In ACORN’s Profile & Settings area, there is a Personal Information card with information that U of T has on file for you. This includes your:

• Preferred, record and legal names
• Legal status and country of citizenship
• Gender
• UTORid
• Student Number

Changing your personal information

• Names: The University Registrar’s Office website has information about what your preferred, record and legal names are, and how to add or change them.
• Legal status and country of citizenship: You verify these with the TCard office as part of the process of starting your studies at U of T and getting your TCard and UTORid.
• Gender: You can change this by submitting a form provided by the University Registrar’s Office to your divisional registrar.
• UTORid: This cannot be changed. You can verify your UTORid as part of the process for verifying your legal status and country of citizenship with the TCard office. After submitting photo documentation to them, you will receive an email with an activation key that you can use to activate your UTORid.
• Student Number: This cannot be changed.

This is what your Profile page may look like when you have not added or activated several of pieces of your personal information.

This is what your Profile page may look like when you have added and activated all necessary pieces of your profile information.

ACORN allows you to enter two types of contacts on the Emergency Contacts page: an emergency contact, and a next of kin contact. These contacts should be different people. We recommend adding both so that there are multiple people that U of T is able to contact in an emergency. However, entering a next of kin contact is optional.

An emergency contact should be a close friend or family member who lives locally. They will be contacted in case you are involved in an emergency.

A next of kin should be a living relative of yours who you trust. They will be contacted if you are involved in a tragic incident. If you do not have one, your emergency contact would be contacted instead.

To add or edit your emergency contacts, go to ACORN’s Profile and Settings page.

Adding and Editing Emergency Contacts

The process of adding an Emergency Contact and a Next of Kin contact is exactly the same. The screenshots in this how-to article highlight the Emergency Contact form. The Next of Kin Contact form works the same way.

1. On the Emergency Contacts tab on the Profile & Settings page, select the Add Emergency Contact button to add your emergency contact. If you already have a contact, you will be able to edit their information instead.
   
2. There are four steps to adding your emergency contact. For the first step, add their first name, their surname and select an option from the list that represents what their relationship is to you. Next, select Continue.
   
3. In the second step, add at least one phone number that a staff member at U of T could use to reach your contact in case of an emergency. You do not need to add all three numbers. When entering phone numbers, please follow the provided format which uses hyphens between each set of digits.If you add your contact’s work number, including an extension is optional. Once you’ve added at least one number, select Continue.
   
4. In the third step, add your emergency contact’s address. ACORN asks for the country, mailing address, city, province and postal code. Note that there is no Address Line 2 field available in this form, unlike in the Address form for your own address. Canada is the selected country by default. If you select U.S.A, you will be able to enter a State and a ZIP Code. If you select any country other than Canada and U.S.A, you will be able to enter a Province, State or Region, and adding a Postal or ZIP Code will be optional. When you’re ready, select Continue to move on.
   
5. In the fourth and final step, review the information you provided about your emergency contact and ensure that it is correct. To change anything, you can go back to the previous steps through the step list at the top, or by selecting “Previous”. If the information looks correct, save it.
   
6. After saving, you will be taken back to your profile and a success message will display. You can edit your emergency contact’s information at any time by selecting the Edit Emergency Contact button.
   
   
7. On the Edit Emergency Contact page, the information you previously entered will be available to edit.
   

Emergency Contact Errors

ACORN may tell you about errors that need to be resolved before saving your contact. If you encounter an error, a list of what went wrong will appear at the top of the form. These are examples of errors that you might encounter: 

• Required fields were left empty. If a field has an asterisk (*) next to it, it is mandatory. If it has the words (optional) next to it, it is optional. On the Phone Numbers step, it is mandatory to add at least one number, but adding all three is not mandatory.
• Information entered was too long. In this case, ACORN will tell you the maximum number of characters to enter.
• Phone numbers or postal codes are in an incorrect format. For each field that has particular formatting requirements, an example of the correct format is presented above it to guide you. 
• Unsupported text characters are added. Certain characters cannot be added to ACORN, such as accented characters. The error message will tell you which ones are allowed.
  

If you plan on working, accessing government programs and benefits or filing a Canadian tax return, you will need to add your Social Insurance Number (SIN) or Individual Tax Number (ITN) to ACORN.

U of T asks for this number because your SIN or ITN needs to appear on the tax forms that the university provides to you. If you are not eligible or required to file a Canadian tax return, then you also do not need to enter your SIN or ITN. Visit the Student Accounts website to learn more about the SIN, ITN, and who needs to add one to ACORN.

1. If you have determined that you need to add your SIN or ITN to ACORN, first go to the Profile and Settings page.
   
2. On the Profile tab within the Profile & Settings page, go to the Social Insurance Number (SIN) card. If you have already added a SIN or ITN to ACORN, the last three digits will be displayed. If you have not, you will see “None”. The full number will not be displayed in ACORN after you save it in order to protect your privacy. To add a SIN or ITN for the first time, select the Add SIN or ITN button.
   
