Workday record is linked to PVI B. Therefore, his NetID (linked with PVI A) will not be associated to his Workday record (linked to PVI B). As a result, Bucky is unable to access the Workday module in MyUW.
Student Services: Users with unlinked records may not be able to access necessary student resources. For example: Bucky Badger's NetID is linked to PVI A which is associated with his Workday record, but his student record is linked to PVI B. Therefore, his NetID (linked with PVI A) will not be associated with his Workday record (linked to PVI B). As a result, Bucky is unable to access any of his student resources like Canvas, Student Center, Applications in MyUW, etc.
Fixing Unlinked Records
The most common reason for why a user's records are not linked is because of missing or incorrect data between the source systems in question.
The Linkcheck tool can be used to determine why a user's records are not linked. Instructions on using this tool can be found here: Using the Linkcheck Tool.
Please inform the user that they should not activate a second NetID regardless of any instructions they may receive to do so.
Please inform the user about the reason why their records are not linked and the next steps they would need to follow, as determined by the Linkcheck tool, in order to link their records.
Triaging Tickets
Undergraduate & Graduate Record: Sometimes, when a student comes back for a Grad program they are entered into SIS again and their old record doesn't sync with their new one. Escalate these tickets to the RO office so they can be made aware what data is disparate between the two entries and fix the issue.
Lifelong Learner (L3) & Student Record: Sometimes, when a student enrolls in the lifelong learner program (after having previously been a student) they are entered into SIS again and their old record doesn't sync with their new one. Escalate these tickets to the RO office so they can be made aware what data is disparate between the two entries and fix the issue.
Student & HR (Employment) Record: Sometimes, when an employee was previously a student or vice versa, the information entered into SIS and Workday don't match and their old record doesn't sync with their new one. Have the customer reach out to their local HR so they can be made aware what data is disparate between the two entries and fix the issue.
UW-Madison Special Population - Manifest: Follow Steps 1-3 on NetID - Activating Your Account and link accounts by clicking that they already have a NetID.
Other Situations: If none of the above situations apply, escalate it to the IAM team for additional troubleshooting.
For classifications, see NetID Account Management Handling Information.