University of Florida: External User Authentication for Continuing Education

Cirrus Customer Success
Last updated August 20, 2026

Summary

How UF Solved the Single-IdP Problem for Destiny One: No Custom Identity Layer Required.

The University of Florida uses Cirrus Proxy as a single authentication layer for Modern Campus Destiny One, serving both institutional users with GatorLink credentials and external learners using Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, or a UF-branded email and password. Over a 12-month period UF processed 478,000 proxy authentications and generated fewer than 10 user support tickets.

 

Products

ManagedID-blue-white  UF-branded email-and-password credential option for users who cannot or prefer not to use social sign-in. 
Proxy-blue-wht Configurable discovery screen supporting GatorLink IdP and personal account options. Acts as the single authentication source for Destiny One.
Gateway-blue-wht  Social and personal provider sign-in for users authenticating with Google, Microsoft, or LinkedIn credentials. 

 

Key Metrics

478,000

proxy authentications processed in 12 months (September 2024 through August 2025)

< 10

user support tickets generated by users with login issues in the same period.

The Challenge

The University of Florida has been a Cirrus Identity customer since 2018, originally using Cirrus Proxy and Gateway to support personal account access for a custom professional development application. When UF expanded to Modern Campus Destiny One in 2021, they hit a constraint that many institutions encounter when adopting continuing education platforms: Destiny One integrates with one identity provider.

That single-IdP limitation meant UF needed one authentication layer that could serve their full population. Enrolled students and faculty with GatorLink accounts, alongside external learners using personal Google, Microsoft, or LinkedIn credentials. The solution also needed account linking to maintain persistent identifiers for users whose access might span multiple sessions, systems, or years.

Without a managed proxy, UF would have had to either restrict Destiny One access to institutional users only (cutting off external learners) or stand up a custom identity layer to handle the credential variety (an operational burden no IT team wants to carry).

Goals

Serve both institutional and external users through a single authentication layer for Modern Campus Destiny One.
Let external learners sign in with credentials they already have, rather than provisioning new institutional accounts.
Maintain persistent identity records across credential changes through account linking.
Reduce ongoing operational burden by using a fully managed cloud-hosted solution.

How Cirrus Helped

Cirrus Proxy became the single authentication source that Destiny One required. From the application's perspective, there is one IdP. From the user's perspective, they see a clear discovery screen: GatorLink for those who have it, and social sign-in options for those who don't.

Behind that screen, Cirrus Managed Identity holds a persistent identity record for each external user. A stable UFID is allocated when the user is determined to be unique and linked to the UF Identity Registry. When an external learner signs in with Google one semester and Microsoft the next, they're recognized as the same person. Their record persists. The application receives consistent attributes.

After approximately two years of operation, UF added Cirrus OrgBrandedID as a third sign-in option: a UF-branded email-and-password credential for users who can't or prefer not to use social sign-in. UF was able to add this option without Cirrus customer support involvement. The configuration was managed directly in the Cirrus console.

Impact

478,000 proxy authentications processed in 12 months (September 2024 through August 2025)

Fewer than 10 user support tickets generated by users with login issues in the same period.

Authentication source distribution over the period: roughly 43% GatorLink, 47% Google/Microsoft/LinkedIn, 10% OrgBrandedID. 

Single authentication layer for Destiny One serving both institutional and external users from one configuration. 

Effectively zero support burden with fewer than 10 tickets across nearly half a million authentications. 

Active Expansion to additional applications where non-UF affiliated users need access.

 

Customer Perspective

 "Availability and reliability of authentication systems are paramount for the University of Florida. The Cirrus implementation has given us confidence that users can access what they need with minimal friction and very little operational overhead." 

 Mehdi Ramdane Associate Director, Information Technology, University of Florida

 

University of Florida
 
The University of Florida is a major, public, comprehensive, land-grant, research university. The state's oldest, largest, and most comprehensive university, UF is among the nation's most academically diverse public universities. UF has a long history of established programs in international education, research, and service.
 
60,000+
Students		 16
Colleges		 200+
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