Generic Zoom Accounts at Chico State

Quick Links: | What you get with a generic Zoom account | Request a generic Zoom account | Schedule meetings using a generic account | Host meetings and access recordings | Limitations | Troubleshooting | 

Some departments at Chico State need a Zoom account that represents the department instead of an individual person—for example, for drop-in support hours, advising, or recurring departmental events. These shared accounts are called generic Zoom accounts and are centrally managed so they stay secure, consistent, and avoid scheduling conflicts. Faculty and staff do not sign into these accounts directly; instead, they schedule and host meetings on the account’s behalf using their own Chico State Zoom login. Generic Zoom accounts also have a standard way to deliver cloud recordings to the department through Kaltura. Knowing how these accounts work helps your team use them effectively and know when to contact Learning Technology Services (LTS) for changes.

What you get with a generic Zoom account

A Chico State generic Zoom account provides:

• A fully licensed Zoom Meetings account that can host meetings like a regular Chico State Zoom account.
• A department-branded identity (name and email) instead of a specific person’s name.
• A consistent personal meeting room link that can be reused for recurring events such as drop-in hours.
• A connected Kaltura group so that any cloud recordings made by the generic account are delivered to a shared departmental space.
• Designated schedulers and alternative hosts in your department who can create and run meetings on the account’s behalf.

Request a generic Zoom account

To request a new generic Zoom account for your department, do the following:

1. Decide why your department needs a shared account (for example, advising, front-desk support, or recurring events).
2. Gather key details: department name, department email, primary contact person, and the typical use cases for the account.
3. Submit a support request to Learning Technology Services by selecting Request Service on this page. Include the details you gathered and any special requirements (for example, reuse of a specific meeting link or particular security settings).
4. Watch for a confirmation message from Learning Technology Services.

Schedule meetings using a generic Zoom account

To schedule a meeting on behalf of a generic Zoom account, do the following:

Host meetings and access recordings

To host meetings and access recordings for a generic Zoom account, do the following:

1. Before the meeting, sign in to Zoom with your Chico State account (never with the generic account email).
2. Start the meeting from your Zoom client or calendar invitation. Because you were added as an alternative host, Zoom will allow you to start and control the meeting.
3. Run the meeting as usual, including managing participants and ending the meeting when finished.
4. If you enabled cloud recording, wait for Zoom to process and send the recording to Kaltura.
5. Sign in to Kaltura Mediaspace with your Chico State account and open your My Media to view or manage the recording.

Limitations and important notes

Keep these limitations and best practices in mind:

• You cannot sign in directly with the generic Zoom account. Generic accounts are centrally managed and do not have shared passwords.
• You cannot change the generic account’s profile, meeting defaults, or settings yourself. Any configuration changes must be requested from Learning Technology Services.
• If you cannot see or schedule for the generic account, you likely are not set up as a scheduler or alternative host. LTS can add or remove people as needed.
• When staff roles change (for example, someone leaves the department or a new coordinator takes over), your department should submit an update request so LTS can adjust who has access.
• Generic accounts are meant only for departmental or program use. Personal or individual meetings should still use your own Chico State Zoom account.

Troubleshooting

• You do not see the generic account in the “schedule for” list: You may not be set up as a scheduler. Contact Learning Technology Services and ask them to confirm your access to the generic account.
• You join a meeting but are not host: Make sure you signed in with your Chico State Zoom account before joining. If that looks correct, verify that you are listed as an alternative host on the meeting.
• You tried to log in with the generic account email and it failed: This is expected behavior. Generic Zoom accounts cannot be used for direct login; they only work through schedulers and alternative hosts.
• Cloud recordings do not appear in Kaltura: Allow time for processing, then confirm you are looking in the correct Kaltura account and group. If recordings still do not appear, contact LTS to check that the generic Zoom account and Kaltura group are correctly linked and that you are a member of the group.
• You need different default settings (for example, waiting room behavior, screen sharing, or security): Submit a request to Learning Technology Services describing what you want changed, and they can update the centrally managed generic account settings.