IT Knowledge BaseGeneral TopicsFaculty/Staff EmailShared Mailbox Email AccountsRequesting Conversion of Administrative Account or Department Account into a Shared Mailbox Email Account

Requesting Conversion of Administrative Account or Department Account into a Shared Mailbox Email Account

This article covers how Department IT Coordinators (DITCs) can request that an administrative account or department account be converted into a shared mailbox email account.

Need to request a new shared mailbox email account? View instructions on how to request a generic/department account and choose Shared Mailbox (Departmental Email without Login or Duo).

At this time, we are not able to convert an administrative account that has Qualtrics surveys associated with it.

What is a Shared Mailbox Email Account?

A shared mailbox email account is an email-only account that can be shared by multiple users in a department without those users needing to know a password or use Duo to access the account. There is no ability to log in to any apps using a shared mailbox email account; it is ONLY used to send and receive emails.

As part of the conversion, a distribution list will be created to manage who has access to the shared mailbox email account. Designated owner(s) will be able to add/remove access to the shared mailbox email account by managing the members of the distribution list which can be easily done in Outlook in a matter of minutes.

NOTE: It is highly recommended that the designated owner(s) conduct a review of who has access to the shared mailbox email account on a regular basis so they can add/remove users as applicable.

Benefits:

  • No Duo two-factor authentication required for access
  • No password change requirement
  • No login; only used to send and receive emails
  • Quickly add/remove access for users without having to go through campus IT or share passwords
  • Maximum of 25 people can have access to the shared mailbox email account
  • Access to a shared mailbox email account is perpetual; it will automatically show in your Outlook desktop app and can be added to your Outlook on the Web even if you are using a new or different laptop/computer

How do I request that an administrative account be converted into a shared mailbox email account?

Please note that once this account is converted to a shared mailbox email account, users will no longer be able to log in directly to the account using a username and password.

1. Open a ticket with campus IT to request an account conversion.

Department IT Coordinators should open a new ticket with the information below. You can copy/paste the text below into the ticket.

Short description: Convert Admin Account to Shared Mailbox

Please describe your issue:

Administrative or Department Account: [name of administrative/department account, e.g., IT Training]

Email address: [email address of administrative/department account, e.g., [email protected]]

Username(s) of designated owner(s) who will add/remove users' access: [e.g., tuffytitan, larthur]

Is this account used for email only (i.e., not being used to log in to a computer or external application such as Dropbox, Zoom, Bookings app, etc.? [YES or NO]

If no, please list all of the applications/computers that this account is used to log in to: [e.g., Dropbox, Zoom, Bookings, student assistant workstation]

2. Campus IT will let you know when the account has been converted and provide additional support information, user guides, and the distribution list name associated with the account.

If the account was being used to log in to applications such as Dropbox, Zoom, or Bookings, campus IT will let you know if there are additional steps that you need to take such as setting up permissions to schedule Zoom meetings on behalf of the account or working with campus IT to set up a Dropbox Team Folder.

Designated owner(s) will now be able to add access to the shared mailbox email account by managing the members of the distribution list.

Need More Help?

Contact the IT Help Desk at [email protected] or 657-278-7777.