As a faculty or staff member at USC Aiken, you will encounter many different computers, systems, software packages and websites; each of these may have their own username and password. Keeping up with the correct account information for each can be very confusing.
To make things as easy as possible, USC Aiken has worked hard to ensure that all resources provided directly from the USCA campus use your standard USCA Network Username and Password. These include: all campus computers, email, Office 365, VPN access, shared folders, local servers/websites and network resources.
A few other systems, which many faculty and staff use, are actually located on the main USC campus in Columbia. These do not use your USCA Network account information. Access for SSC and Blackboard, the two main USC systems, are explained in their relevant links on the menu to the left.
Other accounts you may encounter include DARS, 25Live, EMAS, etc. Please see your admin or supervisor for specific access information when needed.
If you have questions about any of your accounts, the first place to look for information is the login page for those accounts. Most will have helpful links and information, including the option to reset password automatically.
To set or reset your Pacer Account password, go to: http://reset.usca.edu.
Your Pacer Account Username will be the portion of your email address before the @-symbol.
For example, if your @usca.edu email address is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., then you'd enter JoeSomebody as your Pacer Account username.
When prompted for your Old Password, enter the temporary password you received on your account information form from the Help Desk.
Now choose your New Password. Be sure to follow the password requirements as listed on the page.
Passwords work best when they begin with a letter not a number.
If you've previously setup your Pacer Account and now you can't login, you'll need to call or visit the Help Desk.
Visit the Help Desk in person with a valid USCA ID and we'll let you set your password on the spot.
Call in, email or visit without your USCA ID and we'll have to reset your account to a temporary password. You'll then need to change it to something unique the next time you log into a campus computer.
Self Service Carolina (SSC)
SSC is used for administrative tasks such as registration, financial aid, housing, and grades. SSC is also where you setup your USC Network Account which is used to log into Blackboard for online courses and off campus access to Library journals.
To setup SSC for the first time, please follow the instructions found at this page: https://my.sc.edu/vipid/
Once you have your SSC account setup, you can log into SSC by going to http://my.usca.edu/ and clicking the "Self Service Carolina" link on the left side of the page under "Links".
Multifactor Authentication (MFA) is now required on some systems!
Many systems based on the Columbia campus, such as my.sc.edu, Self-Service Carolina (SSC) and others began requiring MFA for access.
Blackboard is where you'll do all online course work takes place.
You log into Blackboard using your USC Network Username and Password.
Be sure to remember your USC Network Username and Password since it may be different than your USCA Network/PacerStudent account.
Many internal email messages generated automatically by Columbia based systems are directed to an email address established for you by the Columbia campus. This is not your official USCA email address. Messages to the email address created by Columbia will not automatically be forwarded to your official USCA address. As a result, you may miss important and sometimes time-sensitive messages.
To work around this, you can sign into the Columbia email address account and manually create a forwarding rule. This is a simple process and one that takes only three or four minutes. Once this is done, you'll no longer have to worry about missing important messages mistakenly sent to the Columbia account.
Go to: https://webmail.sc.edu/
Sign in with your USC Network Username and Password. This is the same username and password used to sign into Blackboard. If you don't know this username or password, or need to reset it, please follow the instructions here: https://www.usca.edu/help-desk/faculty-and-staff/accounts-and-passwords/blackboard-account.dot?
Click Options in the upper-right side of the Outlook Web App screen.
Click "Create an Inbox Rule..."
Select "Apply to all messages" from the dropdown menu under "When the message arrives".
Select "Redirect the message to..." from the dropdown menu under "Do the following".
Enter your full USCA email address in the field at the bottom of the Address Book window in the To -> field.
Click OK.
You'll now see a rule similar to the one shown here. Ensure your correct USCA email address shown.
Click Save.
Click Yes when promoted with "Do you want this rule to apply to all future messages?"
You'll now see the new rule listed which you just created.
Click Sign Out in the upper-right of the screen to end the session.
All future messages to the Columbia email account will now be forwarded to your official USCA email address.
Connecting a mobile device to your USC Aiken Email account is fairly simple. We've included basic instructions below. If you run into any issues, please bring your device to the Help Desk. We're happy to walk through the setup process with you.
Setup an iOS device
Setup an Android device
Setup for Windows Phone
Help for Issues
If you run into any issues setting up your device, you may want to check Microsoft's help site for instructions specific to your device. You'll find those on the Office Web App Help page.
The Help Desk suggests using the BCC field to ensure no one accidentally does a ‘Reply All’ to messages sent to distribution lists.
Enter the distribution list’s address in the BCC field instead of the TO field or your email. Then, even if someone accidentally, or purposely, clicks the “Reply All” button, the message will only go the original message’s sender. It’s an easy and foolproof way to stop the dreaded “Reply All”.
How Do I Add the BCC Field?You’ll first need to add the BCC field to your preferred email client…
Office 365 Outlook web app
To setup and use the BCC field in the Office 365 Outlook web app:
Outlook 2016 for Mac
Instructions to setup and use the BCC field in Outlook 2016 for Mac
Outlook 2013/2016 for Windows
Instructions to setup and use the BCC field in the Outlook 2013 or 2016 for Windows
NEVER open an attachment with an extension of EXE or ZIP, without first contacting the sender to ensure that they did in fact send you the attached file.
Many viruses are spread by using these file types.
For this reason these file types are automatically stripped from emails going to or coming from your USC Aiken email address.