UK to Migrate to Microsoft Office 365

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 29, 2013) — University of Kentucky Information Technology (UKIT) will upgrade the Microsoft Live@edu cloud email service to Microsoft Office 365 on Tuesday, May 7. 

Following this upgrade, UK students who currently have a Live@edu account will have two separate accounts: a UK-branded Microsoft Office 365 account and a personal Microsoft Account. All existing email, contacts, files, and other personal information will migrate in the transition.

After May 7, the Microsoft Office 365 account will be used for UK-branded cloud email, contact lists, and calendars. Students will continue to use their current Live@edu username and password and will be able to access their email through Microsoft's Outlook web app, Outlook Live, or through many popular desktop and mobile email clients, including Outlook and Apple Mail. Email addresses will not change. The UK logo is not shown when logging into the Office 365 account online, but UKIT will administer this account. Account creation and password resets through the UK User Account Manager will remain the same.

Other Microsoft cloud tools and services, including SkyDrive, Messenger, and Office Web Apps, will be provided using a personal Microsoft Account. This is a free consumer account that will be automatically created using the student's existing Live@edu user name and password. This account is separate from the Office 365 account and will be administered by Microsoft, not UK. Students will be able to log in at https://skydrive.live.com to access their SkyDrive files and other Microsoft cloud-based tools and services, although file sharing within the UK domain will be discontinued. After initial set up, passwords for the Office 365 and Microsoft Accounts must be managed independently. UKIT will not have access to reset personal Microsoft Account passwords.

Newer versions of Internet Explorer and Microsoft Outlook are required to use Microsoft Office 365. Students using Internet Explorer 7 or earlier must upgrade to a newer version of Internet Explorer to use Outlook Live. Users of Microsoft Outlook 2003 or earlier desktop software must upgrade to Outlook 2007 or later.

Please note: the Microsoft Lync service for instant messaging and online meetings will continue to be available using the UK link blue account username and password. This upgrade does not affect the Microsoft Campus Agreement or software provided through http://download.uky.edu.

For more Office 365 information, visit http://www.uky.edu/ukit/help/Office365FAQ or contact the UKIT Service Desk at 859-218-HELP (4357).