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University of Florida

Roles Description

Security Roles

Role-based security restricts access to resources to only those users who have been granted a particular security role. A security role is a set of rights associated with access to different functions in the system.

Security roles determine what menu items or task lists users see when they sign onto the myUFL portal, and what functions they can perform. Access levels can vary from having links on the myUFL menu, seeing certain pages, and seeing different things on these pages. For example, students have the “student” role and will see a Gator Tickets link in the myUFL menu whereas faculty and staff will not. Most roles will apply to functional tasks. Employees that are assigned a “payroll processor” role will see links to payroll functions in their myUFL Menu.

There are four types of roles used at the University of Florida. All role types share the same naming convention.

  • Basic user roles are automatically assigned based on one’s affiliation in the UF Identity Registry and provide basic access to UF systems. This includes access to services under My Self Service, such as Time Reporting. Departmental Security Administrators do not request these roles.
  • End user roles enable departmental staff to perform administrative tasks for a department. These are the most common roles and many do not require any review or approval.
  • Core user roles are those that are requested primarily for employees in the central administrative offices. This includes Contracts and Grants staff, Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, University Payroll Services, and the satellite offices at IFAS, Engineering and the Health Science Center.
  • UF IT roles are the roles that are assigned to UF IT staff for development, maintenance, and support of UF enterprise systems.


Each security role has an associated password policy. Each user also has a password policy, based on the individual’s security role(s) assigned to them. A user’s password policy dictates the rules related to their GatorLink password, such as how long it needs to be and how often it must be changed. If the user has different roles with different password policies, the “strongest” policy applies. You can find out more information about GatorLink Management on the GatorLink Management page.