What is UMass Amherst Google Mail?

UMass Amherst Google Mail is part of Google Workspace, Google's suite of collaboration tools for educational institutions, customized especially for our campus. 

Starting in summer 2013, UMass Amherst Google Mail became the official email system for all undergraduate students, and graduate students and select faculty and staff in 2019. Undergraduates' Google Mail accounts have their UMass Amherst email address and are their official email account for the time they are at the University. UMass Amherst IT no longer provides UMail accounts for incoming undergraduates. New students only use Google Mail for their UMass Amherst email.

All members of the University community have access to the Google Workspace suite.

 

What’s the difference between Google Workspace at UMass Amherst and my regular Google account?

Unlike your regular Google account, Google Workspace at UMass Amherst does not show any advertisements and your email is not used for analysis or marketing campaigns. Google Workspace at UMass Amherst also includes many critical security features specifically designed to keep your data safe, secure, and in your control. It allows you to control your data, including who you share it with and how you share it. For security and other reasons, some apps are not included in the Google Workspace suite. View Google's statement on Security and Privacy.

 

How do I log in to UMass Amherst Google Mail?

With your IT Account NetID and password, access Google Mail:

• On the Web at apps.umass.edu
• Using email software (e.g., Outlook, Apple Mail) on your computer, tablet, or mobile device. Learn how to configure Google Mail for Email Software & Mobile Devices
• Using a mobile app (e.g., Gmail iPhone app) on your smartphone, tablet, or mobile device. Note: UMass Amherst IT does not provide support for individual mobile apps.

Important Notes:

• First, make sure you log out of any personal Google accounts before you log in to Google Workspace on the Web.
• When logged in to UMass Amherst Google Mail, you will see the Google Workspace logo in the top left corner and your University email address in the top right corner.
• We recommend that you sign out of Google Mail on a regular basis by going to Google Mail > Details > Sign out all other sessions.
   

What is my Google Mail quota?

There is no quota, you have unlimited storage.

 

Gmail is available for UMass Amherst Google mail users offline as well as online when using the Google Chrome browser. This feature should only enabled by users on an as needed basis and must be turned off when no longer necessary. For information on how to enable and use this feature on your UMass Amherst Google Mail account please visit: support.google.com/mail/answer/1306849?hl=en

Note: Users using Gmail offline with an account that contains University data must only configure offline Gmail on devices with the appropriate security controls for the data. Please see the “Technology Standards” section of the UMass Amherst Information Security Policy for more information.  

Accounts must also enable the “Remove offline data from my computer” option for their account.  To do so, log in to Gmail and go to Settings>Offline>Security and under “After logging out of my Google account” select “Remove offline data from my computer.” Users must also clear cookies on their browser after using this feature.

 

Is Google Mail replacing UMail?

UMass Amherst Google Mail replaced UMail as the official email system for all undergraduates in summer 2013. Students' Google Mail accounts have their UMass Amherst email address and are their official email accounts for the time they are at the University. Google Mail has also replaced UMail as the official email system for all graduate students in spring 2019 and select faculty and staff in fall 2019.

The transition from UMail to Google Mail for undergraduates' email occurred in late June 2013. UMass Amherst IT automatically transferred students' mailboxes from UMail to Google Mail. The same process occurred for graduate students and select faculty and staff in 2019. Note: After being migrated, you will not receive any new mail to your UMail account. All new messages will be delivered to your Google Mail account.

 

I have migrated from UMail to Google Mail: do I have a new email address?

Your new email address will be your NetID@umass.edu. All official University communications (e.g., messages from the Registrar's Office, excess check notices) will be sent to this address.

You can still receive email addressed to your @student.umass.edu address or @department.umass.edu address, but it will no longer be considered your official campus email address. Email sent to both your @umass.edu address and your @student/department.umass.edu address will be delivered to your UMass Amherst Google Mail account.

After migrating, why is my outgoing email sending as"@umass.edu" instead of my @department.umass.edu address?

Google considers your @umass.edu address to be both your account name and primary email address regardless of what is set in SPIRE. 

To change this, follow these steps to register your department address as a "Send As" address and verify ownership of the address.

 

When my email account switched to Google Mail, what happened to the messages in my UMail account?

