Google accounts are designed for individual users, but there are three ways to share the mail and calendaring features of UMD Google accounts with colleagues for collaborative purposes.
Request a shared mailbox
Shared mailboxes allow multiple people to read and send mail from the shared address, rather than from their personal accounts. Shared mailboxes are
recommended for organizations that require a single email address as a point of contact. Shared accounts also offer the following features:
- Delegate email access for up to 24 additional UMD Google accounts (this excludes TERPmail and other Google domains).
- Shared Calendar that can be modified by all delegates and shared with any Google account.
Shared mailboxes have the following limitations:
- No more than 25 people may participate in the shared account.
- Only persons with a UMD Google (not TERPmail) account can participate in a shared account.
- Undergraduate students who need to be part of a shared account must obtain a UMD Google account through a faculty or staff sponsor.
- Shared Accounts "belong" to the university. If the original requestor leaves the university (or otherwise ceases to have access to the account), the account remains and may be managed by someone else.
UMD faculty and staff can request a Shared mailbox account from the Service Catalog.
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Set up mail delegation for Gmail
UMD faculty and staff can grant a colleague access to their UMD Gmail account by setting up mail delegation. Mail delegation allows an appointed delegate to access your Gmail and execute the following actions:
- Send or reply to emails that were sent to you. When they send a message, their email address will show. For example, the sender will show as "sent by johnsmith@gmail.com."
- Read messages sent to you
- Delete messages sent to you
- View and add to your contacts
Mail delegation is recommended for faculty and staff who wish to share access to their Gmail account with a limited number of colleagues.
Learn how to add a delegate or remove a delegate at the Google Support Center.
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Create a Google Group
Google Groups, or collaborative inboxes, are similar to shared mailboxes, but Groups lack some of the limitations of shared mailboxes. Groups is a unique collaboration tool that can facilitate a simple mailing list, a mailing list with advanced functions (like moderation), a question and answer forum, or an announcement board. Some core features of Google Groups include:
- Listserv style configuration that distributes received messages to all group members and allows members to respond individually or on behalf of the group.
- A collaborative inbox that functions much like a shared account
- Access for holders of UMD Google, TERPmail, and other Google accounts
- Interface that separates messages according to topic
UMD faculty or staff member may request a Google Group from SIMS.
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Create a Shared Drive
UMD faculty and staff who wish to share and create documents with colleagues are encouraged to create a Shared Drive for their office, unit, group, or organization.
Shared Drives are Google Drive spaces that are separate from any individual user's account. This means that even if the person who created content saved in a Shared Drive leaves or has his or her account disabled, the content will remain accessible to everyone else in the Shared Drive. Shared Drives are a great way to:
- Keep files separate from any individual's account
- Grant or revoke permission to a specific collection of files all at once
- Organize files based on purpose or need.
Shared Drives may be created by any faculty or staff with a UMD Google account.
Learn more about Shared Drives in the IT Library.
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