Faculty and staff regularly use email to communicate with students. Every student is issued a University email account and must regularly monitor it for official communications. You may access the Shepherd Email system at http://www.shepherd.edu, then click on Email in the links at the top of the page.
Be sure to retrieve your computer account before visiting this server. Your email address will be username@rams.shepherd.edu
Tips about email
We strongly suggest you change your password before accessing your email account the first time. Your initial password is sent to you in a separate email to your personal account. To change your initial password, please go to this page for step-by-step instructions Password Instruction Page, then return to this page.
- When sending email, keep in mind it is sent via an unprotected source and without encryption.
- Do not divulge personal, confidential, or financial information via email. Doing so could result in an embarrassing situation or comprise of your information’s confidentiality.
- Abide by common courtesy rules when sending email. Also use a level of formality that equals the purpose of the email.
- Use caution when opening emails, especially attachments. They may contain a virus or other malicious code.
Getting Your Email
To access your web-based email account, type https://login.microsoftonline.com into your browser’s address line, or go the Shepherd web page at www.shepherd.edu and click on Email in the links menu at the top of the page.
- For the username, type in your username you looked up previous followed by @rams.shepherd.edu so it is username@rams.shepherd.edu. Type in your changed password into the password box. If you have not changed your password yet, see the instructions above.
- Click on the Log In button.
- You should set the default language and time zone. The initial time zone is set to Iceland so click on the box on the right hand side, then move upward until you see Eastern time.
- Once you set the time zone, you will see your email messages.
- Your e-mail account has a sizable, but finite size limit. You will need to manage your account so problems are avoided.
Setting up your Shepherd email on your smartphone
The following instructions are generic. These are not to be interpreted as specific step-by-step instructions as each smartphone OS (Operating System) is different from others in terms of their menu navigation and options.
- Go into your Settings
- Go into your Email Settings
- Select either Exchange or Exchange ActiveSync
- The server name is outlook.office365.com
- The domain is rams.shepherd.edu
- Enter your Shepherd username and password
Tips for managing the account’s size
- Save attachments to a thumb drive or your personal network disk space as soon as you can, then remove them from the message.
- Delete any messages you no longer need. Make sure attachments are saved somewhere else first.
- Check your e-mail periodically, even between semesters and over the summer.
- Use your Shepherd e-mail only for your courses. Use an outside account for personal e-mails if you receive a lot.
- When finished using your account, be sure to click on Logout in the corner of the screen.
If you need help, please contact the IT Services Desk by phone at 304-876-5457, see us in the basement of the Library or email us from a personal email account at itworkorder@shepherd.edu (to create a ticket in our system).