Cortex University — Admissions Guide
Handbook for applicants — no account needed to read it
How to join: creating an account, applying and being accepted, enrolling and fees, and how to reach us.
Creating your account
Register
Use Create an account, or Register on the front page. You will be asked for a name, an email address and — depending on how you were invited — a phone number.
Some accounts are created by the university instead: if you were invited, you will receive a one-time link that sets your password. That link expires, and using it consumes it. Ask for a fresh one if it has lapsed.
Sign in with your username, not your email address. An invited account gets a
username derived from your name (Borja TH → borja-th). It is stated in the
invitation, on the set-password page, and again on the login screen once your
password is saved.
Verify your contact details
A new account is not active yet. It walks a short sequence:
| Stage | What it means |
|---|---|
pending_email |
we have emailed you a code or link — confirm it |
pending_phone |
where a phone was given, confirm it the same way |
pending_approval |
contact confirmed; a human is reviewing the account |
active |
you can apply, enrol and study |
Until the account is active the portal keeps steering you back to the step you
are on. That is deliberate — it is not an error.
Codes are short-lived and re-sending is rate-limited. If a code does not arrive, check spam first; the sender is the address in Contact.
Passwords and signing in
Passwords are stored hashed (Argon2id) and are never recoverable — only resettable, from Forgot password on the sign-in page.
Repeated failed sign-ins slow down progressively and then lock the account for a while. The lock expires on its own; you do not need to write to anyone. If you are certain of the password and still cannot get in, wait rather than keep trying, because each attempt extends the wait.
Two-factor authentication is available from your security page once you are in, and is worth turning on. Staff accounts may have it required.
One person, several roles
If you are both a student and, say, a professor, those are separate personas on one identity. Each keeps its own marks, enrolments and history — they are never merged. You switch between them from your account menu rather than by logging out and back in.