2FA Required for Blackboard Effective April 5
On Tuesday, April 5, 2022, Information Technology Services (ITS) will enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for Blackboard, Mason’s learning management system. Once enabled, all users, including students, faculty, and staff, will be required to authenticate using 2FA with their Patriot Pass credentials when accessing Blackboard/myMason services, including Organizations and Courses.
The following information is intended to provide faculty, staff, and students with information about the upcoming expansion and changes to the Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) program at Mason.
Last Updated: March 22, 2022

Background
George Mason University remains committed to your security and keeping your information protected. One way we achieve this is by using Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) when accessing Mason systems.2FA and your Patriot Pass Password are #Better2gether.
As part of the final phase of the 2FA implementation, ITS will be Adding 2FA to Blackboard/myMason. Previous implementations are outlined in the Protected Systems section below.
Protected Systems
To best protect your personal information and Mason’s resources, 2FA will ultimately be used everywhere you use Mason Credentials (NetID and Patriot Pass Password). It is currently used for the following services as of the dates below:
- April 2022: Blackboard and related services
- June 2020: Office 365 email, calendar, OneDrive for Business, MS Teams; Zoom; and other applications that use Active Directory Federated Services (ADFS) for authentication. For more information about 2FA for Office 365, see 2FA for Office 365 Tips.
- March 2020: Salesforce, LinkedIn Learning, Qualtrics, and other applications that use Mason's Shibboleth authentication services
- April 2018: Patriot Web, Travel Request System, Parking Services, and other applications that use Mason’s Central Authentication Services (CAS)
- November 2016: Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Adding 2FA to Blackboard/myMason
Beginning April 5, 2022, all users accessing Blackboard services with their Patriot Pass credentials will need to use 2FA.
See the How to Use 2FA With Web Apps for information and instructions on how to use 2FA with Mason sites.
Frequently Asked Questions
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