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Welcome to the Ulster University's Staff Email Service, the use of which is governed by our Acceptable Use Code of Practice (AUCoP) and other University policies and guidelines. By clicking on the button below, you agree to abide by the AUCoP.

Please ensure you have read the University IT Policies and our Email Service Statement and Guidelines.

Your staff Office 365 (O365) email account can be accessed from your campus desktop using Outlook client and/or via a web browser. To access your O365 account via the web, please click here:

Sign in to O365 Staff Email

For answers to common queries about email, please see our FAQ page.

O365 Sign in details

UsernamePassword
Your Ulster University staff email address (e.g. j.bloggs@ulster.ac.uk) Your network password (your login to services such as the Supported Staff Environment PCs and the Staff Portal)

For password issues, please see Passwords

Mobile Phone and Tablet access to your email

Modern iOS, Windows and Android devices will “auto-discover” your mailbox if you use the Outlook app (free download from app stores) and you enter your correct account credentials when attempting to login for the first time. You should use your email address and the email password, as outlined above.

Detailed instructions provided directly from Microsoft on how to configure your O365 account via a wide range of supported mobile phone and tablets (including other operating systems such as Blackberry) can be found from this link: Microsoft Instructions – Office 365 Phone and Tablet Setup Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

  • How many recipients am I allowed per email?

    The maximum number of email recipients allowed per email is 250.  This should only be an issue if you are sending a very large distribution list.

    Digital Services recommend that you do not use the full number at one time.  It is better and faster to use smaller numbers, for example send to groups of 50.

  • What is the maximum file size for an attachment?

    The maximum recommended file size for an attachment that you can send in one email is 20MB. Above this figure, you are at risk that the email will not be sent due to file size limitations.

    Digital Services recommends that you use file compression techniques like Zip in order to reduce large file sizes prior to sending.

  • I am leaving the University, so can I retain my email for a period of time?

    Staff accounts cannot be kept active beyond the leaving date. It is the responsibility of the staff member to have considered the Business Continuity aspects of the IT account closure in advance.

    Business Continuity actions

    If you are leaving the University, prior to your departure you are responsible for:

    • ensuring that University related emails are re-directed to an appropriate person for business continuity.
    • Informing personal contacts of the change in your contact details.
    • Setting an ‘Out of Office’ auto-reply.

    Suggested text for an Out-of-Office message is as below:

    "Please note I am no longer an employee of Ulster University as of xx/xx/xx. For University-related business, please contact [University contact details as appropriate]. For all other issues, please contact me at the following email address: [Personal Email Address]"

    Other IT-related Business Continuity actions to consider include:

    • Processing of outstanding claims (Car Mileage and Prior Approvals)
    • The redirection of any generic email aliases that may point to your staff mailbox
    • Identify any business information to pass to a colleague, and identify personally owned data.
    • Arrangements related to the return of any University-owned equipment (e.g. Laptops, MFA tokens etc.)

    Note that it is your responsibility as a staff leaver to have completed all business continuity actions before your leaving date, since staff accounts and mailbox access will be automatically deactivated at end of business on your leaving date. Deactivated accounts remain for 4 months before they are fully deleted and the Out of Office will continue to work during that time period.

    Personal emails

    If you have registered your staff @ulster email address with any websites external to the University, please contact them in advance of leaving the University to update your registered email to a personal email address.

    If you wish to retain emails or files from your OneDrive cloud storage, you must download these before your access is withdrawn. You may also wish to purchase your own license to Microsoft Office Applications via the Microsoft web store.

    Requested Extension to Staff Account

    If you require access to your account after you leave the University,  you should liaise with your line manager and your Faculty/Departmental RAD Authoriser to have an associate record created and authorised, in order for your account to be renamed to the associate 'A-code' which you may retain for an agreed period.

