Please reference the list of questions in the sidebar.
Common Questions
Who is eligible?
Active students, faculty, and staff with a valid CSU NetID can get an account. Applicants, please wait until you enroll.
Can I have two email accounts?
Each person at CSU has one Official University Email Account, either in Microsoft365 or Google Apps. Your Official University Email is the address used by academic advisors, financial aid, human resources and more to communicate with you.
When you first come to CSU, you start with one account. Since August 2018, everyone gets an M365 account (which resembles firstname.lastname@colostate.edu) when they create their NetID.
- M365 email is accessed at portal.office.com. When you see the Microsoft log-in screen, enter your NetID@colostate.edu in the "email, phone, or skype" box -- if your NetID is CamTheRam, enter CamTheRam@colostate.edu. If your NetID is C812312312, enter C812312312@colostate.edu.
- Google @Rams accounts are accessed directly at Google, at mail.google.com.
But you can have one of each—just remember only one is the "official" so keep checking that one no matter what.
What happens to this account when I leave CSU?
Regardless of your email system (M365 or Google Apps – or both) your student email(s) will stay active for about 12 months after you leave the university. (Accounts of nonstudents like Faculty and Staff expire one month after they leave.) Your @Rams account does not last forever.
Students who are set to graduate are given a lifetime Alumni email account (@alumni.colostate.edu) in the weeks/months before they graduate. There is also a procedure to move your Google Apps email to this new Alumni email.
How do I log in?
Google @Rams accounts are accessed directly at Google, at mail.google.com. You have to manage your own Google password for your @Rams account at https://ramspassword.colostate.edu
Always close your browser when done!
How do I connect a Device?
Devices know to use mail.google.com and you will use your netid@rams.colostate.edu and your self managed password to log in.
G Suite Services and Apps
An app I see in my personal Gmail doesn't show up here
Your Google Apps for CSU account is part of a software suite called Google Workspace for Education, which Google offers to educational institutions and non-profit organizations. Google decides which services to include in this package.
What apps are included?
Most everything considered Core G Suite Service is provided: Calendar, Classroom, Drive and Docs, Gmail, Google Chrome Sync, Google Hangouts, Sites, Tasks, etc. Additionally, Google Photos, Play, Earth, Groups, etc., have been enabled.
Miscellaneous
What if I already have a Gmail account?
You can keep it. Some students forward their private, regular-gmail account to their @Rams account, and some students forward the other way, and yet others keep and maintain two or more accounts.
How can I forward my @Rams email to another account?
To make Gmail forward incoming messages to another email address automatically:
- Select ‘Settings’ by clicking the gear icon near the top of the Gmail page.
- Go to the ‘Forwarding and POP/IMAP’ tab.
- In the ‘Forwarding’ section, click Add a forwarding address.
- Enter the desired email address.
- Choose how Gmail should handle forwarded messages. Select one of these three options;
- keep Colorado State University’s copy in the Inbox to have Gmail leave the message in your Gmail Inbox as new and unread.
- archive Colorado State University’s copy (probably the most useful setting) to make Gmail mark forwarded messages as read and remove them from the Inbox, but keep them in the archive for later search and retrieval.
- trash Colorado State University’s copy to move message to the Trash after they have been forwarded. Trashed messages will be deleted automatically after 30 days.
- Save your changes.
What are the policies that apply to my Google Apps for CSU account?
Your Google Apps for CSU account is subject to IT security practices are specified in policies approved by the ITEC Advisory Council (IAC), updated at least annually and posted at the Office of Policy and Compliance:
and is also subject to Google's terms of service and privacy policies.
Can I opt out of Google Apps for CSU if I change my mind?
You are free to stop using your Google Apps for CSU account whenever you wish, but CSU needs to have one "Official" email address for you to send you important information about your relationship with the university.
If you no longer wish to receive your Colostate State University email in your Google Apps for CSU Gmail account, you will need to change your preferred email address through the NetID website. This will make M365 your "Official" CSU email address. For more information see the homepage of this site.
What password do I use? How do I change it?
You have to manage your own Google password for your @Rams account at https://ramspassword.colostate.edu.
What about privacy?
- CSU will send your name to Google when your account is created.
- The first time that students log into their Google Apps at CSU account, they will also have to accept Google’s privacy policy.
- Your name and CSU Gmail addresses will be visible to other Google Apps for CSU users in collaborative spaces, such as shared documents and shared calendars.
- If a document is shared with individuals who have standard Gmail accounts, these individuals will see the names and email addresses of all the people sharing a document, including those of Colorado State students.
- Data stored in Google Docs is not accessed by search engines (and won't appear in search results) unless you or someone you've shared a document with has published the document and posted the URL on a public site. That means by default, your data is private, unless you grant access to others and/or publish your information.
- Information about Google's privacy policy and terms of service may be found on the Google site.
I still need help
Please email help@colostate.edu or call 970-491-7276.
Do you need to email someone at CSU?
- Future students: Ask Admissions
- More contacts: Contact Information at CSU