3. On the next page, you can enter your SIN or ITN. Even if you entered one previously, you will need to re-enter it. Your SIN or ITN should be nine digits long. You do not need to add spaces or hyphens.
   
4. After saving, you will be taken back to your profile and a success message will display. You can edit your SIN or ITN at any time by selecting the Edit SIN or ITN button.
   
   

SIN or ITN Errors

ACORN may tell you about errors that need to be resolved before saving your SIN or ITN. If you encounter an error, the issue will appear at the top of the form. These are examples of errors that you might encounter: 

• The SIN or ITN field was left empty. If you try to save without adding a SIN or ITN, ACORN will not let you.
• The SIN or ITN entered is not valid. There may be a typo, so please check that you entered the number correctly.
• If you encounter any other errors, please reach out to your registrar for assistance.

ACORN asks for your official U of T email address so that official correspondence from the university will reach you. You will receive a U of T email address after activating your UTORid and UTMail+ account. Visit the TCard Office website for more information about this process. Once you have your email, you can monitor your UTMail+ inbox.

Once you get your official email address, it should automatically appear in your ACORN profile. In most cases, you should not need to manually update your email address within ACORN. However, you may want to update your email to reflect your alumni email address once you graduate, or to reflect a departmental email if you have one.

1. To check or update the email address currently saved to ACORN, first go to the Profile and Settings page.
   
2. You can view your email address on the Profile tab of the Profile & Settings page. Please ensure that it matches your official email that is used within your UTMail+ inbox. If it is incorrect, select the Edit Email Address button.
   
3. On the Edit page, you can correct your email address. Please ensure that the email ends in mail.utoronto.ca, utoronto.ca or toronto.edu. You cannot currently add non-U of T email addresses to ACORN.
4. After saving, you will be taken back to your profile and a success message will display. You can edit your email address at any time by selecting the Edit Email Address button.
   

Email Address Errors

ACORN may tell you about errors that need to be resolved before saving your email. If you encounter an error, the issue will appear at the top of the form. These are examples of errors that you might encounter: 

• The email address field is left empty. Having your official email address saved to ACORN is mandatory.
• You entered an email address that does not end in utoronto.ca or toronto.edu. There may be a typo, or you may have entered a non-U of T email address.
• The email address entered is too long.
• Unsupported text characters are added. Certain characters cannot be added to ACORN. The error message will tell you which ones are allowed. For email addresses, only letters from a to z, periods and one @ symbol is allowed.

In this example, there is a typo. The email address is missing the “.ca” at the end.

The Profile Checklist is a list of to-do items on your ACORN Dashboard that tracks the status of personal information that U of T has on file for you. Keeping your profile up to date ensures that U of T can contact you with important information and reach you in an emergency. There are critical items that you must complete and important items that are optional, such as adding direct deposit info so that you get refunds on time. 

An example of a profile checklist with most items incomplete

Once you fully complete your checklist, the items will go away. If you move or your personal information changes, please update it in ACORN so that the university can reach you.

Your Critical To-dos

Your critical to-dos are to fill out your mailing and permanent address, primary phone number, emergency contact and complete the Student Equity Census. These can be done in ACORN’s Profile & Settings area. U of T needs this personal information to reach you with official communications or in case of an emergency. 

The census is crucial as it ensures that U of T can prioritize its commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. Visit the Student Equity Census Dashboard to learn more and see the data collected.

ACORN will display a deadline by which you need to complete your critical to-dos. This deadline is written in your Profile Checklist and in a message near the top of every ACORN page. If you haven’t completed your critical to-dos before the deadline, certain areas within ACORN such as your courses, timetable and academic history will become unavailable. Please complete your critical to-dos as soon as you can to avoid this.

You will always be able to reach the Need Help, Health & Wellness, Accessibility & Equity, Absence Declaration and Accommodated Testing Services areas.

If the deadline passes and you still have incomplete critical to-dos, several places in ACORN will be unavailable until you complete your critical to-dos in the checklist.

Your Important To-dos

These important to-dos involve verifying your legal status, activating your UTORid, picking up your TCard, adding direct deposit information. You may also want to add your SIN or ITN if you plan on working, doing Canadian taxes or accessing government benefits. 

These to-dos are not mandatory, and will not make any areas of ACORN unavailable if you do not complete them. However, several of them are part of the process that every student goes through to get their TCard, UTORid and UTMail+ email account. Adding your direct deposit information will also ensure that you get refunds faster from U of T.

Troubleshooting

• If you completed an important to-do but it is not showing as complete, please try visiting ACORN the next day, and then log out and in again.
• If you need help with your checklist or profile information, please reach out to your divisional registrar.