Student Email User Guide

What is Electronic Mail (email)?

Email allows a person to compose and send messages directly from their computer to the electronic mailbox of a recipient, just as the Australia Post mail system allows us to send a letter to a recipient's letterbox. You can also receive messages in your electronic mailbox which have been sent to you from other people.
Electronic mail is much faster than paper based mail or "snail mail". Email also allows you to send the same message to many people at once.
Users can check their new email, which is stored on a central computer, from almost any computer on the University network as well as other computers which can access the University network. This means that if you have Internet access from home you can check your email from there too, as well as other places such as public libraries and Internet cafes.
Email will generally consist of text messages, but may include extra files such as spreadsheets, graphics, sound, video or other specialised data.

You can communicate easily with students and staff, without the difficulty of arranging mutually suitable appointment times for personal or telephone contact.
The University will use email to inform you of important administrative matters. You must check your email regularly for updates.
You can send drafts of work as attached files for comment.
You can communicate with one or more other students or staff when working on group projects or to discuss other issues.
You can be quickly notified of changes to course times and locations as well as be kept up to date about other events happening within the University.
Email facilitates the forwarding of messages and the replying to messages.
You can obtain information from other institutions around the world in response to an email request.
You can "keep in touch" from home or workplace, or around the world.