Edited by Rob Moore, Wednesday, 30 Sept 2020, 21:07
Do I need Office 365?
Some OU documents and streamed content from tutors is stored on the OU Shared drive. This is only accessible to active OU users. In order to access some documents or recordings you will need an active OU Office 365 account.
Microsoft Office 365 is optional and freely available for current registered students for the duration of their studies. The account is already set up whether or not you have used it.
Your account will include:
Access to Microsoft Office 365 for two years after you finish studying.
An academic email address (.ac.uk) which can be used to access many student discounts.
The Office suite to download and install on up to five PCs or Macs.
Office online i.e. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote.
Outlook mail including calendar, people and tasks.
Learning Tools: free tools that use proven techniques to help improve reading and writing skills for everyone, regardless of age and ability.
OneDrive with 1TB of online storage.
Sway: a story-telling app for displaying information.
Delve: discover and organise your information across Office 365.
Already have Office 365?
If you already have Office 365 from a personal or work account then you will have to sign out and sign in with your OU account since access is limited to member of the OU community. We are using the OU Sharepoint which prevents access from outside the OU community. To sign out simply type www.office.com into your browser, right click on your profile icon (top right) and choose 'sign out'.
How to get Office 365 from the OU
You have been allocated an account, even if you have never requested one. The account is activated by you resetting your password on the Welcome Screen on student home.
You may have received an email prompting you to change your password to be able to access Office 365. Once you've changed your password, you'll need to wait for up to 24 hours for your access to be set up.
NB. When you change your password you should do it from within student home.
Log in and click PROFILE at the top and then in SETTINGS you will see the option to change your password. Responding to the prompt on the log in page does not appear to allways activate the account.
If you haven’t received an email from the OU or can't find it, to get access to Office 365 you’ll need to sign in at portal.office.com.
Your sign in details will be
your OUCU@ou.ac.uk - your OUCU is your OU computer username that you’re given when you first registered with us, e.g. abc123@ou.ac.uk It is NOT your PI number.
Your password will be the password you use to sign in to The Open University.
If you've forgotten your OUCU, you'll find it on your profile page in Contact details.
If you're still having trouble signing in to Office 365, contact the Computing Helpdesk.
It can take 24 hours for the account to be activated.
Your ac.uk email address
Your academic email address will also be OUCU@ou.ac.uk. You’ll need to use this email address to sign up for student discounts. To view any emails you’ve used this email address for, you’ll need to sign in to Office 365.
The OU sends emails to your preferred email address. You can check what this is by visiting your profile page in StudentHome. You should check your preferred email mailbox at least a couple of times a week for important communications we may send you.
TIP! You might wish to keep study emails and personal emails separate, in which case you could use Outlook in Office 365 (already set up with your OU email address) and then change your preferred email on your profile page. You can always add this account to your usual email programme, but you never have to give out your personal email.
OU Students and Office 365
Do I need Office 365?
Some OU documents and streamed content from tutors is stored on the OU Shared drive. This is only accessible to active OU users. In order to access some documents or recordings you will need an active OU Office 365 account.
This blog explains the process:
FIRST: The Help Centre advice is really good, you will find it at: https://help.open.ac.uk/microsoft-office-365
Microsoft Office 365 is optional and freely available for current registered students for the duration of their studies. The account is already set up whether or not you have used it.
Your account will include:
Already have Office 365?
If you already have Office 365 from a personal or work account then you will have to sign out and sign in with your OU account since access is limited to member of the OU community. We are using the OU Sharepoint which prevents access from outside the OU community. To sign out simply type www.office.com into your browser, right click on your profile icon (top right) and choose 'sign out'.
How to get Office 365 from the OU
You have been allocated an account, even if you have never requested one. The account is activated by you resetting your password on the Welcome Screen on student home.
You may have received an email prompting you to change your password to be able to access Office 365. Once you've changed your password, you'll need to wait for up to 24 hours for your access to be set up.
NB. When you change your password you should do it from within student home.
Log in and click PROFILE at the top and then in SETTINGS you will see the option to change your password. Responding to the prompt on the log in page does not appear to allways activate the account.
If you haven’t received an email from the OU or can't find it, to get access to Office 365 you’ll need to sign in at portal.office.com.
Your sign in details will be
If you've forgotten your OUCU, you'll find it on your profile page in Contact details.
If you're still having trouble signing in to Office 365, contact the Computing Helpdesk.
It can take 24 hours for the account to be activated.
Your ac.uk email address
Your academic email address will also be OUCU@ou.ac.uk. You’ll need to use this email address to sign up for student discounts. To view any emails you’ve used this email address for, you’ll need to sign in to Office 365.
The OU sends emails to your preferred email address. You can check what this is by visiting your profile page in StudentHome. You should check your preferred email mailbox at least a couple of times a week for important communications we may send you.
TIP! You might wish to keep study emails and personal emails separate, in which case you could use Outlook in Office 365 (already set up with your OU email address) and then change your preferred email on your profile page. You can always add this account to your usual email programme, but you never have to give out your personal email.
Rob