Student Email System

Faculty and staff regularly use email to communicate with students. Every student is issued a University email account and must regularly monitor it for official communications. You can access the Shepherd Email system at https://login.microsoftonline.com.
Be sure to retrieve your computer account before visiting this server. Your email address will be username@rams.shepherd.edu

Tips about email

• We strongly suggest you change your password before accessing your email account the first time. Your initial password is a randomly generated combination of letters and numbers. It cannot be looked up, but you can change it. To change your password, do the following steps:
  1. Go to http://www.shepherd.edu
  2. Click on the Current Students menu item
  3. Click on the RAIL link
  4. Click on the Login to RAIL button
  5. Enter your Shepherd ID and PIN to log into RAIL
  6. Once in RAIL, click on Personal Information
  7. Click on Password Management
  8. Click Change Password
  9. Follow the directions on the screen
  10. Note: If you have not looked up your username and need to know it, at this point in the process after changing your password, click on Back to Password Management menu in the upper right corner of the screen and then on Retrieve Original Password to see your username. You cannot see the changed password in RAIL, only the original password.
  11. Log out of RAIL and wait 5 to 10 minutes before trying to log into your email account
• When sending email, keep in mind it is sent via an unprotected source and without encryption.
• Do not divulge personal, confidential, or financial information via email. Doing so could result in an embarrassing situation or comprise of your information’s confidentiality.
• Abide by common courtesy rules when sending email. Also use a level of formality that equals the purpose of the email.
• Use caution when opening emails, especially attachments. They may contain a virus or other malicious code.

Getting Your Email

To access your web-based email account, type https://login.microsoftonline.com into your browser’s address line, or go the Shepherd web page at www.shepherd.edu, click on the Current Students menu item and then select Email on the drop-down menu.

1. For the username, type in your username you looked up previous followed by @rams.shepherd.edu so it is username@rams.shepherd.edu. Type in your changed password into the password box. If you have not changed your password yet, see the instructions above.
2. Click on the Log In button.
3. You should set the default language and time zone. The initial time zone is set to Iceland so click on the box on the right hand side, then move upward until you see Eastern time.
4. Once you set the time zone, you will see your email messages.
5. Your e-mail account has a sizable, but finite size limit. You will need to manage your account so problems are avoided.

Setting up your Shepherd email on your smartphone

The following instructions are generic. These are not to be interpreted as specific step-by-step instructions as each smartphone OS (Operating System) is different from others in terms of their menu navigation and options.

1. Go into your Settings
2. Go into your Email Settings
3. Select either Exchange or Exchange ActiveSync
4. The server name is outlook.office365.com
5. The domain is rams.shepherd.edu
6. Enter your Shepherd username and password

Tips for managing the account’s size

• Save attachments to a thumb drive or your personal network disk space as soon as you can, then remove them from the message.
• Delete any messages you no longer need. Make sure attachments are saved somewhere else first.
• Check your e-mail periodically, even between semesters and over the summer.
• Use your Shepherd e-mail only for your courses. Use an outside account for personal e-mails if you receive a lot.
• When finished using your account, be sure to click on Logout in the corner of the screen.

If you need help, please contact the IT Services Desk by phone at 304-876-5457, see us in the basement of the Library or email us from a personal email account at itworkorder@shepherd.edu (to create a ticket in our system).