    Requested Extension to Associate Account

    Associate accounts are reviewed regularly by Digital Services in conjunction with RAD Authorisers, to comply with IT Audit requirements. Once the leaver date has expired, the account will be disabled pending deletion. You will be alerted 7 days before the account is disabled that it is about to expire. To ensure your continued access (if agreed), you should liaise with your line manager and your Faculty/Departmental RAD Authoriser to agree your IT account status. If your leaver date is not to be extended, you should complete the Business Continuity steps before that date.

  • How can I manage my Email Quarantine and Junk Mail settings?

    Staff regularly receive an email with a subject line of ‘Spam Notification’ containing a digest of emails which have been quarantined.

    An example of this email is shown below:

    Spam notification

    Staff have the option to select ‘Release to Inbox’ – this will release the individual message to their Outlook Inbox.

    There is also an option to ‘Report as Not Junk’. It is crucial to note that ‘Report as Not Junk’ may not mean that future messages from this sender are not trapped by Quarantine. This flags the issue to Microsoft, who assign a ‘spam score’ to the email. This ‘spam score’ is influenced by criteria such as the email content and the volume of emails sent by the sender. The number of individual users who select ‘Report as Not Junk’ can positively affect this ‘spam score’ but this may not necessarily be of sufficient volume to directly influence future email delivery.

    If the email sender subsequently attains a ‘spam score’ which allows their emails to be ‘whitelisted’, they will bypass Microsoft’s Quarantine and their emails will be delivered directly to all intended recipient’s mailboxes as normal. Please note that Digital Services has no direct control over this process.

    Since it is not good email security practice for Microsoft to publicise the rules which control their ‘spam scoring’, Digital Services will not always be able to establish the reason why specific emails are quarantined since this information is not public knowledge.

    How to see your quarantine folder directly in ‘real time’

    If staff wish to see their quarantine folder in real time, as they may suspect an expected email may be quarantined ahead of the next scheduled email summary, this can be done via logging into microsoft.

    This is authenticated via your University staff email address (e.g. initial.surname@ulster.ac.uk) and the password used also for email and Portal.

    Outlook Junk Mail

    Digital Services is aware of an issue which may cause some Outlook users within the University to have email messages delivered to their Junk Mail folder rather than their Inbox. This is due to their individual copy of Outlook mistakenly identifying that message as 'spam'.

    This is an Outlook Client specific issue, and as such, Digital Services cannot resolve this centrally - so users experiencing this issue will need to resolve this individually, as follows :

    1. Please check the contents of the Junk Mail folder regularly.
    2. If an email is in Junk Mail which should not have been marked as 'spam' please RIGHT CLICK on it, and from the pop-up menu select 'Junk Email' and 'Add Sender to Safe Senders List'. Users can also choose to select 'Add Sender's Domain (@example.com) to Safe Senders List' if they are sure they may receive legitimate emails from more than one address on that domain - but this option should be treated with caution.

    If further advice or guidance is required, please Contact the Digital Services IT Service Desk.

  • Where can I find security advice regarding my University email account?

    While the University takes proactive steps to protect the email accounts of staff and students, it is also imperative that you assist by being aware of security risks to your email account while online.

    A compromised email account not only disrupts your own email access and personal security, but may have wider consequences to the University - such as blacklisting of our email servers causing email bouncebacks affecting other users and possible corporate data compromise.

    All Staff and Students are reminded they must abide by the University Acceptable Use Code of Practice (PDF format) with respect to taking adequate safety precautions when using University email accounts.

    Why spam email reaches your mailbox

    The vast majority of spam emails (Wikipedia link) are discarded by the University spam filters before they reach user mailboxes, but it is inevitable that a small percentage of rogue emails may be able to reach the user mailbox.

    It is virtually impossible to prevent this, since setting spam filtering rules too strictly may result in legitimate emails being rejected as 'false positives', and spammers are always seeking ways to bypass automated spam filtering systems.

