Exchange Mail

The Technology, Data, and Innovation Services division provides Microsoft 365 Exchange email accounts to all faculty, staff, and students. Exchange brings together email, calendar, contacts, and tasks in one place and works seamlessly with Microsoft Office applications.

Accessing Email

You can access your Trinity email online at https://outlook.office365.com

Instructions for setting up your email Outlook client are also available.

Maintaining Your Exchange Account

Basic account hygiene helps keep email running smoothly and protects both you and the institution.

• Do not open email attachments you are not expecting. Delete them immediately.
• Monitor your mailbox quota. Plain text emails use very little space, but attachments such as photos and documents can quickly add up.
• Save important attachments to OneDrive or another approved storage location.
• Your Sent Items folder counts toward your quota. Periodically delete messages you no longer need.

Sending Limits and Responsible Email Use

Whether you are emailing a few colleagues or communicating with a larger campus audience, it is important to understand Microsoft’s sending limits and best practices.

Microsoft enforces strict bulk‑sending limits to reduce spam, phishing, and account abuse across all organizations, including Trinity College.

What Counts as Bulk Email

Bulk email refers to sending a single message to a large number of recipients at one time. This includes messages sent using To, Cc, or Bcc fields.

Sending bulk email directly from Outlook is strongly discouraged.

Microsoft 365 Sending Limits

Microsoft 365 email accounts have built‑in protections that limit how many recipients you can email within 24 hours.

• Shared mailboxes
  When sending from a shared mailbox, the recipient limit applies to the individual sending the message, not to the shared mailbox address itself.
• Calendar invitations
  Calendar invites sent from Outlook also count toward your sending limit.

What Happens If You Exceed the Limit

If you attempt to email more than the allowed number of recipients:

• Your Outlook account may be temporarily locked for up to 24 hours.
• The restriction is enforced directly by Microsoft.
• In most cases, this restriction is cleared within 24 hours, but we recommend you contact the help desk.

Best Practices for Campus‑Wide Communication

For messages that need to reach a large audience, do not send them directly from your personal Outlook mailbox.

Instead, use one of these approved options:

• Distribution lists managed by LITS
• Microsoft Teams channels
• Microsoft 365 Groups

Requesting an Exception

If there is a valid business reason that cannot be met using approved communication tools, you may request a temporary increase to your sending limit.

These requests are intended to be rare and should only be used when a third‑party bulk email service is not appropriate.

Why These Limits Matter

Sending limits help protect Trinity’s email systems from being flagged as spam and improve overall message delivery.

They also:

• Reduce the impact of compromised accounts
• Protect the campus community from phishing campaigns
• Help maintain trust in Trinity email communications

Preventing Spam and Phishing

Spam is unsolicited commercial email.
Phishing is a fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information by pretending to be a trusted source.

To protect yourself:

• Never respond to spam. It confirms that your address is valid and increases the likelihood of future attempts.
• Report spam and phishing messages directly through Outlook with the Phish Alert Button.
• LITS will never ask you to email your password or to provide your MFA code or information.
• Be cautious about sharing your email address and understand how it will be used.

If you receive a suspicious message and are unsure, submit it using the Phish Alert Button or forward the message to [email protected].

Think you have what it takes? You can test your skills by taking the phishing and spam IQ test.