GW Alumni Email for Life
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1. Why is the university upgrading our email Services? |
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| General | ||
| 1. Why is the university upgrading our email services? | ||
| GW made the decision to upgrade to a Google Mail interface because of the changing ways that members of the GW community use email and the need for more email storage space. Outsourcing the email system to a third-party service like Google Mail was the right choice for GW because it supports our current hardware platform and offers significantly enhanced storage capabilities, access to other Web-based applications, and the complete features of the commercial Google Mail system. Additionally, GW selected the interface as a result of its popularity with current students and alumnitwice as many students and alumni currently forward their email to Google Mail as compared to all other e-mail applications. Back to Top |
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| 2. Will there be a cost associated with this account? | ||
| There is no cost for creating and using a GWMail account. This upgraded email service is being provided as a free benefit to GW alumni. Back to Top |
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| Setup | ||
| 3. Do I have to create a GWMail account? | ||
| You are not required to create a GWMail account. However, we recommended that you take advantage of this benefit because it is a great way to stay in touch with GW and to hear about upcoming alumni events. Back to Top |
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| 4. How do I create my new GWMail account? | ||
| To create your new GWMail account, visit to the GW alumni website at http://alumni.gwu.edu and click on "Email Services" link on the menu to the left. This will take you to a page where you will see a link to create your GWMail account. You will need to know your username and password to create your GWMail account. If you don't have a username and password or don't remember this information, please refer to the Alumni Community Registration information.
Alumni Community Registration link - https://my.gwu.edu/login/alumni.cfm. Back to Top |
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| 5. I am a staff or faculty member that is also an alumnus. How do I access my GWMail account? | ||
| As a GW staff or faculty member who is also a GW alumnus, your primary email service with the University will be Colonial Mail (either through http://cmail.gwu.edu or GroupWise). If you would like to access your GW alumni email account, go to the GW Alumni web site at http://alumni.gwu.edu . Click on the link for "Email Services" on the menu to the left. This will take you to a page where you will see a link to set up your GWMail account. You will need to know your GW NetID and password to set up your GWMail account. If you don't have a NetID/password or don't remember your NetID information, please refer to Alumni Community Registration information. Alumni Home Page - http://alumni.gwu.edu Alumni Community Registration link - https://my.gwu.edu/login/alumni.cfm Back to Top |
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| 6. I have created my new GWMail account. How do I access my GWMail account? | ||
As a GW alumnus/a, you can access your GW email for life in four different ways:
myGW Portal link - http://my.gwu.edu Back to Top |
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| 7. What do I use IMAP or POP mail for? | ||
| POP and IMAP protocols allow access to your GWMail account using a third party mail client (like Mozilla Thunderbird, Outlook or Mac Mail) or mobile device (such as a PDA, Treo, Blackberry or iPhone). POP allows a mail client to download messages from the GWmail servers to your computer or mobile device. IMAP also downloads messages, but creates a two-way communication link to synchronize your GWMail account with your mail client. Therefore, if you move or delete a message on your device, it moves or deletes the message in your GWMail account. To set up POP or IMAP for your GWMail account, you must first enable access on the GWMail site. Once access has been enabled, you will need to set up your third party mail account to receive POP or IMAP messages. Links to instructions and additional information are provided below. How to enable POP link - http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=13273 Supported POP Clients link - http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=12103 How to enable IMAP link - http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77695 Supported IMAP Clients link - http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=75726 Back to Top |
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| 8. How do I transition messages from Colonial Mail to GWMail? | ||
| For the short term, we recommend that you manually forward your email from Colonial Mail to GWMail to ensure that you retain your important content. Please note that this is an interim method. We are working on a more automated solution to help you with mail forwarding. Look for updates from us as we get closer to the new solution. Back to Top |
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| Help | ||
| 9. What is my username and password? | ||
| The username and password used to create a GWMail account is the same username and password you use to access the Alumni Online Community, the myGW portal, and Colonial Mail (if you are a recent graduate). Alumni who graduated since May 2003 should log into the Alumni Online Community and create a GWMail account with the same username and password you used as a student.