    In some cases, local spam rules on user mailboxes will also mark emails as spam - such as the Junk Mail folder in Outlook client (staff) and Office 365 (student) - for more information on how to block/allow emails see the Online Help within Outlook and Office 365.

    IMPORTANT NOTE: It is crucial to understand that just because an email has reached your inbox this does not guarantee it is legitimate, so you should still be wary of all unsolicited emails - particularly those requesting personal or account related details.

    Why spammers want your account details

    Spamming takes many forms, from dubious bulk advertising (known as malvertising) to phishing - where the spammer is trying to trick you into providing personal details by pretending to be a legitimate company or person you may know.

    Attempting to directly phish financial or personal details to commit fraud or identity theft may be the most obvious reason - but why do the spammers want your University email account details? A compromised account may provide your personal information indirectly via the emails in your mailbox - it's important to note that the spammer will be able to access everything in your mailbox. University email systems also tend to be 'trusted' and therefore it makes our email accounts very attractive to spammers when continuing their on-going spamming activities.

    The University has taken steps which assist in proactively identifying email accounts which may have been compromised, however it is important to note that ultimate responsibility for keeping their mailbox secure remains with each staff member or student.

    How to recognise a phishing email

    Some phishing emails are more obvious than others and some spammers go to great lengths to 'spoof' their intended recipients. Just because it looks legitimate doesn't always mean it is - web addresses and email links can be 'spoofed' and corporate images (such as bank logos, etc.) can be misused. Remember: if in doubt, check!

    Online banking is an obvious common target of phishers, and many people are now extremely wary of providing financial account details to non-solicited emails, but spammers have diversified into other areas such as:

    • Student Loans Company 'account alerts'
    • Email Mailbox 'loss of access' or 'upgrade' alerts (Important: Digital Services will NEVER ask for your passwords in this manner)
    • HM Revenue & Customs 'tax refunds'
    • Parcel shipping 'non-delivery' from DHL, etc.
    • iTunes, eBay and PayPal 'purchase' alerts
    • Social Media 'access' alerts

    Access to this information may provide the spammer with the indirect route to other personal or financial information.

    Clicking on attachments and web links within suspect emails also increases the risk of malware and spyware infection of your computer or smart device.

    View an example of phishing emails received by the University recently (PDF format)

    How to protect yourself

    If you receive an unsolicited email from an organization you do have links with, which includes web links, go to their official website by typing the link into your internet browser or use your browser bookmark/favourite. Do not click on any link in an unsolicited email. If in any doubt, use the contact details on their site to query the email.

    Tip: hovering over a hyperlink with your mouse (not clicking on it!) can preview the real web address the link is directing to. In many phishing instances this will clearly show a dubious link unrelated to the real site it is purporting to be - this is one way to spot a potential phish.

    Do not 'unsubscribe' from unsolicited email lists, this is likely only to increase the volume of spam you receive, as you will mark your email account as 'live' to the spammer. Mark the email message as junk or just delete it.

    Do not register your University address on numerous external websites, forums or email distribution lists - except those for University related purposes. The more 'footprint' your email address has on the internet, the more likely it is that you will receive spam. Instead, it is better to register and use a web based email account for personal internet use.

    When accessing University systems via personally owned devices, use an up-to-date web browser. Anti-phishing technology is now common in recent versions of standard web browsers such as Firefox, Chrome and Edge. University staff and student workstations currently use Edge as the supported default browser. Google Chrome is also installed.

    If you are unsure about the authenticity of an email in your University mailbox, forward it to the Digital Services IT Service Desk at servicedesk@ulster.ac.uk for advice.

    What to do if I think you have been compromised

    In the event you suspect your University email account may have been compromised (possibly by you having mistakenly supplied details to an unsolicited email or via your mailbox demonstrating other signs as outlined below), then it is vital that you inform the Service Desk on 028 9536 7776 as soon as possible.

