Microsoft 365 Frequently Asked Questions

Microsoft 365 is a subscription service that provides access to the Microsoft productivity suite of applications and file storage through OneDrive. It is available to students, faculty and staff at Texas A&M.

Microsoft 365 applications available to Texas A&M campus members includeTeams, SharePoint, Sway, OneNote, To Do, Planner, Forms, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and others. A5 licenses include access to more features and applications than the A1 license.

All full-time employees and students of Texas A&M University (parts 2, 9, 10, 23, 28) and Texas A&M Galveston (part 10) have a Microsoft 365 license and account.

Microsoft 365 services are grouped into two license types for Texas A&M University members. All active part 2, 9, 10, 23 and 28 students, faculty and staff get A5 licenses. Retirees and university affiliates get A1 licenses in the Texas A&M tenant. Texas A&M Qatar, Athletics and College of Agriculture & Life Sciences manage their own Microsoft 365 tenants, but employees in those units receive A1 licenses in the Texas A&M tenant. A full list of features included in both the A5 and A1 licenses can be found on Microsoft's website.

Microsoft 365 applications available to Texas A&M campus members include Teams, SharePoint, Sway, OneNote, To Do, Planner, Forms, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and others.

A5 licenses include robust security and protection tools along with more features and applications than A1 licenses. Some notable applications only included in the A5 license are:

• Microsoft Bookings
• Universal Print
• Power BI Pro
• My Analytics
• InTune for Education

A full list of features included in both the A5 and A1 licenses can be found on Microsoft's website.

Full-time employees and students of Texas A&M University (parts 2, 9, 10, 23, 28) and Texas A&M Galveston (part 10) can log in to https://microsoft365.tamu.edu/ to access their Microsoft 365 account. You do not need to claim an account.

Identifying the best place to store your files depends on the purpose of your data. If your data is for your personal use and will be deleted when you leave the university, use Microsoft OneDrive. If your data needs to be used by your team and accessed after you leave the university, use Microsoft SharePoint. Learn more.

Yes, full-time employees and students of Texas A&M University (parts 2, 9, 10, 23, 28) and Texas A&M Galveston (part 10) can log in to https://microsoft365.tamu.edu/ to access their Microsoft 365 account.

The storage quota for an Exchange mailbox depends on whether the campus member has an A5 or A1 Microsoft license.

• A5 license - 100GB storage with the option of an additional archive mailbox for storage. 
• A1 license - 50GB with no option for additional storage.

Contact your unit’s IT department (Exchange Admin) if you need more than 100GB of storage.

When a campus member leaves Texas A&M (i.e., their NetID is no longer active), they lose access to Microsoft 365. 

• Students: NetID remains active for two years after graduation or withdrawing from Texas A&M. 
• Former Employees:  NetID is deactivated immediately on the last day of employment with the university.
• Retired Employees: Retain their NetID as long as they live, however their A5 license is downgraded to an A1 license.

All Texas A&M students and employees have a Texas A&M account for Microsoft 365. It is possible that you may have a personal Microsoft 365 account from your personal devices (desktop or mobile). These accounts can function side by side, but your Texas A&M account may have access to additional applications and features.

• For University-Owned Devices: We recommend asking your unit’s IT support staff before downloading any Microsoft 365 applications on a university-owned computer.
• For Personal Devices: If you have Office 2016 or 2019 on Windows or Mac already installed, you will not be able to install the Microsoft 365 version. If you want the additional features of the Microsoft 365 applications, uninstall previous versions before installing the Microsoft 365 version.

Both FERPA and HIPAA data can be stored in Microsoft 365. Texas A&M University has a BAA in place with Microsoft and the data is encrypted both in transit and at rest.

Search for "Microsoft Office" in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and install the desired app(s). Log in with your NetID and password. Functionality on mobile devices is similar to a computer and requires an active Microsoft 365 license/subscription.

Copilot is available for Texas A&M faculty, staff, and students with Microsoft A5 licenses. Access Copilot at bing.com/chat and log in with your NetID and password.

Undergraduate and Graduate-Level Students
These processes are automated and driven by events/flags coming from Banner.

• Not Enrolled: After a student leaves the university (is marked "not enrolled"), they retain access to their Texas A&M Exchange Email account for two years (42 months if they're an international student).
• Graduates: After a student graduates, they retain access to their Texas A&M Exchange Email account for two years (42 months if they're an international student).
• Student Worker: Student access to email is determined by their role as a student (not employee) outlined above.

Faculty and Staff (Including Adjunct/Visiting Faculty)
These processes are automated and driven by events/flags coming from Workday.

• Normal Employee Departure: If an employee leaves employment under normal circumstances (Flag = Terminated), their NetID is disabled within 72 hours after the official separation date and the employee will be unable to log into their Texas A&M Exchange Email account. Supervisors have 30 days to access the former employee's emails before supervisor access is removed. The emails are retained in "cold" storage for an additional 30 days and can be recovered if requested. After that point, they are deleted forever.
• Transfer Between TAMU Departments: If there is no break in employment and an employee moves to any other TAMU entity, they retain access to their Texas A&M Exchange Email account. However, if they move to a TAMU entity not in our M365 tenant (Athletics, Agrilife, etc.), their license would be downgraded to an A1 license with a maximum storage quota of 50GB. The IT staff in the new department the employee transfers to should claim their mailbox in the Exchange management system.
• Transfer to Another TAMUS Entity: If there is no break in employment (transfer) and an employee moves to any other System part, they will retain access to their mailbox at TAMU, but their Exchange license is downgraded to an A1 license. If the employee's mailbox is larger than the A1 license allows, they will need to reach out to Technology Services to request assistance accessing the mailbox. Other important things to note:
  • The TAMUS Entity they are moving to will create a separate email account with a different email address in their email system.
  • We recommend the employee put an automatic reply on their mailbox directing people to their new email address. Alternatively, they can visit Gateway.tamu.edu and change their Email Settings to deliver future email sent to their @tamu address to their new TAMUS email address. The forwarding may break and not last forever which is why we recommend they put the auto-reply on their mailbox instead.
• Employee Fired/RIFF'd/Etc.: Requests for "account locks" must be submitted and approved to disable email access sooner than the default 72 hours for a normal employee departure. Learn more and request account locks here.
• Employee Retires w/Non-Emeritus Status: Texas A&M Exchange - If the retiree previously had a Texas A&M Exchange email account, they will retain access with a maximum storage quota of 50GB as they will be downgraded to an A1 license.
• Employee Retires with Emeritus Status: Texas A&M Exchange - If the retiree previously had a Texas A&M Exchange email account, they will retain an A5 license with a 100GB storage quota as long as their Exchange account was claimed by their IT department in the Exchange management system.