How Can I Join?

Registration Policy

The Commons is open to the CUNY community.

To  become a member of the Commons or invite someone else to become a member of the Commons, that potential member must have an email domain the ends in “cuny.edu” or “cuny.tv.”   For instructions on how to send an email invitation see Invite Others to Groups and Sites.

There are exceptions to this rule.  For example, alumni who no longer have a CUNY email address, non-CUNY colleagues collaborating on Commons projects, and visiting professors will be given special access codes to register and become members.  Please contact us to apply for an access code.

How To Become A Member
To register an account on the CUNY Academic Commons, follow this link or click on “Register” button link on the CUNY Academic Commons home page. See screenshot below:

An active CUNY e-mail address is normally required to register for the Commons. However, if you have been given a separate signup code, it is possible to register with a non-CUNY email address.

When you click on Resgister, you will see this screen:

Note that many of the required fields have a question mark (“?”) above the text box. These are called tool tips. Click to find further information on the particular field.

You only need to provide a little information in order to register.

User Name – required

You will use either this or your e-mail address to login to the Commons.  Your username will be publicly visible by all visitors. Commons members will also be able to use it to send quick notes (aka “mentions”) to you.

Usernames must contain at least 4 characters and must begin with a letter. Only lowercase letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9) are allowed – no spaces or special characters.

Campus Email address – required

Please user your campus email address (e.g. name@brooklyn.cuny.edu) NOT the CUNYFirst web login (e.g. name@login.cuny.edu).

Need to register for a Commons account but don’t have a CUNY email address?

Contact commonshelpsite@gmail.com to request a registration code.

This can be changed later.

Password – required 

Please use a strong password that is unique to your Commons account. For more information, read our best practices for creating passwords.

Hint: The password should be at least twelve characters long. To make it stronger, use upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols like ! ” ? $ % ^ & ).

Password can always be changed later. You can use the (very secure) password we provide or change it.

Full Name – required

For privacy concerns, this does not need to be your real name. The Commons also offers a way not use this field in favor of “Display Name.”

Pronouns – optional

Pick the pronouns you want to use – she/her, he/him, they/them, etc.

One Line Bio – optional

A brief statement describing your interests or goals to help others with similar interests connect with you

College – required

Choose from a list of CUNY Colleges or pick Non-CUNY. Multiple campuses are allowed.

Role – required

Faculty, student, grad student, alumnus/a, postdoc, other … Multiple roles are allowed.

Avatar – optional

Uploading a photo or image to identify you has been proven to lead to richer Commons connections. If you do not add one, we will use a default avatar. You can always add or change your avatar later.

Terms of Service

Please read our Terms of Service and check the box to agree, continue on to register.

Completing Your Registration

Once you have filled out the fields above, you click on “Complete Sign Up.” Correct any errors that are flagged or if you have filled out the required fields correctly, you’ll see a confirmation page like the page on the right.

Activating Your Account

The Commons will send you an email to activate your account. Click on the URL provided to finalize your registration. There you will  see a page that says “Activate Your Account”, with a prepopulated activation key (a string of letters and numbers) and an “Activate” button below. Do not change the key – just press the activate button.

If you don’t see the activation email, please check your junk email folder.

When you click the Activation Link, you will be taken to the Commons Login Page. Enter your credentials and you are now a member of the Commons!  The first page (see below) contains a number of ideas for getting the most out of the Commons. Take a minute to browse through it before moving on.