Single Sign-On (SSO): The Consumer SSO Experience
Problem
When introducing Single Sign-On (SSO) to your consumer journey, it is important to ensure that students and faculty can use their university credentials seamlessly, prevent duplicate records, and support IT compliance. Without a carefully designed process (especially for new joiners), there is a risk of confusion and duplicate accounts, and the consumer experience may suffer.
This article explains the consumer journey during SSO workflows and outlines why deep links are strongly recommended.
Resolution
Direct Users Appropriately:
- Students and faculty should be directed to the University login via SSO.
- Public consumers should continue using the standard online joining journey.
Use Deep Links on Your Website:
- Implement deep links so that users are sent directly to the correct pathway for their profile type.
- Deep links automatically create accounts for Microsoft Entra users during their first login—no need to preload their data.
- Deep links ensure:
- Mandatory login where required.
- Users are guided straight to SSO or the standard journey as appropriate.
- Public memberships/cohorts remain unaffected.
Generating SSO Deep Links:
- Follow the process detailed in the Gladstone Deep Link knowledge base article.
- After selecting "Generate Link," choose the option "SSO login required" to create links that enforce SSO login.
Risks of Not Using Deep Links:
- Without deep links, students might use a personal email to sign up, bypassing SSO and creating duplicate accounts.
- This increases compliance risks and data integrity issues.
- Consumer experience is less streamlined, and login issues may increase.
Handling SSO with MobilePro:
- SSO is not currently available in MobilePro or other 3rd party applications.
- MobilePro users will need to use the standard username and password to authenticate.
- If a student or faculty member uses SSO in Gladstone Go for the first time and does not have a member record, they will receive a configurable email introducing MobilePro and prompting them to create a login.
- If the student or faculty already has a record, they should use the reset password flow for MobilePro access.
Notes
- Go Join still performs duplicate checks even if deep links are not used. If a university email is entered, the system will prompt for SSO login.
- Deep links help enforce IT compliance by making sure accounts are created in accordance with university security policies.
- For more information about emails sent to auto-provisioned students and faculty, refer to the relevant Gladstone knowledge base article.
- Deep links are highly recommended to achieve the full benefits of SSO and avoid potential issues with duplicate accounts and user experience.