Official University Email Address
This policy is effective as of Monday, March 19, 2001
Contents:
Summary:
All Faculty, staff and students are required to maintain an @drexel.edu computer account. This
account provides both an online identification key and a University Official Email address. The
University sends much of its correspondence solely through email. This includes policy
announcements, emergency notices, event notifications, course syllabi and requirements, and
correspondence between faculty and students. Such correspondence is mailed only to the University
Official Email address.
Scope:
This policy applies to all members of the Drexel and MCP Hahnemann communities—faculty, staff,
and students.
The @drexel.edu computer account:
The @drexel.edu computer accounts are the central University computer accounts
managed by the Office of Information Resources and Technology (IRT). They are the accounts one
activates on the web using the Computer Accounts Management Service at
http://accounts.drexel.edu
These accounts serve as the online identification key for central University systems, and they
provide each member of the community with a University Official Email address.
The Official Email address:
The Official Email address ends "@drexel.edu" and is usually of the form
all.my.names@drexel.edu. This is the only email address that is
officially associated with a member of the University. In general, this address remains the same
throughout one's association with the University.
The Official Email address will appear in the University's Banner Administrative System within
12 hours of activation, and will also appear in the University's online directory. Students may
request confidentiality. The policy regarding student confidentiality is found at
http://www.drexel.edu/src/confidentiality.asp.
Responsibilities:
All faculty, students and employees are required to:
- activate their @drexel.edu account at the time they join the University;
- regularly check their incoming University email; and
- maintain their University email account in working order (including compliance with the
University's Acceptable Use Policy, and appropriately managing disk space usage or email
forwarding).
It is possible and acceptable to have email from one's @drexel.edu account forwarded to
another email address. However, the individual account holder is solely responsible for
setting up and maintaining forwarding on his/her account, and for managing both the
@drexel.edu account and the account to which the email is forwarded so as to ensure that all
university correspondence continues to be received.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why does the University require the use of the Official Email address?
Assigning everyone a permanent email makes it possible for people to create reliable address
book entries and mailing lists.
For example, once a professor creates a course mailing list using the students' Official Email
addresses, that list can be used throughout the term. The ability to send mail to students will
not be disrupted by any changes students might make in their Internet Service Provider or the
address to which they forward their mail.
Can I forward my Drexel email? How?
Yes. Read the instructions at the New Account FAQ page in IRT's HelpCentral section, Accounts, Activate, Frequently Asked Questions.
Then go to the Computer Accounts Management System to log in and set the forwarding.
Note: We STRONGLY RECOMMEND you make sure the checkbox labeled "Deliver a copy to inbox when
forwarding e-mail" is NOT CHECKED. If the box is checked, a copy of all your email remains on
the central email server, where it eventually will fill up your storage quota and cause
confusing bounceback messages to be sent to those who email you.
What if I use a Drexel departmental mail server, such as mcs.drexel.edu or ece.drexel.edu?
Must I activate the @drexel.edu account?
Yes. Departmental servers in this case are considered external servers in much the same way as
Hotmail, AOL, or Yahoo. Faculty, staff and students with a departmental server account must
activate their @drexel.edu account and its associated University Official Email address. You may
then forward that email to the departmental, or other external, account using the
Computer Accounts Management System.
What if I do not wish my Official Email address to be published in the online directory?
If you are a Drexel University student, you may request confidentiality, in person, through the
SRC (Student Resource Center). The policy regarding confidentiality can be found at
http://www.drexel.edu/src/confidentiality.asp.
I don't like using all.my.names@drexel.edu as an email address.
It's too cumbersome. Can't I change it?
That is your Official Email address, and it's what the university will use to send you official
communications and announcements. It's also what your professors will use to set up mailing lists
for the classes you take. While you cannot change it, you need not use it for personal
communications by email. Instead, you may set up a unique "Personal Alias" at
http://accounts.drexel.edu
to which your friends and acquaintances may send you email. The personal alias is a nickname,
which points to your Drexel mailbox.
If my name changes, what do I do?
You must first change your records with Social Security and then with the university (Human
Resources if you are an employee, SRC if you are a Drexel student, the Registrar if you are a
MCPHU student). Once that is done, contact IRT's Accounts Office (
accounts@drexel.edu or 215-895-1958)to
have your email account renamed to be consistent with your new name on the university's official
records.
Note that after such a change the old version of your Official Email address will no longer be
listed in Banner or in the University's online directory. It will, however, be retained for a
time as an additional address for you in the University's mail server, so that mail sent to any
University mailing lists which contain that old address will still reach you.
How do I pick up my @drexel.edu account?
Go to http://accounts.drexel.edu.
Click on "Pick up your first account" and follow the steps indicated. You will be asked to
identify yourself and to agree to the University's Acceptable Use Policy. Then you will be given
your account userid and password, as well as your Official Email address. Please make note of
these.
What's the difference between my @drexel.edu account, my userid and my email address?
These terms are often loosely used to mean the same thing, but to be precise.
- Your userid (along with its associated password) is the key that identifies you to the
system. This key is used for access to various University online systems as well as to
identify you to the mail server when you check your mail. In most cases, your userid is your
initials followed by 2 or 3 digits (for example: abc12).
- Your University Official Email address ends "@drexel.edu" and generally is of the form
all.your.names@drexel.edu (for example:
Anna.Beatrice.Cole@drexel.edu).
- You might also choose to set up a Personal Alias – a "nickname" email address that you give
to friends and acquaintances (for example:
Anna.Cole@drexel.edu).
- Finally, the term @drexel.edu account refers to the whole package – the userid (with its
password), the email inbox on the mail.drexel.edu server where your incoming email is stored,
your Official Email address, and any optional services that you set up as part of this
account – such as a Personal Alias or a personal web page.
How can I read my Drexel email?
There are a number of supported email programs and a web mail interface available on and off
campus. If you are off campus, you will need an Internet Service Provider. Instructions for
configuring the various email programs, such as Outlook, Outlook Express, etc., and for using
Webmail, can be found online from IRT at http://www.drexel.edu/irt/support/.
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