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Northwestern University provides faculty and staff with a centrally hosted e-mail service, available after activating a NetID. Most students are provided with an @u.northwestern.edu collaboration account upon NetID activation.

Northwestern Collaboration Services

Northwestern University has implemented a more enhanced communication and collaborative environment to carry out the teaching, research, and administrative needs of the University. Northwestern Collaboration Services, a Microsoft-powered messaging and collaboration product, facilitates e-mail, calendaring, document sharing, and more for faculty and staff who choose to transition. Learn more on the project site.

All incoming faculty and staff are provided with a Northwestern Collaboration Services account and can immediately access University mail from the Outlook Web App (OWA). OWA provides a secure and easy way to check e-mail from anywhere: on or off campus, a Web-enabled mobile device, home, the library, etc.

Choose and Set Up a Mail Program

In addition to OWA, centrally-provided University e-mail is compatible with and accessible via several common mail programs and mobile devices including Outlook, Thunderbird, Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile. Information about setting up University e-mail is available for mail clients and mobile devices.

Inbox Space and Folder Space

The default quota for the majority of Northwestern Collaboration Services accounts is 2GB for the primary mail file and an additional 6GB of online, secondary storage via the Outlook Web App (OWA) and Outlook 2010 for Windows. Other supported mail programs, including Thunderbird, Apple Mail, and Outlook 2011 for Mac, cannot see the online secondary storage. NUIT recommends that users regularly archive mail on a local computer and delete unwanted mail to avoid exceeding the quota.

Backing Up Messages

E-mail messages stored on the NU mail servers is backed up nightly by NUIT and retained for a period of 30 days. New messages deleted from the server prior to a backup cycle are not restorable. Users can also manage and back up these mail folders on a local machine for personal safekeeping. 

Out of Office / Vacation Messaging

Members of the University community going on vacation or planning an extended amount of time away from University e-mail should plan to set a vacation or out of office message for optimal communication.

Additional Information

Support Contacts