Overview
Departments and units within USC can use shared org accounts as a way of setting up and maintaining general mailboxes and calendars which aren't tied to any one individual's Outlook account.
Typically, shared org accounts are accessed and managed via delegate access. This means that, if you request and are granted access to a shared org account, you will use your own USC NetID and passphrase to log into the org account, rather than directly logging into the org account's USC NetID and passphrase.
Requesting access to the shared org account
To request access to an existing shared org account, fill out and submit the following form:
To request the creation of a new shared org account, use the following form:
Adding the account in Outlook for Windows
Once DTS confirms you have been granted access to the shared organizational Outlook account, you can add the account to Outlook:
Outlook inbox
Quick guide
- Quit and reopen Outlook for Windows.
- The org account should automatically appear below your own folders.
- If the account does not appear, you will need to add it manually:
- At the top, click on the File tab.
- Click on Account Settings > Account Settings…
- Click on Change…
- Click on More Settings…
- Click on the Advanced tab.
- Click on Add. Type the exact email address of the org account and click on OK.
- Click on OK.
- Close the windows to return to your inbox. The org account now appears below your own folders (may take a moment to update).
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Quit and reopen Outlook for Windows.
- The org account should automatically appear below your own folders.
- If the account does not appear, you will need to add it manually:
- At the top, click on the File tab.
- Click on Account Settings.
- Select Account Settings… from the dropdown.
- Click on Change…
- Click on More Settings…
- Click on the Advanced tab.
- Click on Add.
- Type the exact email address of the org account and click on OK.
- Click on OK.
- Close the windows to return to your inbox. The org account now appears below your own folders (may take a moment to update).
Outlook calendar
If you previously added the org account to your inbox, the org calendar should automatically appear in Outlook calendar. If the org calendar does not automatically appear, or if you want to add only the org calendar and not the mailbox, follow the steps below:
Quick guide
- In Outlook calendar, click on Open Calendar > Open Shared Calendar…
- Click on Name… to open the directory.
- Type the name of the org account into the search bar.
- Select the account from the dropdown, and click on OK.
- Click on OK.
- The org calendar now appears under the heading Shared Calendars (scroll to the bottom if you do not see it).
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- In Outlook calendar, click on the Open Calendar icon.
- Select Open Shared Calendar… from the dropdown.
- Click on Name… to open the directory.
- Type the name of the org account into the search bar.
- Select the account from the dropdown, and click on OK.
- Click on OK.
- The org calendar now appears under the heading Shared Calendars (scroll to the bottom if you do not see it).
Adding the account in Outlook for Mac
Once DTS confirms you have been granted access to the shared organizational Outlook account, you can add the account in Outlook:
Outlook inbox
New Outlook
Quick guide
- Quit and reopen Outlook for Mac.
- At the top, click on Outlook > Preferences…
- Click on Accounts.
- Click on Delegation and Sharing.
- Click on the Shared With Me tab.
- Click on the + icon.
- Type the name of the org account. Select the account from the dropdown list and click on Add.
- Click on Done.
- Close the window. The org account now appears below your own folders (may take a moment to update).
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Quit and reopen Outlook for Mac.
- At the top, click on the Outlook menu.
- Select Preferences… from the dropdown.
- Click on Accounts.
- Click on Delegation and Sharing.
- Click on the Shared With Me tab.
- Click on the + icon.
- Type the name of the org account. Select the account from the dropdown list and click on Add.
- Click on Done.
- Close the window. The org account now appears below your own folders (may take a moment to update).
Legacy Outlook
Quick guide
- Quit and reopen Outlook for Mac.
- At the top, click on Tools > Accounts…
- Click on Advanced…
- Click on the Delegates tab.
- Under Open these additional mailboxes, click on the + icon.
- Type the name of the org account. Select the account from the dropdown, and click on Add.
- Click on OK.
- Close the window. The org account now appears below your own folders (may take a moment to update).
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Quit and reopen Outlook for Mac.
- At the top, click on the Tools menu and select Accounts… from the dropdown.
- Click on Advanced…
- Click on the Delegates tab.
- Under Open these additional mailboxes, click on the + icon.
- Type the name of the org account into the search bar.
- Select the account from the list, and click on Add.
- Click on OK.
- Close the window. The org account now appears below your own folders (may take a moment to update).
