Student email help and FAQs


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The IT Service Desk provides support for the core email function of your student email. If you need help with your student email, you can contact the IT Service Desk on (02) 9852 5111, at itservicedesk@westernsydney.edu.au or by logging a job through MyIT (opens in a new window) (24x7, 365 days a year).

Help guides

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Do I need to do anything about my student email address changing?

As of 3 April your student email address changed to '<your student id@student.westernsydney.edu.au'. Some important things to note:

  • This change won't affect your inbox or email history
  • If you use native email client on Android you will need to change your configuration settings. Full instructions are available in the IT Service Portal
  • If you use native email client on iOS (iPad or iPhone) you will need to change your configuration settings. Full instructions are available in the IT Service Portal
  • Emails sent to your old student email address ('@student.uws.edu.au') will be redirected to your new student email address
  • If you have set up your student emails to auto-forward to a personal email account you will need to ensure your student emails are not captured by SPAM/Junk filters in your personal account
  • If you have previously registered with your old student email account to use Lynda.com, you will need to use your new email address as your username for Lynda.com from 3 April

Do I have to use my student email account?

Yes, it is a condition of your enrolment as a Western Sydney University student that you check your student email account regularly and use it to communicate via email with the University.

We send important information about your course, enrolment, exams, results, graduation and University news to your student email account. If you don't check it regularly, you will miss important messages which may affect your course and enrolment.

How often should I check my student email account?

According to the Enrolment Policy, it is a condition of your enrolment that you check your student email account, as email is the official communication channel at the University. The Email Policy (opens in a new window) recommends you check your student email daily, where practical.

To guarantee you stay up to date, our rule of thumb is check it daily during teaching session and at least once a week outside of teaching session.

What is the size limit for attachments?

You can send up to unlimited attachments with a total size of 150MB.

However, it's best to keep the size of your attachments as small as possible as many users and organisations can't accept large attachments. You can send up to 10MB to the University and we recommend you keep attachments to 5MB or less for other recipients.

How much storage does my inbox have?

Your inbox has a storage limit of 50GB.

Which web browsers can I use with my student email?

Your student email will work in Internet Explorer version 8 or later, Firefox Chrome, mobile browsers and Safari.

What are Exchange ActiveSync, IMAP and POP3?

Exchange ActiveSync, IMAP and POP3 are protocols for delivering mail to your device. We recommend using Exchange ActiveSync or IMAP protocol methods to connect to your student email account.

  • Exchange ActiveSync synchronises your device and student email so they both show the same content
  • IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) downloads mail to your device while retaining messages in your student email, and provides access to all created folders. All actions are 'mirrored' and saved in your student email
  • POP3 (Post Office Protocol) downloads mail to your device and deletes the original message from your student email so the only copy will be on your device. It also only gives access to new mail and created folders are not available

Can I access student email from a mobile device (iPad, smart phone) or an external mail client?

Yes you can, however to send and receive emails from your mobile device it must be able to support Exchange ActiveSync, IMAP or POP3 email protocols. If you are not sure whether your mobile device supports Exchange ActiveSync, POP3, or IMAP, refer to your mobile phone documentation or your mobile service provider.

Can I automatically forward my student emails to my private/work email account?

Yes, you can. The details on how and the important information you need to know are available on the student email webpage.

I am graduating or ceasing study, can I still access my student email?

After you graduate from the University or cease studying with us for any other reason, you will no longer have access to your student email account and all other IT services, such as My Documents.

It is a good idea to make a copy of important items in your student email account when officially ending your study, so you don't lose information you may need in the future.

Can I recover deleted emails?

All emails you delete go to the 'Deleted' folders in your account. Emails will stay in the 'Deleted' folder until you manually clean them out. Once you've removed an email from the 'Deleted' folder, you can still recover it for a further 14 days. After that, the email is permanently deleted and can't be recovered.

For details on how to recover deleted items see the Microsoft help page on how to recover deleted items (opens in a new window).

How is my privacy and data security maintained?

Western Sydney University and Microsoft take the privacy and data security of its users seriously. These issues were a major consideration when evaluating this product for use by our students. Microsoft is vigilant in maintaining compliance with global privacy laws and meeting numerous government-mandated and industry-specific security requirements, including the National Privacy Principles contained in the Privacy Act 1988 (Commonwealth of Australia).