General Information
Employee accounts for newly-hired faculty and staff are automatically created using information from the Human Resources system.
For e-mail problems, contact the IT Help Desk at 252.328.9866/toll free 1.800.340.7081 or submit an online service request through the IT Help Desk.
Create a signature for your e-mail or learn other tips and tricks by visiting the ITCS knowledgebase at ask.ecu.edu!
E-Mail Access
The ECU community has several options to enable users to access e-mail either from on campus, home or mobile device:
New Account Log in
The PirateID, or username, is a user’s last name plus the first initial. Note this example:
- Name: Petey T. Pirate
- PirateID: piratep
- E-mail address: piratep@ecu.edu
A new user's initial passphrase is a dollar symbol ($) followed by the user’s ECU ID (including the capital "B"). Remember that the ECU ID is different from the PirateID. For information on how to look up your own ECU ID, go to http://www.ecu.edu/cs-itcs/ecuid.cfm.
New users are required to change their passphrase the first time they connect to the ECU network. For tips on how to create a strong ECU passphrase, please visit http://www.ecu.edu/cs-itcs/itsecurity/passphrase.cfm.
Account Size
Space limitations for an ECU mailbox, including the inbox, deleted and sent folders are as follows:
- Faculty: 500MB
- Staff: 500MB
E-mails stored in Outlook personal folders, which are saved on your computer, do not count against the mailbox storage limit. Attachments cannot exceed 1MB.
Once storage limits are reached, users can no longer send or receive e-mail. In addition, individual e-mails plus any attachments over 30MB will be returned to the sender.
For more information on the ECU E-mail Purge Policy, visit http://www.ecu.edu/cs-itcs/emailpurgepolicy.cfm.
Account Deactivation
An e-mail account is marked for deactivation 90 days after an employee's last day of employment with ECU. After 90 days of deactivation, the account is deleted.
If the University terminates an employee, the e-mail account is deactivated immediately.
Retired faculty and staff are able to keep their ECU e-mail account active by logging in at least once annually.
Alumni E-mail
ECU Alumni E-mail is a Web-based service provided by Windows Live Mail. For more information, go to http://www.piratealumni.com/s/722/index.aspx?sid=722&gid=1&pgid=274
Cached Mode
E-mail accounts on campus operate in cached mode, meaning that the mailbox is copied from the Exchange server to your office computer. While operating in cached mode, users can work offline if there is a loss of network connectivity.
For more information, go to https://author.ecu.edu/cs-itcs/email/outlook_cachedmode.cfm
Email Responsibilities
Many viruses and worms are spread via e-mail.
Be alert for email scams.
Don't send spam. Spam is electronic junk mail.
Keeping your operating system and applications up-to-date will help guard against vulnerabilities exploited in viruses and worms that can infect your computer. For more information, go to IT Security antivirus page.