Outlook calendar
If you previously added the org account to your inbox, the org calendar should automatically appear in Outlook calendar. If the org calendar does not automatically appear, or if you want to add only the calendar and not the mailbox:
New Outlook
Quick guide
- In Outlook calendar, click on your email address.
- Click on the … icon and select Add Shared Calendar… from the dropdown.
- Type the name of the org account into the search bar.
- Select the org account from the dropdown and click on Open.
- The org calendar now appears below your own account calendar.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- In Outlook calendar, click on your email address.
- Click on the … icon and select Add Shared Calendar… from the dropdown.
- Type the name of the org account into the search bar.
- Select the org account from the dropdown and click on Open.
- The org calendar now appears below your own account calendar.
Legacy Outlook
Quick guide
- In Outlook calendar, click on the Open Shared Calendar icon.
- Type the name of the org account into the search bar.
- Select the org account from the dropdown and click on Open.
- The org calendar now appears below your own account calendar.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- In Outlook calendar, click on the Open Shared Calendar icon.
- Type the name of the org account into the search bar.
- Select the org account from the dropdown and click on Open.
- The org calendar now appears below your own account calendar.
Adding the account in Outlook 365/OWA (online)
Once DTS confirms you have been granted access to the shared organizational Outlook account, you can add the account to Outlook:
Outlook inbox
Quick guide
- Go to https://usc.edu/office365.
- Right-click on Folders > Add shared folder.
- Type the name of the org account into the search bar. Select the account from the dropdown and click on Add.
- The org account now appears below your own folders (you may have to scroll down to the bottom of the list).
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Go to https://outlook.office.com.
- Right-click on Folders.
- Select Add shared folder from the dropdown.
- Type the name of the org account into the search bar.
- Select the account from the dropdown.
- Click on Add.
- The org account now appears below your own folders (you may have to scroll down to the bottom of the list).
Outlook calendar
Quick guide
- Go to https://outlook.office.com/calendar.
- Click on Add calendar.
- Don't see this option? In the upper left, click on the menu icon next to New event. The sidebar opens and Add calendar displays.
- Click on Add from directory.
- Type the name of the org account into the search bar. Select the account from the dropdown list.
- In the Add to dropdown, select the heading you'd like the org calendar to appear under (for example, Other calendars).
- Click on Add.
- Close the window. The org calendar now appears below the heading you designated in step 5.
Detailed guide (with screenshots)
- Go to https://outlook.office.com/calendar.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Add calendar.
- Don't see this option? In the upper left, click on the menu icon next to New event. The sidebar opens and Add calendar displays.
- Click on Add from directory.
- Type the name of the org account into the search bar.
- Select the account from the dropdown.
- In the Add to dropdown, select the heading you'd like the org calendar to appear under (for example, Other calendars).
- Click on Add.
- Close the window. The org calendar now appears below the heading you designated in step 6.
Sending emails "as" the shared org account
If you requested and were granted the ability to send emails from the shared org account, you should still log into your own Outlook account, and from there you can update the From address on new emails you send.
Sending mail merges "as" the shared org account
If you are setting up a mail merge through Microsoft Word, Word will use your default Outlook account as the sender, rather than letting you select the shared org account. To ensure that your mail merge shows the shared org account as the sender, follow our guide:
Student workers and shared org accounts
Because students have Gmail rather than Outlook accounts, the process for student workers to get access to shared org accounts in Outlook is slightly different. If you are trying to get access to shared org accounts for student workers:
- Make sure you're listed as the owner of the shared org account (you can email the Help Desk if you aren't sure who the org account's owner is).
- Set a passphrase directly on the shared org account.
- Share the org account's USC NetID and passphrase with your student worker(s). Have them sign in at https://usc.edu/office365.
- If the student receives an error message from Microsoft/Outlook, they may already be signed into a USC service (such as Zoom, Blackboard, or Gmail) with their own individual USC NetID. Instruct the student to open an incognito window or a different browser than the one they're currently using, and try again.
- Once a student leaves Dornsife employment, change the org account's passphrase for security.
Removing delegate access to shared org accounts
If you are in charge of administering a shared org account, we recommend that you periodically check that the list of people who have been granted access to the account is up to date, and remove access for anyone who should no longer have access (e.g. departed employees).
You can request this list from DTS by submitting a Help Desk ticket or emailing ts@dornsife.usc.edu.
Contributor(s): Chris Huntley, Albert Rodriguez.