[{"id":327,"date":"2024-10-22T15:13:32","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T20:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/it.tamus.edu\/uinmanager\/?page_id=327"},"modified":"2024-10-22T15:20:54","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T20:20:54","slug":"uin-identity-purpose-statement","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/it.tamus.edu\/uinmanager\/uin-identity-purpose-statement\/","title":{"rendered":"UIN Identity Purpose Statement"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Texas A&M University System Office of Information\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>
<\/span>Technology White Paper<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

Introduction<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

This paper defines the UIN digital identity as used by The Texas A&M University System and its member institutions and agencies, establishes what a UIN is and is not, and documents the UIN\u2019s role in identity and access management (IAM) within the A&M System.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For a brief primer on digital identity, see Appendix A.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Document History<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n
Author<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\nDate<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\nNotes<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Marc Moore<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n7\/10\/2024<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\nInitial version<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

UIN Definition<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The UIN is a system-controlled digital identity that plays a major role in individual and federated identity and access management across the A&M System.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UIN is the common acronym for Universal Identification Number at the A&M System. UINs were established in 2003 with the goal of uniquely identifying people in the system\u2019s technology systems, eliminating the use of the Social Security Number (SSN) as an identifier, and to provide improved privacy for individuals and better conformance with federal laws regarding use of the SSN.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UIN Systems<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The UIN Systems are a set of applications operated by The Texas A&M University System\u2019s Office of Information Technology (TAMUS OIT). The primary components of the UIN Services are the UIN Manager web application used by administrative personnel to create and manage UIN identities and attributes and the UIN Services REST APIs used by technology systems to create, manage, validate, and obtain UIN identities and attributes. The core of the UIN Systems is the UIN Master data store, a centralized database containing all UIN identities, attributes, and history.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UIN Format<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The UIN is a 9-character, fixed-length, alphanumeric field. To-date, all UINs issued are numeric, with 0 in the 4<\/span>th<\/span> and 5<\/span>th<\/span> positions in the string. As of July 2024, approximately 36% of possible numeric UINs have been issued.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The UIN is expected to remain in place as the A&M System\u2019s common identifier. Therefore, considering the current rate of consumption, TAMUS OIT expects to begin issuing UINs with alphabetic characters in positions 4 and 5 sometime after 2030.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What the UIN Is<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

A Human Identity\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

The UIN is an identity for internal users (employees) and external users (retirees, terminated employees, customers, consultants, vendors, and partners). A UIN is established by the assertion, validation, and acceptance of other intrinsic and assigned attributes. Some of these may be \u201cproven\u201d by physical identity documents such as a Social Security card or birth certificate.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

UIN Attributes<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

The primary data attributes of the UIN are:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n