Requesting a Shared Mailbox in Office 365

Shared mailboxes provide an excellent way for a group of individuals to monitor and send email from a common, Drexel-based email address. When a member of the group replies to a message sent to the shared mailbox, the email appears to be from the group, not from the individual responding. In addition, shared mailboxes include a shared calendar.

The individual making the request will automatically be designated as the mailbox administrator. This individual will be able to grant access to the mailbox to anyone else who needs it. If you are making the request, but the mailbox should be administered by another individual, pay particular attention to Step 6.

Follow the directions below to request an Office 365 shared mailbox.

  1. Browse to http://drexel.edu/servicedesk.
  2. Sign on using your Drexel credentials.
  3. From the menu on the left, select Request a Service.
  4. Select Accounts & Access.
  5. Select New Shared eMailbox.
  6. If you will be the administrator for the mailbox, move to the next step. If not:
    • At the top of the form next to On Behalf of…Self, select Edit.
    • Using the text field above the list of names, enter the name of the user who will be the mailbox administrator.
    • Select their name from the dropdown list.
  7. Set Name for this Mailbox to the user-friendly name that will be easily recognizable. It is recommended that you start the display name with the prefix “LCB” to ensure the account is easily searchable within the Outlook address book. (ex. LCB Department Name).
  8. Set Preferred email address ([blank]@drexel.edu) to the email address you would like for the mailbox. It is recommended that you start the name with the prefix “LCB” to ensure the account is easily identifiable. (ex. LCBdepartment@drexel.edu)
  9. Fill in the List of people to have permissions to account (Name, User ID) textbox with the names of everyone who will need access. Be sure to include their name and user ID (ex. abc123) separated by a comma as indicated in the field name.
  10. Select Submit when you have completed the form.

Once your request has been fulfilled, you will receive an email from Drexel IT letting you know the account is live. At that time, you will see the new shared mailbox appear in the Navigation Pane of Outlook. If you do not see the shared mailbox, simply restart Outlook to resync the mailboxes you have access to.