October Executive Blog

Something exciting is on its way to your inbox, if you haven’t received it already.

AU has officially begun the launch of @athabasca.edu email addresses for all AU students!

One day soon, you will receive an email, asking you to activate your Athabasca University student Office 365 account.  And, after following a few very simple steps, you’ll be all set up.  This is a very exciting new service for students that AU is providing, and one that holds many benefits beyond simple email.  Your new Office 365 license includes popular software applications such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint; as well as some fun, new communication and productivity tools like Yammer and Sway.

I was very lucky to receive my student email account early on, and I’m happy to share my experience and a few pointers with my fellow students to help make the transition as seamless as possible!

1. Plan ahead. Once activated, your Athabasca.edu email address will automatically become your default mode of communication from AU.  I suggest careful consideration as to how you will manage this email account to be sure not to miss any key messages from the University.  You can easily set it up in your phone’s mail app, or program the emails to automatically forward to your personal or preferred email address.  Either way, I suggest considering that and setting it up right away to ensure your messages aren’t missed.

2. Test your email account – send yourself a test message, make sure you’ve got it right!  A common error seems to be the habit of adding a “u” at the end of Athabasca.  I found that saying/typing Athabasca.edu took some getting used to!

3. Check out the apps – the O365 suite has an amazing amount of apps and tools for assignments, productivity and networking with peers!  Download Yammer to your mobile device for a great way to collaborate with fellow students and get that “campus” feeling!

All in all, I hope that the transition into campus-administered email is a positive experience for everyone!  It is something that AUSU has advocated for as long as I can remember, and to see it become a reality is both exciting and rewarding!!

I look forward to chatting with you on Yammer soon!!

Shawna Wasylyshyn
President