Single sign-on (SSO) with Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is widely used by organizations that need a common entry point to multiple applications and systems. With SSO through SAML, your users benefit from:

• Simplified Login Process: Users can access multiple applications and systems, such as learning management systems, student information systems, and financial aid platforms, with just one set of credentials, eliminating the need to remember multiple passwords and usernames.

• Improved Security: SAML provides a secure way to exchange authentication and authorization data between parties, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.

• Enhanced User Experience: With SSO through SAML, users can seamlessly switch between applications and systems without the need to log in again, resulting in a smoother and more efficient user experience.

This instructional article will briefly describe how to configure SSO through SAML using Microsoft's Azure AD.

Create an Azure AD application

1. In the Azure Active Directory Admin Center, go to Applications > Enterprise Applications and click on New application:

2. Then, click on Create your own application:

3. Click on “Set up single sign on”:

4. Next, select 'SAML':

5. Configure Single Sign-On by entering the Identifier (Entity ID) and Reply URL (Assertion Consumer Service URL).

• Identifier - With Slate, the 'Identifier' will always be the subdomain or hostname that you have chosen for your Slate database. For example, if you chose apply.college.edu, the Identifier would be https://apply.college.edu/.

• Reply URL - The value will be the Identifier above plus “manage/login” for the' Reply URL'—for example, https://apply.college.edu/manage/login.

Testing the Configuration

You can test this only after your Slate database is up and running (approximately a week after submitting the Technical Details form).

Technical Details Form

 You will be asked to provide the following information on our Technical Details form:

1. Metadata URL - Enter the App Federation Metadata URL from section 3 (“SAML certificates”) of your Azure AD application page for Slate

2. Entity ID - Enter the Azure AD Identifier from section 4

3. User ID attribute - Enter NameID.