Why are DePaul students using BlueM@il (username@depaul.edu) for class and university communications?
In the last few years, DePaul has been experiencing continued issues with delivery of email messages (particularly with D2L) because not everyone at DePaul was using the University email system. As more email providers continue to enforce stricter guidelines and best practices on how email is sent and received securely over the internet, DePaul will be faced with more challenges in reliably delivering messages to external email addresses, and we may have no way to fix them. D2L is spoofing the identity of the messages sent from the system, and in numerous instances over the past several years, ISPs have blocked our D2L domain so that messages are not being delivered. When this has occurred, there was no indication of that for the instructors or the students.
When using an external email address (like Gmail or Yahoo) to receive DePaul classroom and university communications, these external emails create an increasing risk that important class and university messages will be blocked. DePaul has no control over when and why messages—such as critical class information from D2L—are incorrectly flagged as spam and not delivered to these external accounts, without warning to teachers or students.
With almost 70% of students using Gmail, one change to Gmail’s filters could create a situation where the majority of students wouldn’t receive email communications from their classes.
By using BlueM@il to receive DePaul communications, the university can better ensure messages from D2L (and DePaul colleges and offices) will be more reliably delivered.
Starting at the beginning of the Fall Quarter 2020-2021, all DePaul communications will go to your BlueM@il email address (username@depaul.edu). Students are encouraged to regularly check their BlueM@il inboxes and correspond with DePaul students, faculty, and staff through Outlook or an email app of their choice.
For more detailed information, visit this article about BlueM@il Student Email and University Communications.
Ways to check email through Outlook (use your DePaul login credentials):