SSO Setup Guides: Enforce SSO for Staff Access

After SSO (Single Sign-On) has been set up for your institution, staff members from your institution can choose to log-in to Handshake using SSO or their Handshake credentials. Handshake has added an option to enforce SSO log-in for staff members. This will remove the option to log-in with your Handshake credentials.

Reminder: You will need a staff account to configure SSO. Please reach out to your career services department to request an account with the role of “Manage SSO Settings.”

Click on your name in the upper-right corner of the screen and choose Institution Settings. Choose SSO Preferences from the left-hand side of the page.

Toggle the box, indicated with the text “Enforce SSO for institution staff access”. 

Staff members will only be able to sign in to Handshake using SSO after this box is checked. They will not see the option to log in using their Handshake credentials. 

Staff members will be able to sign in with either SSO or using their Handshake credentials if the box is not checked.

Note: After this setting is enabled, staff members who previously logged in with their Handshake credentials will not be automatically logged out. They will stay logged in for the next 36 hours before being asked to log in again, this time using SSO.

Important clarification: Staff members cannot create employer accounts associated with their staff account while SSO is being enforced. Associated employer accounts should be created before enforcing SSO. SSO enforcement must be toggled off if any staff member wishes to create an employer account associated with their staff account. Employer accounts that are already associated with staff accounts will be accessible despite the status of SSO enforcement. To learn more about creating an employer account associated with a staff account, please see Create an Employer Account Associated with Your Career Services Account