​Effective immediately, students actively enrolled in one or more Humber courses receive a Humber email address. Details are enclosed in the attached FAQ sheet. 

For more information, please contact Ryan Burton, Director of Digital Solutions.

View the FAQ below or the attachment.

Answers to Frequently Asked Student Email Questions

Last revised on August 31, 2022

Are students issued a Humber email address? 
Yes, as of Fall 2022, all Humber students (full-time and part-time) are issued a Humber email address.

Is email recognized at Humber as an official means of communicating Humber business? 
Humber email is an official means of communicating Humber business and may, in some cases, be a sole means of communication. 

Why are students being issued a Humber email address? 
Humber email is intended to support Humber’s instructional, research, and service activities. Refer to the “Acceptable Use Policy for Digital Services” for examples of prohibited activities as well as Humber’s position on the use of its resources for personal use. 

Are students required to use Humber email? 
Yes, as per Humber's new Electronic Mail Policy effective April 2022, Humber has the right to communicate with students, employees, and trusted partners via its email solution. Humber also has the right to expect Humber email will be received and read in a timely fashion. 

Have all Humber systems been configured to use the student email address? 
Humber will be working over the next year to re-configure all its systems/solutions to use the students.humber.ca address for communication and collaboration purposes instead of HMail or personal email addresses. 

How should email be used in the classroom? 
Instructors may determine how email will be used in their classes. It is recommended that if instructors have email requirements and expectations that they specify these requirements in their course syllabus. Instructors may expect that students' official email addresses are being accessed, and instructors may use email for their courses accordingly.

What solution is Humber using for student email? 
Humber is using Microsoft 365 (Exchange and Outlook) for student email.

Are students in the same Microsoft 365 tenant as Humber employees and trusted partners? 
Students, employees, and trusted partners all co-exist within the same Microsoft 365 tenant for communication and collaboration purposes.

Do student email addresses appear in the Humber address book? 
Yes, student addresses now appear in the Humber address book.

What is the eligibility criteria for a student email address? 
Students actively enrolled in one or more Humber courses (continuous professional learning, certificate, diploma, or degree) are entitled to a student email address. Individuals in Real Estate Education programs are not entitled to a Humber email address.

What format does Humber student email address take? 
Students are issued a “username@students.humber.ca” email address that includes a display name (preferred name and last name) that corresponds to their Humber student record (example: “Jay Fasil” <n12345678@students.humber.ca>). 

Why do student email addresses not use one's first and last name? 
Too many students share the same first and last name to make name-based email addresses practical. Also, not all students, for cultural reasons, have a first/preferred name and/or last name as part of their student record.

Are students able to request a different email address or an alias? 
No, students may not request a different email address or an alias at this time.

Are students studying at the University of Guelph-Humber issued a Humber email address? 
No, the University of Guelph-Humber uses a separate email solution for its employees and its students.

Are alumni entitled to a Humber email address? 
At this time, Humber does not provide email services to Humber alumni. 

When are students provisioned with a Humber email address? 
Students are provisioned with a Humber email address 21 days before the start of their first semester. Individuals in continual professional learning courses are provisioned with a Humber email address 21 days prior to the first day of their first course. 

Are student email addresses forever? If not, at what point do students lose access to their Humber email address? 
Student mailboxes are permanently deleted after 18 months of no course activity and are not recoverable.

How often are students required to check their Humber email? 
Students are expected to check their Humber email on a frequent and consistent basis to stay current with communications. Given communications may be time-critical, Humber recommends students check for mail once a business day at a minimum. 

How do students access Humber email? 
Students may access their Humber email by visiting humber.ca/microsoft365 and logging in using your Humber credentials (username and password). Note that all users logging into Microsoft products must qualify their username with "@humber.ca" appended to the end (example: n12345678@humber.ca, smith@humber.ca, bcdf1234@humber.ca, etc.) to show their account is linked to Humber.

Is student email protected by multi-factor authentication like employee email? 
No, multi-factor authentication is not in place for student email at this time. Humber may implement a form of multi-factor authentication in the future. In the meantime, Humber is tagging all internal mail originating from students.

What email protocols does Humber email support? 
For the best experience and complete support, Humber recommends connecting to Humber’s email solution using one of the following ways: 1) via the Exchange protocol (MAPI) within the most current Outlook desktop client; 2) using the most current version of the Outlook app for iOS/Android; and/or 3) connecting to Outlook on the Web using a supported Web browser. Assistance is available via the I.T. Support Centre.

To what other Microsoft 365 services are Humber students entitled? 
In addition to email and calendar functionality (Exchange, Outlook, Bookings, Delve), students have access to 1) Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Access [PC only]); 2) files and content services (OneDrive, Stream, and Sway); 3) work management tools (Power Apps, Power Automate, Power Virtual Agents, Forms, Planner, and To Do); and 4) meetings and voice services (Teams).

Are students able to redirect incoming Humber email to another email address?
 No, for security and privacy reasons, Humber email may not be electronically redirected to personal (Rogers, Bell, Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) or other corporate email addresses. Support is available for setting email clients to access multiple accounts. Please contact the I.T. Support Centre for assistance.

Are students able to see free/busy times in other people’s calendars? 
Yes, students can see free/busy times in internal Humber calendars to which they have access (including employee calendars) and send out calendar invites.

Are students able to reserve on-campus resources via Outlook's calendar functionality like meeting spaces and boardrooms? 
Yes, students are able to see and reserve on-campus resources to which they have access.

How does spam filtering work with student email? 
All incoming mail is scanned for digital threats. Mail known to be spam is automatically deleted. Mail suspected of being spam is delivered to one's "Junk Email" folder for review.

Is incoming or outgoing email capped? 
Yes, like most organizations, Humber caps incoming mail (including header, body, and attachments) at 50 MB and outgoing mail (including header, body, and attachments) at 150 MB.

Is email originating from outside Humber tagged, and if so, why is it tagged? 
All email originating from outside Humber is tagged to help recipients arbitrate if a message is safe and legitimate. Tagging is controlled at the organization level and cannot not be turned off by individuals.

Is internal email originating from students tagged, and if so, why is it tagged? 
Humber is tagging students.humber.ca email as a temporary measure for security reasons while it explores multifactor authentication for students. Tagging is controlled at the organization level and cannot not be turned off by individuals.

Are students able to use their Humber email address for bulk mailing purposes? 
Humber email accounts may not to be used to bulk email large numbers of external email addresses. Restrictions are in place to stop bulk emailing attempts so Humber does not get blocklisted by Internet Service Providers and lose its ability to send/receive email. Individuals with a legitimate business need to email a large number of external email addresses are asked to use a third-party, bulk email service. Contact the I.T. Support Centre for details.

Is email offered by Humber monitored? 
Humber does not monitor the content of email communications as a routine procedure; however, it reserves the right to access email content in select circumstances. Refer to the “Acceptable Use Policy for Digital Services” for more information.

What is happening with HMail? 
Humber plans to cease provisioning HMail accounts once all its systems/solution have been updated to use the students.humber.ca address. Existing accounts in HMail will live on in perpetuity.

Is there an Electronic Mail policy at Humber, and if so, where do I find it? 
Yes, the policy is posted at https://humber.ca/legal-and-risk-management/policies.html along with other Humber policies.

How do students get help and/or support for Microsoft 365 services? 
Students should contact the I.T. Support Centre at 416.675.6622 x8888 or humber.ca/techtalk for support. Service is available 24 hours a day and it is free.