Accessing Services via InCommon Federation with OneVU (Vanderbilt University)

The InCommon Federation is a secure, trusted identity management framework that enables Vanderbilt University faculty, staff, and students to access a wide range of academic and research services using their existing Vanderbilt credentials through OneVU. This article explains what InCommon Federation is and how you can use your Vanderbilt VUnetID and OneVU login to access participating services. 
 

The InCommon Federation connects U.S. colleges, universities, government agencies, and research organizations to support secure access to web-based services. It allows users from participating institutions to authenticate using their institutional login (VUnetID and password) without needing to create or manage separate credentials for each service. 

Common services that use InCommon Federation include: 

• National Science Foundation (NSF) portals 

• NIH eRA Commons 

• Library databases and academic journals 

• Eduroam and other collaboration platforms 

For a full list of participating institutions please visit, InCommon Federation Overview: https://www.incommon.org/federation 

Vanderbilt University is a member of the InCommon Federation. When you visit a service that supports InCommon, you’ll be able to: 

1. Select Vanderbilt University (OneVU) as your institution. 

2. Be redirected to the familiar OneVU login page. 

3. Authenticate using your VUnetID and password. 

4. Be securely signed into the external service without creating a new account. 
    

1. Go to the external service website (e.g., NSF, NIH, or other academic portal). 

2. Look for a login option like “Institutional Login” or “Log in via Vanderbilt University (OneVU)." 

3. From the list or search box, select Vanderbilt University (OneVU). 

4. You’ll be redirected to the Vanderbilt OneVU (Okta) login page. 

5. Enter your VUnetID and password, and complete multi-factor authentication (MFA) if prompted. 

6. You’ll be logged in and redirected back to the original service. 
    

If you are unable to log in to a service using InCommon and your Vanderbilt credentials: 

• Ensure you are selecting Vanderbilt University (OneVU) as your institution. 

• Clear your browser cache or try a different browser. 

• Confirm your VUnetID and password are working by logging into OneVU directly at https://onevu.vanderbilt.edu. 

• Visit VUIT Support for assistance. 
   

For additional information, please visit the FAQs page of the OneVU website at https://www.vanderbilt.edu/cybersecurity/services/onevu/onevu-training-faqs/