JHU inCircle Frequently Asked Questions

About JHU inCircle

What is JHU inCircle?

JHU inCircle is the Alumni Association's new social and networking service that can be accessed by alumni, current students, and faculty. It is a secure social online community that allows you to connect with friends and colleagues based on shared interests, profession, location and more. Use your Alumni ID number or Hopkins ID to sign up in order to gain free access to this exclusive network.

What can I do with JHU inCircle?

• Connect to alumni in your area or around the globe
• Join groups and discussions about local JHU events and your areas of interest
• Create your own group and invite your friends to join
• Network and search for career opportunities
• Post open positions to hire JHU alumni at your company
• And much, much more!

Be sure to fill out your profile completely, join your local chapter group, and encourage your friends to join JHU inCircle as well.

What information is available in JHU inCircle?

Contact information, past employment information, and academic history have been included for each community member. Users should fill out their profiles to "100%" in order to access the full potential of this community.

What happened to HopkinsNET?

In early 2008 HopkinsNET was replaced by JHU inCircle. This change was made with the consultation of the Alumni Council, in order to provide our alumni community with a more advanced and dynamic service than what was previously available.

JHU inCircle Registration and Login Questions

What is my Alumni ID number and where can I find it?

Your Alumni ID number is a permanent 8-digit number you were assigned by the Alumni Association when you graduated. Your Alumni ID number can be found on your Alumni Association membership card, on the address label of all mailings sent by the Alumni Association, or by e-mailing alumni@jhu.edu, or calling 1-800-JHU-JHU1 (1-800-548-5481).

What is my username and where can I find it?

Your username is the User ID you created when you first registered for any of the JHU Alumni Associations online services. If you had previously registered for HopkinsNET or KnowledgeNET then your username will have remained the same. If you cannot remember your username send an e-mail request to alumni@jhu.edu. You should receive a reply within one full working day. *Please note that this is not the same as your JHED ID, a JHEM username or any other non-alumni account or username you may have had with JHU.

I am an alumnus, how do I register as a first-time user?

Simply register as either an alumnus or a student at the login page. You will be asked for your full name and Alumni ID number. If this information matches our records you will be asked to create a username and password. Please ensure that your new password has a combination of at least 5 letters and 1 number.

I am a current student and do not have an Alumni ID number, can I still register for inCircle?

Yes, current students can register for the service using their Hopkins ID. Your Hopkins ID is a unique identifier assigned to each student when they enroll at the University. The ID can be found through the My Johns Hopkins. Login to the system using your JHED ID and password then search for your self. Your Hopkins ID will be listed directly below your JHED ID. Use that number to login to create an account on JHU inCircle.

I am a faculty member and do not have an Alumni ID number.

All faculty members have been assigned an Alumni ID number in our database. If you do not know your number then you can request it by e-mailing alumni@jhu.edu, or calling 1-800-JHU-JHU1 (1-800-548-5481).

When I attempt to register for a username with my name and Alumni ID number it says that a record already exists.

If you contact the Alumni Association by e-mailing alumni@jhu.edu, or calling 1-800-JHU-JHU1 (1-800-548-5481) we will be able to provide you with your previous username.

I would like to use JHU inCircle but I cannot access the login page.

This problem is a network port issue. Certain sites do not allow access to any port other than 80(http) and 443(https). Even though this site runs through the 443 port, our single sign on process goes through port 4443. Once you (or your system administrator) opens port 4443 you should no longer experience this problem.

Users Tips: How to get the most of JHU inCircle

How do I set up my profile?

When you first login to inCircle the system brings you to the home/welcome page. To set up your profile click on 'home' followed by 'my profile' at the top of the page. This will bring you to your inCircle profile. The profile contains some basic information such as your current career information and academic history as it appears in our files. Profile information falls into three main categories, About Me, My Career and My Contact Information. To edit any of this information click on the edit button to the right of the category title. Please note that although your profile may be fully complete much of the information will still be unavailable to fellow community members unless you change your privacy settings.

How do I change my privacy settings?

When you click on the "edit" button for your contact information you will see a privacy settings option appear on the right hand side of the options bar. If you click on this option a full list of all the information title fields will appear each with four possible privacy settings ranging from "nobody" to "the community." This is the number of community members that will have access to each field of information you complete.

How do I search for fellow alumni, faculty, and students?

The simplest way to search for fellow community members is to type his/her name into the "Find People" box at the top of each page. This will bring up every community member with this name or a close match e.g. Dan will bring up Daniel.

How do I find an alumnus if I do not know their full name?

Under the people tab, to the right of the find people search box you will see a link called "more search options." This will bring you to a search function where you can narrow down your search using various criteria such as keyword, class year, state, etc. For example if you were searching for a classmate and were not sure of their name but knew their degree and year of graduation you could narrow down your search using those two criteria. You could also enter a keyword such as a hobby or interest of theirs that may narrow the search even further.

Users can also conduct a 'wildcard search' by entering a % sign into their search. This search function could be very helpful if you were unsure of a person’s full name. For example, if you type in “David S%” in the search box then the system will retrieve every David in the system with a last name beginning in S.

Why can I not see all of the contact information for other inCircle users?

In order to protect the privacy of our alumni community, the default setting for most contact information is "private." Users can now alter their own privacy settings for various pieces of contact information available on inCircle; e.g. a user can now make his or her e-mail address or work phone number available but keep the home address and home phone number private. Users can send e-mails to alumni through this system even if that individual’s contact information is not visible.

Can I contact alumni, students and faculty if they have not logged into inCircle yet?

Yes, users can send a message through the system and an e-mail notification will be sent to the last known e-mail address on record for this individual. A customized message can also be added to this notification if you wish to explain who you are and why you are contacting the person.

Can I search by division/school?

Yes, under the "people" tab, to the right of the "find people" search box you will see a link called "more search options." School searches can be carried out by locating the relevant school in the drop down list labeled "department." All nine academic divisions of JHU are listed in the department listing.

Why does the "Region" search function not bring up an accurate number of alumni?

The region search field is new to JHU inCircle. The Alumni Association did not previously collect regional information for our alumni. As a result community members will not appear in regional searches unless they have completed this field when filling in their inCircle profile. More accurate location based searches can be carried out using a combination of a country/state search (information that the Alumni Association had on record) and a keyword search; e.g. entering Maryland as the state and Baltimore as a keyword will result in far more accurate search results than just selecting "MD – Baltimore" as the region.