Western Identity and Accessing your AQ Course

Your Western Identity is your UWO secure User ID and Password.  It is your key to accessing central services at Western (tax receipts, grades, statement of account, updates to personal information including name, address, phone/email), and is required to access your AQ course in OWL, Western’s Learning Management System. 

*Please Note: Your Western Identity, which includes your Western student number, secure user ID and password, is different from the login used to access your registration profile in the AQ Registration Portal , which requires an email address as the username and a selected password.

If you are new to Western, please see the steps below to activate your Western Identity.  If you are a previous Western student or have taken an AQ with Western before, you already have a secured login and password, you do not need to set up your Western Identity again.  If you have forgotten your information, please follow the Western Identity activation instructions below (under Yes).

Activating your Western Identity

Trying to Access your Course?

Have you previously completed an AQ or Braille Certificate course, taken an undergraduate or graduate course with Western or previously applied to the University?

NO

Follow these steps to retrieve your Western Student number and Access code required to activate your Western Identity.

  • Step 1: Obtain your Western Student Number: Log into the AQ Registration Portal
    • Enter the same Email and Password you used to create your registration profile. 
    • Click on your name in the top right-hand corner of the screen.  
    • Select Profile. 
    • Click on your name under the heading "Contact".
    • Scroll down and under Program Info you will see your 9-digit student number.
  • Step 2: Obtain access code: Go to: Student Services.
    • Submit OCT#, Western Student number (ID), Birthdate
  • Step 3: Go to Western Identity Manager
    • Enter Western Student number in the ID Number field and then the access code (obtained from steps above)
    • Accept the Acceptable Use Agreement
    • Set security answers
    • Set Password
    • Activate
    • Record your assigned ‘User ID’ *A confirmation page will appear upon completion of password reset. Please ensure to record BOTH your User ID and password.
    • Login will activate for use within 24 - 48 hours.

*Important: Please keep your login safe and secure, as you will need it to access future AQ courses and Western Student Centre where you view final grades, order transcripts, and obtain official tax receipts.  Your User ID is secured and cannot be provided by our office.  You will need to contact  Western Technology Services for assistance.

YES

Candidates can log in using their existing Western Identity User ID and password.

Forgot your student number?

  •  Obtain your Western Student Number: Log into the AQ Registration Portal
    • Enter the same Email and Password you used to create your registration profile.
    • Click on your name in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
    • Select Profile. 
    • Click on your name under the heading "Contact".
    • Scroll down and under Program Info you will see your 9-digit student number.

Forgot your access code?

    • Submit OCT#, Western Student number (ID), Birthdate
  •  Step 2: Go to Western Identity Manager Password Reset
    • Enter your Western Student number and access code
    • Set security answers
    • New password
    • Set password
  • Your login will re-activate for use within 24 hours.

Forgot your User ID?

  • If you do not know your User ID, you must contact Western Technology Services to obtain it. 

*Important: Please keep your login safe and secure, as you will need it to access future AQ courses and Western Student Centre where you view final grades, order transcripts, and obtain official tax receipts.  Your User ID is secured and cannot be provided by our office.  You will need to contact  Western Technology Services for assistance.

NOT SURE?

Follow these steps to retrieve your Western Student number and Access code required to activate your Western Identity.

  • Step 1: Obtain your Western Student Number: Log into the AQ Registration Portal
    • Enter the same Email and Password you used to create your registration profile.
    • Click on your name in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
    • Select Profile. 
    • Click on your name under the heading "Contact".
    • Scroll down and under Program Info you will see your 9-digit student number .
  • Step 2: Obtain access code: Go to Student Services.
    • Submit OCT#, Western Student number (ID), Birthdate
  • Step 3: Go to Western Identity Manager
    • Enter your Western Student number in the ID Number field and the access code (obtained from steps above)
    • If you get an error message, go to Error Message section below. If not, continue to the next step:
    • Accept the Acceptable Use Agreement
    • Set security answers
    • Set Password
    • Activate
  • Record your assigned ‘User ID’ *A confirmation page will appear upon completion of password reset. Please ensure to record BOTH your User ID and password.
  • Error Message: If you received an error message, reset Your Password HERE

If you do not know your User ID and one does not appear, you must contact Western Technology Services to obtain it. 

  • Your login will activate for use within 24 hours.

*Important: Please keep your login safe and secure, as you will need it to access the Student Centre where you view final grades, order transcripts, and obtain official tax receipts. Your User ID is secured and cannot be provided by our office.  You will need to contact  Western Technology Services for assistance.

Expectations and Evaluation

Courses are 125 hours in total, as required by the Ontario College of Teachers. They include 100 hours of online time where you will be participating in the discussion forums and working in groups on a collaborative inquiry project. The remaining 25 hours are allocated to readings and assignments or tasks. In the Summer this represents approximately 30-40 hours per week.

Western AQ courses are asynchronous. Our online courses are NOT “live”. All participation in the Forums is through posting. You can be online at any time of the day/night; however you MUST be online regularly and consistently to be successful in the course. If you register for the four week Summer session, you will be expected to be online and actively participating every day. This will be crucial for you to remain on top of the course and to complete all of the expectations in the required timeframe. You must participate and successfully complete EACH component of the course in order to pass.

 

Finding Your Online Course

* You will not have access to your course on the online learning platform OWL before the official start date.

Following is an overview on navigating through OWL.

Log in to OWL with your Western Identity user ID and password. Once logged in, you will be on the OWL landing page below.

Your course will activate online on its start date, at which time it will appear across the top with the course code. You can also go to your course by clicking on More Sites.

snapshot of what you will see when you login to owl

When you click on your course tab, or find your course under More Sites, you will see a variety of tabs on the left hand side. Please access each of these tabs to view information for your course.

Ensure to access your course syllabus within the Course Information tab to access important information including Western’s policies (i.e. medical and plagiarism), evaluation and rubrics, assignment and discussion expectations, etc.

Web Browser

The course site works best with Google Chrome or Firefox as your web browser.  Please note: ASPirE courses are not designed to be accessed from a phone. Tablet, laptop or desktop will be required.

Depending on the web browser you are using, you may need to change your security settings to enable mixed or unsafe content and/or always allow pop ups in order to be able to view links within the course.

Navigation of the Course Site

It is important to use the “Back”, “Next”, “Return to Lesson” and “Refresh” buttons within the course site. Please do not use the back button on the web browser.

Instructor Contact

If you have any problems, questions or concerns, email your instructor in the Messages tab.

Texts

Your course may or may not have a required textbook.

Most Western AQ courses use online resources. To verify if your course has a required textbook please access the Course Search tab on the AQ Registration Portal.

More Questions? Visit our Frequently Asked Questions.