    If the incident occurs during core working hours of Mon-Thurs 09:00-17:00 and Friday 09:00-16:30, the Service Desk will assist you in changing your password immediately and will then open the investigation to establish if any actual compromise has occurred.

    Outside core working hours, please attempt to change your password immediately using the Staff Password Manager and then inform the Service Desk via telephone at the earliest opportunity of the suspected compromise.

    IMPORTANT NOTE: the new password must be completely unrelated to the possibly compromised password; hence it should not be guessable to the spammer if they re-try to gain access.

    Please do not use email to report a suspected compromise.

    It is important to note that the early reporting of a possible compromise may assist in reducing the impact significantly. Some spammers may not actively misuse your account immediately, so if the password has been changed at the earliest possible time, this may block any active misuse of the account.

    Signs your account may have been compromised include:

    • Receiving email bouncebacks, especially from emails you do not recall sending.
    • People on your contacts list report receiving strange emails from you.
    • Emails appear in your Deleted Items, Sent Items or other folders that you do not recognise.
    • Presence of mail rules diverting your email to another folder within your mailbox instead of the Inbox, or to another email account entirely.
    • Personal signatures on outgoing emails changed to other contact details instead of your own.

    If you also think you may have compromised personal details related to a non-University IT Account, then contact the relevant company or organisation for assistance. For example, if your mailbox contains details of any online bank accounts, then you should assume that a spammer with control of your mailbox could have accessed that information at any time.

    Related online material

    The following links are external to the University but provide useful additional information on this subject.

    Disclaimer: this section includes links to external websites in order to provide additional information. We are not responsible for the content or availability of any external website and the inclusion of such websites does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of an organisation or its website by Ulster University.

  • How to Add a Delegate Mailbox to Microsoft Outlook

    Delegated Mailboxes are used to provide access to a shared mailbox by authorised users within a team such as Registry Offices, etc.

    If you have been authorised to access a delegated mailbox, but your copy of Outlook does not currently have it configured to be visible within your Folder List already, then please follow these instructions to add it.

    Outlook instructions

    1. Within Outlook, select 'File' and 'Info' from the menu bar.
    2. Select the 'Account Settings' option, and then select "Account Settings" from the dropdown menu.
    3. This will open the 'E-mail Accounts' dialogue box, on the 'Email’' tab. Highlight your account name and select 'Change'.
    4. This will open the 'Change Account' dialogue. Select 'More Settings'.
    5. On the 'Microsoft Exchange' dialogue box, select the 'Advanced' tab.
    6. Select 'Add' and type the display name of the delegated mailbox you have been authorised to access. If you do not know this, check the display name on a colleague's PC who has access already. If you do not type the display name exactly, the system may provide suggested names.
    7. Once the delegated mailbox is found and added, select 'OK', then follow through the remaining dialogue boxes by selecting 'Next', 'Finish' and 'Close'.
    8. You should now be able to see and access the Delegated Mailbox on your Outlook Folder List. You will see its folders by clicking on it to expand it.

    Permissions

    However, you may see the error below when you try to expand the folder:

    If this continues to occur after a reboot of your PC, this means you have not been authorised to access that Delegated Mailbox.

    A request for permission to access the mailbox must be received via email only to the Service Desk, and must include the following information:

    • Name of mailbox/Email address of mailbox:              @ulster.ac.uk
    • How long the mailbox access will be required for
    • Your Staff code
    • The level of access required (read only/ send on behalf of/delete)
    • Details of the registered owner of the delegated mailbox
    • Your request also needs to be supported by the mailbox’s ‘recognised authority’ (normally your line manager or your business area member of staff responsible for the original setup request and continued usage of the Delegated Mailbox).  Please include this approval in your email request

    If you believe you should have access already and you encounter difficulties with this process, please contact the Service Desk who will advise you further.

    Further information

    For further information on Delegate Mailboxes and how to request a new one, please see the following Email Alias and Delegate Mailbox.