Registering as a "Coordinator" vs. a "User"

When completing a Secure Connection Registration form, you must first indicate whether you are registering as a "Coordinator" or a "User". The following information is provided to assist you in making this determination.

Coordinator

A coordinator is a system administrator that acts on behalf of one or more organizations identified by HUD as trusted business partners (e.g., owning entities, public housing authorities, inspection contractors, etc.). As a system administrator, a coordinator is responsible for controlling access to HUD's secure systems for the organization(s) he/she represents, and forwarding information sent electronically by HUD to the appropriate individuals in the organization. An organization's Chief Executive Officer (CEO)/Executive Director (ED) may serve as a coordinator, or she may designate another employee or a 3rd party (e.g., a certified public accountant, management agent, etc.). Regardless of who registers to be a coordinator, the organization's CEO/ED receives the "Coordinator" Secure Connection user ID via U.S. mail. By using a "Coordinator" Secure Connection user ID, or disclosing it to a person that registered for one, the CEO/ED agrees to the terms and conditions stated in the "Program Participant's Use Agreement Regarding Electronic Data Submissions for HUD Programs".

If a CEO/ED wishes to designate a coordinator who has already registered for a "Coordinator" Secure Connection user ID under another trusted business partner, he may do so by having the designee access HUD's secure systems, and request to be a coordinator for an additional trusted business partner. The CEO/ED will receive an "activation key" via U.S. mail. Upon disclosing the "activation key" to the designee, the CEO/ED is agreeing to the terms and conditions stated in the "Program Participant's Use Agreement Regarding Electronic Data Submissions for HUD Programs". The concept of the "activation key" enables coordinators to use one Secure Connection user ID for multiple trusted business partners under consistent system security procedures.

A trusted business partner must designate at least one coordinator if the organization is required to access HUD's secure systems. HUD recommends that each trusted business partner designate two coordinators, for backup purposes. No more than two coordinators may be designated for each trusted business partner.

User

A user is a CEO/ED, employee, or 3rd party that represents a HUD trusted business partner in terms of submitting and/or retrieving required program information via HUD's secure systems. If a person registers for a "User" Secure Connection user ID, she will be unable to perform coordinator functions (e.g., control system access). The coordinator for the trusted business partner under which the user registers provides the user with her Secure Connection user ID, and assigns the user access to the one or more HUD secure systems required to complete the user's responsibilities for the organization (e.g., submitting financial statement data). If a CEO/ED wishes to designate someone as a user who has already registered for a "User" Secure Connection user id under another trusted business partner, he may do so by having the designee request the appropriate system access from that trusted business partner's coordinator.

Coordinator and User

One person may be required to perform both coordinator and user functions for an organization. In this instance, the person must register for a "Coordinator" Secure Connection user id. A coordinator may assign herself the appropriate system access to complete her user responsibilities.

One person may be required to perform coordinator functions for one trusted business partner, and user functions for another. In this instance, the person must register for a "Coordinator" Secure Connection user id. The coordinator may use their Secure Connection user ID to perform system administration functions; however, he must request the required system access from the appropriate coordinator to complete his user responsibilities.