General Information

ECU uses Microsoft Exchange 2003 for its e-mail system. E-mail can be accessed via the Microsoft Outlook client or on the Web (http://piratemail.ecu.edu).

E-mail accounts are automatically generated for ECU paid faculty and staff after being entered into the Human Resources system. If you are a non-paid ECU employee, you will need to be entered into the Faculty and Staff Directory via Onestop by your supervisor or department liaison. Please visit http://www.ecu.edu/itcs/ithelpdesk/fsemail.cfm for more information.

For problems with your e-mail account, contact the IT Help Desk at 252-328-9866 or submit a service request through the IT Help Desk at http://help.ecu.edu.

Account Information

Your PirateID (a.k.a. "e-mail userid") is made up of your last name and the first letter of your first name. Your initial passphrase is a dollar symbol ($) followed by your ECU ID.

Name: Petey T. Pirate
PirateID: piratep

If your last name and first letter of your first name form a userid already in use, the next letter of your first name will be added to the userid (example: piratepe) until a unique userid is created. Your e-mail userid can be looked up by going to the ECU homepage and clicking on the E-mail/Phone link.

Your Internet e-mail address is in the following form: userid@ecu.edu. Using the example above, Petey's e-mail address would be: piratep@ecu.edu.

Account Policies and Restrictions

The e-mail system places limitations on how much mail you can store in your mailbox on the server. Any mail in folders under "Mailbox - your name" is located on the server. The storage limit is approximately 250 megabytes for faculty and staff. If you exceed the size limit, you will get an automated warning from the System Administrator. In addition, you will not be able to send mail. You will, however, still be able to receive mail. Additionally, the size of messages you send, including file attachments, is limited to approximately 30 megabytes.

ECU has an automated e-mail purge policy. The mailbox folders affected (and the associated folder age limits) are below:

• Inbox (180 days)
• Sent Items (180 days)
• Deleted Items (7 days)

The automated purge process runs weekly on items in these folders and the emails are deleted automatically if older than the age limits. Items can be moved to other folders or archived for retrieval later.

The university has adapted a password expiration policy to meet state audit requirements. Your e-mail password expires every ninety (90) days. Automatic notification will be sent to users via e-mail 15, 5, 2, and 1 days prior to expiration. The notice sent will outline the procedures for changing your password.

ECU has a policy that does not allow the sending of SPAM (junk) e-mail such as chain letters. The university considers any violation of this policy “misconduct”. All policies can be viewed at www.ecu.edu/itcs/policies.

Account Deactivation

A list of faculty/staff userids is compared with a list of employees (updated daily) that have left the University. If the user appears in this list, his/her account is marked for deactivation after 90 days. If the University terminates an employee, his/her account will be deactivated immediately. Ninety days after leaving the University, the user's account is deactivated so the user cannot log on to it or otherwise use it. After 90 days of deactivation, the account is deleted.

Faculty/staff retiring from the University will be able to use their account for 365 days after retiring. The retiree account's Department field will be labeled as "Retired". Retirees will have an opportunity to renew their account at the end of this period by contacting IT Help Desk at 252.328.9866. If not renewed, the user's account will be deactivated so the user cannot log on to it or otherwise use it. After 90 days of deactivation, the account is deleted.