College of Education and Human Sciences
College of Education and Human Sciences
Please read all of the instructions before attempting to activate your Tk20 account. These instructions are for your benefit - the answers to most of the questions you may have about the account activation process are addressed below. Please note that, although Tk20 does not allow users to be logged into their account on multiple devices or on the same device, you can open this landing page in two windows (tabs). You can then see these instructions on one tab and proceed with activating your account using the other tab.
Students, Faculty, & Staff Login
Co-operating Professionals and non-USM users
1) To activate your Tk20 account, you must purchase a Tk20 subscription. There are two payment options: A) personal credit/debit card or B) you may purchase a Tk20 Student Access Kit (code)** from the USM Barnes & Noble Bookstore. To contact the USM Bookstore, please call 601-266-4381. **Please note that purchasing the Student Access Kit does NOT activate your Tk20 account! You MUST proceed to step 2 and enter the access code just as you would a credit/debit card number.**
2) Once you have decided on your payment method and have your credit/debit card or 34-digit access code in hand, scroll up to the top of this page, click on the Then click HERE to purchase your USM Tk20 Student Account link, and select the payment method you are using.
3) Follow the instructions to complete the student contact**, registration, and payment information (a credit/debit card or student access kit
code purchased from the bookstore). When completing this step, you must enter your
USM ID# (do NOT include the "W") and you MUST use your USM email address in every
instance where you are asked to provide this information. Do NOT use the auto-populate/prefill
forms feature on your computer - you must manually enter your USM ID# and USM email
address. Your USM email address must be entered using the "name.name@usm.edu" format
- using the "wID#@usm.edu" format will delay account activation. If you do not know
your USM email address, log into your SOAR account, select the 'General Info' tab,
and scroll to the bottom of the page.
**When entering your USM ID#, you may receive this 'ERROR Message: Incorrect Student ID number or your Account doesn't exist on the server. Please try
again. If you continue to get this error message, please contact your Unit Administrator.'
If so, STOP! Make sure that you have correctly entered your USM ID# (the correct #, numbers not
transposed, no W, etc). If you entered the correct USM ID#, then you do not have a
user profile on the Tk20 server. In that case, from your USM email account, send an
email to tk20FREEMississippi and let us know that you do not have a user profile on the server (please include
your USM ID# in the body of the email). We will update the server and let you know
when to try again.
4) Upon successful completion of Steps 1-3 and depending on your payment method, you will receive one or two emails confirming your order and your payment transaction. Please retain these emails for your records.
5) Once your payment is processed and your Tk20 account is activated, which can take up to 3 business days, you will receive another email from Tk20 confirming that your account is active and ready for use.
6) Upon receipt of your account activation email, come back to this page to log in. Enter your SOAR credentials in the Username (W+USM ID#) and Password (SOAR Password) boxes at the top of this page and click the green Log Into Your Account button. If you experience any login issues, refer to the Login Instructions for Students, Faculty, & Staff: section below. If you continue to experience login issues and/or other technical problems, scroll to the bottom of this page and review the Technical Tips... section. There you will find a list of common technical problems and ways to resolve them.
Login Instructions for Students, Faculty, & Staff:
To access your Tk20 account, enter your SOAR credentials (W+USM ID# and SOAR Password). If you are unable to log into your Tk20 account, please try logging into another campus platform (SOAR, Canvas, Email, etc.) using the same SOAR credentials. If you are able to log into other campus platforms, the problem is most likely a temporary Tk20 server error, a data entry error, or a problem with your device. In this case, scroll to the bottom of this page and review the Technical Tips... section for help in identifying and resolving many login errors and other technical issues on your own. However, if you cannot log into other campus platforms, try resetting your SOAR password. If you need help resetting your SOAR password, contact the USM iTech Help Desk at (601) 266-4357. When contacting the USM iTech Help Desk, you MUST indicate that you need help resetting your SOAR password, NOT your Tk20 password. Once your SOAR password is reset, try logging into Tk20 again. If all attempts to correct the login error fail, email the USM Tk20 Admin Team (tk20FREEMississippi) from your USM email account. Please provide your full name, USM ID#, a phone number, a description of the problem, any error messages that you have received, and what you have done to try to resolve the issue. If necessary, you may embed screenshots in your email but do not send attachments. Someone will respond to your request as soon as possible.
