The OAC strongly discourages the use of administrative rights for routine computing tasks. However, we do recognize there are specific circumstances where the use of an administrative account is necessary for research purposes. The OAC will evaluate requests from researchers and grant a limited number of approvals on a case-by-case basis.
There are four primary reasons why the use of local administrative rights are not permitted:
- Prevent operating system changes that could damage or disrupt the use of their computer.
- Prevent viruses and malware from infecting the computer, causing severe damage.
- Help to mitigate against the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information.
- Enforce software licensing compliance. Prevent unauthorized installation of software products that are not approved for use on the network such as improperly configured remote access tools or pirated software.
When administrative rights are granted, we require the use of a separate administrative account and all commercially licensed research software applications (e.g., SAS, SPSS, MATLAB) must be be purchased.
Please submit a request using this form (requires UPMC login) to request local administrative rights for research workstations on the University of Pittsburgh network.
Be sure to include your computer name and justification in the request. The requestor must agree to use a separate administrative account and purchase commercial-licensed research software for their computer.