Vassar College Libraries has partnered with the New York Times to offer the NYTimes Academic Pass service. A NYTimes Academic Pass provides you with full access to NYTimes.com and the NYTimes.com smartphone apps for a period of 52 weeks (364 days) from the date you activate it.
Please note that access does not include e-reader editions, Premium Crosswords or The New York Times Crosswords apps. NYTimes apps are not supported on all devices. You must have a valid email address from Vassar College to participate.
Click the link above to begin the registration process. Then:
You may have at some point registered with the NYTimes.com with your Vassar email, even though you don't have a personal subscription. In that case, in order to use the Academic Pass, you need to first login to NYTimes.com, and then follow the registration steps above. Once you received the confirmation email from NYTimes.com, you will then have access through the Academic Pass.
If you have previously registered on NYTimes.com, but have not registered with your Vassar email account, you will need to change your account information. To do so, log in to NYTimes.com, then click on your login name on the very upper right. When the drop down box opens, click on "My Account" and change your email address to your campus email account where indicated on the page, then hit the SAVE button. Please note that each registration provides different features; see the FAQ below for more information.
When registering for the academic passes, students will be asked to provide their anticipated graduation date. Students will not have to re-authenticate for their pass until that date.
For faculty/staff, once you have followed the steps for first-time users and activated the NYTimes Academic Pass, it should allow you full access for 52 weeks (364 days) with no further action on your part. However, if for any reason while on NYTimes.com you are served the message that you are reaching the limit of free articles on the site, do the following:
Get started at NYTimes.com/Pass from a smartphone, iPad, tablet or desktop's web-browser and complete the instructions for a new account or to link an existing non-paying NYTimes.com account that has your .edu email as the username.
Select NYT tablet apps are now available to all who claim a new pass or renew a pass to the NYTimes.com Academic Site License affiliated with Vassar College.
Then, visit NYTimes.com/mobile on your tablet or mobile device to download your free NYT apps. Full access to the NYT tablet news app has more than 25 sections of content including blogs, video and slide shows. Use same credentials to log in.
I keep having to log into NYTimes.com with my email address and password each time I want to enter the site. What can I do?
Some internet browser software provides for the user to enable "private browsing" or "incognito browsing." These settings inhibit the use of cookies and therefore the user would be prompted to log into NYTimes.com each time they want to access the site. Eliminating these setting should resolve that problem. Another issue could be automatic cache clearing setup on your computer. This would eliminate the cookie requiring the user to log into the site if the cookie has been removed.
I already have a NYTimes.com digital subscription. What should I do?
NYTimes.com does not permit a double entitlement. If you have an existing paid NYTimes.com digital subscription, you are not eligible for an Academic Pass. You should continue to access the Times via your own subscription.
Should I cancel my existing digital subscription to make use of the site license access?
The New York Times Academic Site License has some restrictions that your personal subscription may not have. Consider the options carefully before deciding one way or another. You may prefer to wait until your personal subscription period is over and then move to the NYTimes.com academic pass.
What are the restrictions?
Site license access does not include the NYTimes.com tablet apps. At this time, access to articles from the date range 1923 to 1980 is limited is limited to 5 articles per day. This represents a change from the limit of 5 articles within the entire 364-day period. Due to technical reasons, however, previously registered users may still be limited to 5 articles over the life of the 364 day pass. Once they renew, however, the access will be as described.
Can I access the Times from off-campus?
Yes, as long as you have registered using your Vassar email address and obtained your Academic Pass.
Can I access the Times from my mobile device?
There are mobile apps for iPhone/iPod Touch (IOS 5.0+), Android (OS 2.1+), and Windows (7.5 O.S.) phones; these are included as part of the Academic Pass. Mobile apps for tablets are not part of the Academic Pass. However, you can access the NYTimes.com mobile site (mobile.nytimes.com) or Times Skimmer (nytimes.com/skimmer) using your smartphone or tablet running one of the above operating systems.
Why am I asked to login on some occasions and not others?
This may be because your browser may clear its Web cache/history if it is set to do so. In such cases you will need to login back into to NYTimes.com, but there is no need to get another Academic Pass.
Why use the Academic Pass to read the NYTimes Web edition?
On March 28, 2011, the New York Times began charging for access to its Web edition. Most people, except those with subscriptions, are capped at viewing 10 articles each month before charges take effect. The Academic Pass gives you access to content without cap limits.
Do Vassar alumni have access to the New York Times via Academic Pass?
No, only current Vassar students, faculty and staff have access via the Academic Pass.
Are there other New York Times resources available from the Vassar Libraries?
Yes! Access to the backfiles of the New York Times is available via our Databases. You can view most articles in PDF format through the Historical File or New York Times databases:
