Office of Technology Services:
Information Technology – Client Services
New Faculty Welcome and Orientation:
E-Mail
Michael Bachman, Director
Office of Technology Services
E-Mail Topics
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The E-mail Environment
E-Mail Applications
E-Mail Tips
E-Mail Applications Overview
Outlook Web Access, Virtual Workspace, and Installed
Programs
• E-Mail Enabled Phones
• Sending E-Mail to Students
• Class E-Mail by Distribution Lists, Blackboard, and
PeopleSoft
Office of Technology Services
The E-Mail Environment
• TU uses an Exchange/Outlook solution for faculty and staff e-mail. It
also includes calendar, task, and contact management services.
Students use Webmail Powered by Google
• Click here for the university e-mail policy or paste this address into a
new browser window:
http://inside.towson.edu/generalcampus/tupolicies/documents/10-03.00%20Electronic%20Mail%20Policy.pdf
• Over 97.6% of incoming e-mail is rejected de facto as spam using
multiple software and hardware solutions—but it is not perfect and is
not aware of context (banning stock tips would be a problem for
CBE, banning medications would be a problem for CHP, etc.)
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Office of Technology Services
The E-Mail Environment
• For performance and reliability, the maximum INBOX for faculty/staff
Exchange has limits
• Default for faculty/staff is 250 megabytes for INBOX, but can be
extended by special request to the Faculty/Staff Help Center
• In addition to the INBOX, you can store more e-mail using Personal
Folders (.pst files). These .pst files are not available with Outlook
Web Access, but you CAN get to them with Virtual Workspace
• Your H: drive offers 5 gigabytes, and your Personal Folders should
“live” in that space
• Maximum recipients: 5000 (Reply All would be interesting)
Office of Technology Services
The E-Mail Environment
• Watch out for attachments: we have a 20 MB limit, but that’s pretty
bad etiquette; there are other means to share large files and we can
help with specific needs.
• Some attachments (.htm, .exe, .mdb etc.) are blocked for security
reasons. If for some reason an expected e-mail doesn’t arrive or
your recipient doesn’t receive it from you, this may be one of several
things to look into.
Office of Technology Services
E-Mail Tips
• Phishing scams are prevalent; OTS will NEVER ask for your
password. We may ask for your username, but again, NEVER your
password.
• Multiple “To” recipients diffuses responsibility and reduces chances
of no one doing anything at all (“I thought you were taking care of it;
no, I thought you were.”)
• Always send e-mail to students using your Towson University e-mail
service as opposed to Hotmail, Gmail, or other systems; this is
university policy
• Use a personal e-mail account (Hotmail, Gmail, etc.) for nonuniversity business; it helps reduce spam and increases security
Office of Technology Services
E-Mail Applications Overview
• There are three preferred options to get to your Towson University email:
1. Outlook Web Access (Windows; Lite Version for Mac)
2. Virtual Workspace (Windows and Mac)
3. Outlook (Windows) or Entourage (Mac) installed on a
universityowned computer
• Less-preferred options include using a smart phone or some other
mail application, but these are not general encouraged due to the
chance of exposure of e-mail or attachments
• See
http://www.towson.edu/adminfinance/ots/trainingdoc/selfhelpdoc.asp
for lots of information on Outlook, e-mail, and related topics
Office of Technology Services
E-Mail Applications Overview
• Click to watch an overview video of the various e-mail options or
paste this address into a new browser window:
http://mediasite2.towson.edu/mediasite/SilverlightPlayer/Default.aspx?peid=d4d7914fc40a41fda6143b7afa0bb1fc1
d
Office of Technology Services
Outlook Web Access
• This is the simplest solution for Windows-based computers; it has a
few limitations, but for just sending and reading e-mail, it’s the
smartest choice.
• A lite version is available for the Mac and other operating systems
• No mail is saved on the computer; when you exit, all traces are
gone; this is the ideal choice for shared home computers, public
computers, computers in classrooms and labs, etc.
• Outlook Web Access works with all common browsers (Internet
Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc.)
Office of Technology Services
Outlook Web Access
• Outlook Web Access works with all common browsers (Internet
Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc.)