We copied most of your messages to Google Mail, but we could not migrate:

• Attachments with .exe extensions (e.g., whatever.exe) or messages larger than 25 MB. We recommend that you save these messages to your computer.
• Email forwarding, vacation replies, and other UMail Post Office preferences. You will need to set up these preferences again in Google Mail. Learn how to enable email forwarding and set vacation replies in Google Mail.
• UMail Address Books. We recommend that you export your Address Book and import it in Google Mail.

In Google Mail, look for an email listing any messages we could not migrate. Undergraduate students had access to UMail until January 2014 to download old messages, export contacts, or review Post Office preferences. Graduate students had access to UMail until the end of the 2019 spring semester.

 

There are fewer messages in my Google Mail account than there are in my UMail account after migrating. Why?

Your UMail messages will appear in Google's conversation view, meaning that you will see the number of conversation threads, not individual messages, in a folder. The number of conversation threads may be lower than the actual number of messages. This does not mean your messages were not migrated. Simply turn off the conversation view in Google Mail to see messages displayed individually.

Google Workspace also estimates the number of messages in your inbox after a migration: it does not provide an absolute count. The number of messages indicated in your Gmail inbox might then be different from the number of messages in your UMail inbox. 

Note: This is especially true for very large inboxes.

Why are some legitimate UMass messages going to my Spam folder?

Google Mail uses its own internal spam filtering, which is different from the spam filtering used historically by UMail. Because UMass IT does not control this spam filtering, it is possible for even legitimate messages to sometimes make it to your spam folder.

We encourage frequent checking of the spam folder to ensure that no messages have been filed there erroneously. If this happens, you can use the "Report Not Spam" button in the Google Mail web interface to improve your personal spam filtering.

Optionally, you can also use these instructions to prevent any UMass mail from being filed into the Spam folder:

• Log into gmail web interface and click on the gear icon to navigate to Settings -> Filters and Blocked Addresses
• Click "Create a New Filter"
• Enter "umass.edu" in the From: field and click "Create Filter"
• Check "Never send to Spam" and click "Create Filter"

Why is are my UMail sent messages tagged "_Sent"?

Google Mail reserves the "Sent" label and automatically applies it to mail that was sent from Google Mail. If you have a folder named "Sent" in UMail, messages in this folder are automatically assigned the "_Sent" tag when they are imported from UMail.

You can rename the folder "UMail Sent Mail" if you want to give it a more useful name. Google does not allow users to manually assign the "Sent" tag to messages.

 

Why do some of my migrated messages display the date of the migration rather than the original date the message was sent?

Google Mail is more strict about the "Date" header in email messages than UMail. When a message arrives with a non-compliant header, it is marked with the date it was received by GMail. This problem usually affects messages that were sent by a computer program rather than an end user, e.g., marketing emails, order confirmation emails, etc. Usually, only a small number of messages are affected.

You can tag or delete these messages, but it is not possible to change the date assigned by Google.

 

Can I set up Google Mail to forward messages to a different email address?

Yes, you can. Here are the steps to forward mail to another account.

 

I was migrated from UMail to Google Mail: why does my email forwarding not work anymore?

Forwarding settings are not migrated when going from UMail to Google Mail. You need to re-setup forwarding in GMail. Here are the steps to forward mail to another account.

 

After migrating, why are the dates of the messages correct in the Gmail web interface but changed to the date of the migration in my mail client?

Some mail clients need to use a different date field to see the dates correctly. The following instructions are relevant to Outlook.

 

What happens to my Google Mail account when I graduate or leave UMass Amherst?

UMass Amherst graduates and students who leave the University in good standing have access to Google Workspace at UMass Amherst at no cost for one year after they leave the university.

 

I just switched to Google Mail: why don't I get copies of test messages I send myself?

To prevent clutter, Gmail doesn't route messages that you send to your own alias (or to a group you belong to) to your inbox. More information can be found here.

 

 

Follow the instructions above to import your address book into Google contacts. Then follow these instructions to export the contacts from Google to Outlook.

This is necessary because Outlook does not natively support the multi-vcf format used by UMail on the Web.

 

I found out I was sent a message, but cannot see it in my inbox: where else could it be?

Be sure to check your Spam folder in cases like this. Occassionally, authentic messages sent by the university may end up in this folder.

To find the Spam folder, click the "More" button on the left side of the mailbox. Doing so will open a dropdown menu containing the Spam folder. 

It is important to check this folder periodically to see if important messages have landed there. To ensure messages from university senders no longer go to this folder, add the sender's email address to your contact list.