Shared Email Accounts

Shared email accounts act like regular email accounts, but a group of people can use them. One person owns the account and gives permission to anyone else who needs to access the account.

Academic or administrative department heads or chairs can request shared email accounts. Accounts for official student groups can be requested by the faculty adviser for the group, who must also assume responsibility as the account owner. All requests will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

To request a shared email account, send a note to the ITS Help Desk at help@lafayette.edu.

The recommended way to provide someone access to a shared email account is by way of delegate access. This allows users to access the shared email account from their personal Lafayette Gmail account. Delegate users do not need to log into the shared email account.

Shared Email Account Delegates

Granting delegate access to a shared account allows the delegates to read, send, and delete messages for the shared email account. Up to 1,000 delegates can be assigned per shared account.

Delegates can:

• Send or reply to emails that were sent to the shared account. When a message is sent via delegation, the originating email address will show (i.e., sent by netid@lafayette.edu)
• Read messages sent to the shared account
• Delete messages sent to the shared account

Delegates cannot:

• Chat with anyone through the Gmail interface
• Change the shared account password
• Add other delegates
• Access other Google Workspace services (e.g., Google Calendar, Google Drive) associated with the shared account

Adding Delegate Access

Only the account owner may add delegates individually or via a Google Group–only Lafayette members of the Google Group will be added as delegates.

1. Log in to your shared email account’s Gmail from a private (incognito) browsing window
2. Click the gear icon to click See all settings, then select Accounts
3. Under the Grant access to your account: section, select Add another account
4. Enter the full email address of the account(s) or Google Group that should have access to the shared account, and click [Next Step]
5. In the next window, select [Send email to grant access]
6. The recipient will receive an email in their personal Lafayette account, and upon accepting access, will see the shared account listed under their accounts as a “Delegated” account. However, delegates added via a Google Group will be added immediately and do not need to accept the delegated access.
   

When a user should no longer have access to the shared account, the account owner can follow the above steps to revoke their access by deleting the account or Google Group from the list under Grant access to your account: in the Accounts settings.

Only the account owner may add/remove delegates individually or via a Google Group–only Lafayette members of the Google Group will be added as delegates.

1. Log into your shared email account’s Gmail from a private browsing window
2. Click the gear icon to click See all settings then select Accounts
3. Under the Grant access to your account: section, select delete to the right of the account you wish to remove.

Transferring ownership by the current owner

1. Go to password.lafayette.edu.
2. Log in with the shared email account credentials.
3. Update the recovery email address to the new owner’s Lafayette email address.

Transferring ownership when an account owner is no longer at Lafayette

1. Requests to change the ownership of a shared email account can be sent to the Help Desk at help@lafayette.edu or (610) 330-5501.

Individual accounts cannot send to College Lists (e.g., campus@lafayette.edu). Some shared email accounts are permitted to do so. See the Campus Communication Policy.