Frequently asked questions

How can I find out my WatIAM username?

Your username for the E-Community is your WatIAM userusername. Read the “Forgotten username” info on the WatIAM Page.

How can I find out my WatIAM password?

Your password for the E-Community is your WatIAM password. Read the “Forgotten password” info on the WatIAM Page.

How do I change my password?

To change your password, read the “Change your password” info on the WatIAM Page.

How do I change my WatIAM username?

Sorry, you cannot change your WatIAM username.

I know my WatIAM username and password, but I just can’t log in.

If you are trying to log in to E-Community:
If you have newly set up your WatIAM account (alumni prior to 2000 did not have WatIAM accounts when they were students), please wait 24 hours and then try to log in again. If you haven't newly set up a WatIAM account and you can't log in, please contact the IST Service Desk for assistance - include your full name, student number and WatIAM username.

If you are having difficulty logging in to WatIAM, or retrieving your WatIAM username or password:
Please contact the IST Service Desk, describing the problem in detail, and include your full name and student number (and WatIAM username if you know it).

How do I unlock my WatIAM account?

If you have been locked out of your WatIAm account, please contact the IST Service Desk for assistance - include your full name, student number and WatIAM username. Be prepared to answer a variety of questions to confirm your identity and you will need to set up two-factor authentication if you haven't already done so.

Do I still have an @uwaterloo.ca email address?

Yes, after graduation alumni continue to have access to WatIAM and their @uwaterloo.ca email services.

Your @uwaterloo.ca email address is based on your WatIAM username (username@uwaterloo.ca). Alumni who convocated after 2000 will already have a WatIAM account and email address. Alumni who convocated in or before 2000 who want this service must do a one-time WatIAM account activaition to get an @uwaterloo.ca email address. You have some "friendly" email address options as well as username@uwaterloo.ca; those options are listed in your WatIAM account. Log into WatIAM, choose Update Profile, and then the Email Configuration tab.

You receive email sent to your email address (or if you use it for forwarding email you control the destination for it) via a UWaterloo Microsoft 365 account. For information, visit the IST Knowledge Base webpage for Alumni Email. If you still have questions or need assistance, email the IST Service Desk.

At one time in the past, alumni were offered @alumni.uwaterloo.ca email addresses, and some of those were grandfathered. If yours was grandfathered (i.e. is still available for you to use), it will be listed on your E-Community Profile. You receive email sent to it (or if you use it for forwarding email you control the destination for it) through your UWaterloo Microsoft 365 account. For information, visit the IST Knowledge Base webpage for Alumni Email. If you still have questions or need assistance, email the IST Service Desk.

What do I do if my email isn't working?

Please contact the IST Help Desk, and include your full name, your uwaterloo email address, your student number, and explain the problem you are having in as much detail as possible. The more info you can provide, the easier it will be to assist you.

My name is misspelled on the directory. How can I change it?

Please email the proper spelling of your name to us, and include your student number.

My preferred name or nickname is not included on the E-Community and everyone knew me by that name. How can I add it?

When you log in to the E-Community, select "My profile" from the left menu. When you edit your profile, there will be a field asking for a preferred name. When you enter your preferred name in that field and submit the changes to your profile, our team will be notified and will update your profile. (Note: It may take a few days to update your profile.)

My married name shows up in the directory, but my classmates know me by my maiden name. How can I change this?

Please email us both your married and maiden names, as well as your student number. We will add them to your profile so anyone doing a search will be able to find you by either your married or maiden name.

I found my friends in the alumni directory. How do I contact them?

Click on their name, and the page will show you any information that they have made viewable to other alumni. If they have posted contact information, you can simply go ahead and contact them directly.

If they have not posted any contact information, you can use the "Contact this alumnus" function.  If they have an email address on their E-Community profile and have allowed other alumni to contact them through the E-Community, any message you send through this function will be emailed to them (you do not see their email address), along with the contact information you provide. Otherwise, your message will automatically go to Alumni Relations, and we will attempt to send them your message on your behalf, if they have an email address in our records outside of the E-Community.

Due to privacy, we will not release any of their contact information to you - you can only contact alumni directly if they've made their contact information public on their profile (i.e. viewable in the directory) or opted to allow messages through the E-Community.

Why do I have to click on the name of a person to see if they’ve posted any contact information in the directory? Why doesn’t contact information that alumni have allowed to show just display right below the name for all records?

Having to click down into each record separately helps us ensure your privacy. We do not want people to be able to simply obtain a list of all information alumni have made available in the directory. The Alumni E-Community Terms and Conditions specify that contact information is not to be used to solicit or spam alumni; it’s shared to help friends stay in touch.

Couldn't find the question/answer you were looking for?

Please email the details to us and we will reply as soon as possible.