You do not need to remember a username and password! Once field placements are confirmed and binders are published, the Office of Educational Field Experiences will send you an email (via Tk20 to the email address you provided) that contains a direct link to your student teacher's binder. Please save this email so you can use the direct link each time you wish to access the binder. If you do not receive this email, please check your junk/clutter/spam email folders. If the email was delivered to one of these folders, you MUST drag the email into your INBOX before the binder link will work. If you cannot locate this email, call the Office of Educational Field Experiences at (601) 266-4571. If you experience other technical difficulties, please refer to the Technical Tips... section below for tips on how to identify and resolve most issues. If technical issues persist, please email the USM Tk20 Admin Team at tk20FREEMississippi. In the body of the email, please include a brief description of the technical problem you are experiencing, any error messages, what you have done to try to resolve the issue, a contact phone number, and the best time to call, if necessary.
1) If you are a USM student, faculty, or staff member, be sure your are using the correct SOAR credentials (see instructions above). Using the wrong SOAR credentials usually results in a "PIN Expired" error message or an error message that indicates you do not have an account. When entering your ID# in the username box, use an uppercase "W". If that does not work, re-enter your ID# with a lowercase "w". Also, be sure that you are using the correct/current SOAR password.
2) When logging in with your SOAR credentials, you must manually enter your username and password each time. For security reasons, Tk20 does NOT allow the use of saved usernames and/or passwords. Using saved usernames/passwords usually results in a "PIN Expired" error message. Close and reopen the browser window, go to usm.tk20.com, and manually enter your SOAR login credentials.
3) If you are a non-USM user, you can bypass the login page by using the direct binder link sent to you at the
beginning of the term. See the Login Instructions for Cooperating Teachers, Field Instructors, & Mentors: section above.
4) Try using a different browser (Chrome seems to work best) and make sure that it
is up to date.
5) Clear your Internet history and update your browser. Close all browsers/windows/tabs, clear your computer's history/cookies/cache/temporary files, update your browser, reopen the browser window, manually enter the Tk20 URL (usm.tk20.com), and then manually enter your SOAR credentials. This tip also works if you are experiencing other technical issues such as failed document uploads and "timed out" error messages. If you need directions for clearing your Internet history and/or updating your browser, please visit the USM iTech How Do I? webpage at https://www.usm.edu/itech/how-do-i.php.
6) Tk20 does not allow users to have more than one Tk20 window open at a time and it does not allow users to be logged in on more than one device at a time. Make sure that you are logged out of Tk20 on all other devices and that you are logged in only once on the same device.
7) Unfortunately, some locations lack a strong Internet connection, some computers are slow/outdated, and some school districts restrict access to certain sites. If you suspect this is the case, make sure that you have a strong and stable connection, try logging in on a different computer or from another location, and/or make sure that your school/district is not blocking the Tk20 site. If this is the case, please report it to your school/district IT team. These issues cannot be resolved by the USM Tk20 Admin Team.
8) If file uploads fail, please make sure that each file/video is less than 100MB and that all videos are compressed before uploading. If the file is less than 100MB, try the tips listed above and try uploading again.
If you still cannot access TK20 or if other Tk20 technical issues persist, contact
the USM Tk20 Admin Team at tk20FREEMississippi. On weekends and holidays, you may contact the Tk20 corporate student account support
team at 1-800-311-5656 or Tk20/Watermark Support at support@watermarkinsights.com. When emailing either the USM Tk20 Admin Team or the Tk20/Watermark Support Team,
please use your USM email account (if applicable) and provide specific details about
your issue and enough information so that you can be properly identified (for example,
your role as student, faculty, cooperating teacher; your name as it appears in Tk20;
your USM Student ID#; the course prefix and number; the type of error message received,
etc.).
If you need instructions for resetting your SOAR password, clearing your browser history,
updating your browser, etc., please visit the USM iTech How Do I? webpage at https://www.usm.edu/itech/how-do-i.php.
Have questions or need assistance? Please contact your system administrator.
Administrator: Jenine Housewright, Social Work Field Education Specialist
Email: j.housleyFREEMississippi
Phone: 601-266-5569
For questions regarding this system, please contact your system administrator.