• You don’t need to install any software at all
• You can access files on your O: (department) and H: (home) shares
Office of Technology Services
Outlook Web Access
• Of all the methods of getting to e-mail, Outlook Web Access
launches fastest
• To launch Outlook Web Access, go to http://outlook.towson.edu
Office of Technology Services
Virtual Workspace
• This takes more time to load and you have to install a little piece of
software the first time (the Citrix Client)
• You need Local Administrator Rights to install the Citrix Client, so
this is usually not an option for a public computer
• You should choose Virtual Workspace when you need to get to files
on your O: (department) share or H: (home) share
• You can use Virtual Workspace on a Mac
Office of Technology Services
Virtual Workspace
• To launch Virtual Workspace, go to http://vw.towson.edu
• Notice the Self-Help Documents section; read this to get started
Office of Technology Services
Installed E-Mail Programs
• Microsoft Office Outlook is installed on Windows computers in
university offices, classrooms, and labs
• It provides the most functionality but mail is stored locally on the
computer and can be a risk in classroom and lab computers;
Outlook Web Access again is preferred
• To launch Outlook, click on the desktop icon
• Entourage is provided on university-owned Mac systems; it provides
similar functionality to Outlook
Office of Technology Services
E-Mail Enabled Phones
• Be very cautious; smart phones are easily lost or stolen—and e-mail
and attachments can mean exposure of sensitive or confidential
information
• University support is limited to providing configuration settings only
for personally owned devices; it’s up to you and your cellular
provider for all other support
• Click to see the Faculty/Staff Help Center for configuration details or
paste this address into another browser window:
http://www.towson.edu/adminfinance/ots/support/facultystaff/configuringsmartphones.
asp
Office of Technology Services
Sending E-Mail to Students
• If you are communicating to one student, you can use your regular
Towson University e-mail account and include the student in the TO
line.
• Students are always addressed as NetID@students.towson.edu
• When sending to all students in a class section, you have three
options:
• In approximate order of popularity, these “class” e-mail options
include:
1. Distribution lists
2. Blackboard
3. PeopleSoft
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: Distribution Lists
To send e-mail using a class distribution list (OTS creates these
automatically):
1. Open your e-mail application and type your own e-mail address
into the TO line (you’re sending it TO yourself)
2. In the BCC line, type in the course section address using our
special format described below. You may need to set an option in
your e-mail application to force it to show the BCC line.
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: Distribution Lists
3. Here's an example address: 1102COSC175101@towson.edu.
You'll need to modify the address for your own particular course
section.
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: Distribution Lists
Here's how we build the class e-mail address step-by-step:
1: Always start with a "1" (this is the century digit)
110: Add the two-digit year; this example is based on 2008
1102: Add the term code digit; this example is based on fall which is "4“
(1=minimester, 2=spring, 3=summer, 4=fall)
1102COSC: Add the subject code
1102COSC175: Add the course number
1102COSC175101: Add the section number
1102COSC175101@towson.edu Finally, add the @towson.edu
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: Blackboard
1. Login to Blackboard and navigate to your course
2. Open the course’s Blackboard Control Panel:
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: Blackboard
3. Select “Send E-Mail” in the Course Tools section:
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: Blackboard
4. Choose one of the send mail options:
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: Blackboard
5. Fill in the e-mail message screen:
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: PeopleSoft
1. Login to PeopleSoft/Towson Online Services from the portal:
https://mytu.towson.edu
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: PeopleSoft
2. Select Faculty Center from the PeopleSoft “applet” group:
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: PeopleSoft
2. You can also use the old portal http://inside.towson.edu and enter
PeopleSoft under the Towson Online Services bar on the far right:
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: PeopleSoft
3. Navigate to Self-Service > Faculty Center > Class Roster. Click the
green Change Class button if needed to choose your course
section:
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: PeopleSoft
3. Select the student(s) you want to notify by checking the box in front
of their name. You can also click Notify All at the bottom of the list:
Office of Technology Services
Class E-Mail: PeopleSoft
4. Compose and send your e-mail message:
Office of Technology Services
Next Steps
• Call us: 410-704-5151 2+2+2 on the voice mail menu for general
help with e-mail
• Read our self-help documents and resources on e-mail:
http://www.towson.edu/adminfinance/ots/trainingdoc/selfhelpdoc.asp
• For planned or scheduled maintenance with e-mail, follow the Daily
Digest:
http://www.towson.edu/applications/dailydigest
Office of Technology Services
Office of Technology Services
Contributing to the success of Towson University through the development,
maintenance, and support of technology
Office of Technology Services