If you do not have a username or password, please register for the Alumni Online Community to create a username and password. If you are having trouble registering or creating a GWMail account, please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 1-800-ALUMNI-7 or alumni@gwu.edu (Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm) or the ISS Help Desk at 202-994-5530 (Monday-Friday, 7am-7pm). Back to Top |
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| 10. I forgot my GWMail password. What should I do? | ||
| The username and password used to create a GWMail account is the same username and password you use to access the Alumni Online Community, the myGWportal, and Colonial Mail (if you are a recent graduate). Alumni who graduated since May 2003 should log into the Alumni Online Community and create a GWMail account with the same username and password you used as a student.
Visit the GW Account Management Center to reset your password. This will reset your password for the Alumni Online Community and GWMail. Please note that this username and password is used for a variety of online services such as the GW Alumni Online Community, the myGW portal, Gelman Library online services, etc. If you are having trouble resetting your password, you can contact the ISS Help Desk at 202-994-5530 (Monday-Friday, 7am-7pm) or the Office of Alumni Relations at 1-800-ALUMNI-7 or alumni@gwu.edu (Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm). Student Link - https://amc.gwu.edu/StudentPasswordReset Alumni Link - https://amc.gwu.edu/AlumniPasswordReset Back to Top |
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| 11. Who do I contact if I have problems creating my email account? | ||
| Alumni who have trouble creating an account should contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 1-800-ALUMNI-7 or alumni@gwu.edu (Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm) or the ISS Help Desk at 202-994-5530 (Monday-Friday, 7am-7pm). Back to Top |
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| 12. Who do I contact if I have problems signing in to my email account? | ||
| If you have already created an alumni GWMail account and are having trouble signing in please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 1-800-ALUMNI-7 or alumni@gwu.edu (Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm) or the ISS Help Desk at 202-994-5530 (Monday-Friday, 7am-7pm). Back to Top |
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| 13. I am having problems registering for the Alumni Online Community. Who do I call for help? | ||
| If you are having trouble registering for the Alumni Online Community please contact the Office of Alumni Relations at 1-800-ALUMNI-7 or alumni@gwu.edu (Monday-Friday, 8:30am-5pm). Back to Top |
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| 14. I accidentally deleted my email. Can I get it back? | ||
| If you delete your email from your Inbox you still have it in the trash bin. However, once you delete your email from the trash bin you will no longer have access to that message. Neither Google nor the ISS department will be able to restore your deleted emails. Back to Top |
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| 15. Is there an instruction guide or training that shows me how to use the features of my email account? | ||
| There is a wealth of helpful information in this online tutorial. Tutorial link - http://www.gwu.edu/~set/GWMail/GWMail_Navigation/GWMail_Navigation.htm Back to Top |
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| Storage | ||
| 16. What is the GWMail quota for storage? | ||
| Google provides 6 GB of email storage. Back to Top |
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| 17. Where will my email data be stored? | ||
| Your data will be stored using Google's advanced worldwide data storage centers. However, there is no guarantee which data center will house GW data. This is done to ensure that Google can best handle security, scalability, usage spikes, and redundancy. Please click here for more information on their security and privacy practices. Google Security and Privacy practices - http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=60762 Back to Top |
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| Security | ||
| 18. How is Google handling my privacy? | ||
| GW takes the topics of privacy and security very seriously. One of the factors in selecting Google Mail as the third-party email solution was the fact that their privacy and security offerings are compatible with ours. Google's privacy policy states that they will not share our data with others (except as noted in their privacy policy). Google will not share GW data with third parties, nor will their employees read GW email. Click Google's privacy policy to find out more. Privacy Policy link - http://www.google.com/privacypolicy.html. Back to Top |
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| 19. How is GWMail being secured at GW? Is it safe from hackers, spam, phishing, etc.? | ||
| GW's data will be virtually protected as if it were on its own server. The technology Google uses to protect data is similar to what is used in online banking applications. Additionally, Google has great spam blocking capability integrated into its email system. Google also blocks viruses in the most direct way possible: by not allowing users to receive executable files that could contain damaging code. Click the link for information on Google's security and privacy capabilities. Security and Privacy Capability link - http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=60762 Back to Top |
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