There is no "official" University of Maryland Slack workspace. In fact, Slack works best when used at the team level (i.e. research group, class, unit).

Additionally, UMD does not currently have an enterprise subscription to Slack and there are no enterprise-wide controls in place to manage Slack usage on campus. In the future this may change, but for now you are free to use Slack as desired.

Faculty and Staff should use their @umd.edu email to sign up for Slack.

Students should use their @terpmail.umd.edu to sign up for Slack when used in an official capacity (e.g. as part of a class).

Student clubs and other non-official entities are free to use whichever email they feel most comfortable with.

Slack's download page has links to the Slack app for Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android.

You can upgrade your workspace to a paid Slack plan (we suggest you do if adoption increases!) using a PCard. Here's how to do that.

1. Ensure you already have a Slack workspace set up, and whomever is in charge of purchasing for your unit has Owner-level access to your Slack workspace. As of right now, Slack subscriptions are purchased using a PCard. We recommend monthly billing.
2. Apply for a Slack for Education discount here. Slack's official help doc on this is here.
   1. Slack for EDU is an 85% discount off of list price. 
   2. You'll need the UMD tax exemption certificate as part of the application process.
3. Once approved, have your business officer / individual with a PCard upgrade your subscription from the billing area of Slack.
   1. Try the Pro plan first, it's probably sufficient for your needs.

Since we don't currently have an enterprise deployment of Slack, you can log in using an email address & password.

• If you are on a paid Slack subscription, you can set up log in via Google.

To reset your password, follow Slack's password reset instructions.

Since we don't currently have an enterprise deployment of Slack, when you leave the University your access to Slack will remain until a workspace admin or owner changes your access.

Tip: We recommend Slack workspace admins & owners keep their list of users up to date. For students who leave the University, we recommend deactivating their user account two semesters after they have left (in accordance with standard policy).

We recommend you get in touch with your Slack workspace admin or owner and ask about their policy. Here's how to find your workspace owners and admins.

We recommend you get in touch with your Slack workspace admin or owner and ask about their policy. Here's how to find your workspace owners and admins.

Here's Slack's help doc on how to edit your profile. Keep in mind that workspace admins and owners have control over some profile fields.

Typically you'll be placed in the #general channel or a few other channels when you join a workspace. These initial channels are set by your Slack workspace admin or owner. If you're not sure, reach out to them and ask.

Check out Slack's help doc on how to create a new channel. Keep in mind that workspace admins and owners can restrict channel creation if desired.

A public channel can be joined by anyone in your Slack workspace.

A private channel requires an existing member to invite you to that channel.

At the bottom of the sidebar, you'll see a list of individual people you can message. If you don't see someone in this list, click the + icon next to Direct messages to create a new direct message.

Tip: You can also use Ctrl+K or Cmd+K to bring up the command palette, type someones name, and hit enter to start a direct message with them.

There are no official guidelines, however here's what EIT recommends:

• When Slack is being used in an official capacity (e.g. for an administrative unit, a class, or a research group): We suggest you keep communication mostly professional. Slack messages are considered public information under the Maryland Public Information Act and could be subject to disclosure in a PIA request. Generally, you should follow the University of Maryland Policy on Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources. 
• When Slack is being used in an unofficial capacity (e.g. for a student club) and account email addresses do not end in @umd.edu: We still suggest you keep communication on topic for your use case, however it's acceptable to treat it as more of an instant messaging platform in this case. Just be sure you understand Slack's terms of service and privacy policy to understand how your data is handled.

Tip: In the future if the University were to enter into an agreement with Slack to purchase an enterprise subscription, all communication would be subject to the negotiated terms for workspaces created as part of the University's subscription and UMD policy. 

This largely depends on the culture of your team. If you're not sure, ask a workspace owner or admin.

This largely depends on the culture of your team, however EIT recommends you use them sparingly, as they can be noisy. If you're not sure, ask a workspace owner or admin. 

See the question above, What are the University's guidelines for communication on Slack?

At the moment, all of them! Here are EIT's recommended best practices for integrations and apps.

Tip: In the future if the University were to enter into an agreement with Slack to purchase an enterprise subscription, restrictions could be placed on Slack integrations and apps.

For log in via Google, just click the Log in with Google button. Some paid Slack workspaces may require Log in with Google.

For Google Drive and Google Calendar integrations, check out their respective pages.

At the moment, yes!

Tip: In the future if the University were to enter into an agreement with Slack to purchase an enterprise subscription, restrictions could be placed on Slack integrations and apps.

For EIT, we'll publish an ask.eng article for each custom app we've built for the University community. That article will contain contact information for the team that maintains that respective app. Feel free to use that contact information to get in touch with them!

For the rest of campus, we'd suggest looking around for contact information regarding the specific app in question. If in doubt, you can always reach out to the IT Service Desk via itsupport@umd.edu.

For public Slack channels, anyone in the workspace.

For private Slack channels or direct messages, only people in those private channels or direct messages. Under normal circumstances, not even owners or admins can see messages in private channels or direct messages.

Tip: Workspace owners and admins on paid Slack plans have the ability to request Slack enable a compliance export feature that allows them to export all messages in a Slack workspace, including those in private channels. If this feature is enabled, Slack will notify all users in the workspace to make them aware this feature has been enabled.

As the University does not currently have an enterprise-wide Slack agreement in place, EIT recommends that particularly sensitive research topics are not discussed on Slack. For most research, it should be okay to discuss those topics in Slack.

This setting can be customized for each individual Slack workspace. Ask your Slack workspace owner or admin what the retention policy is for your workspace.

Tip: In the future if the University were to enter into an agreement with Slack to purchase an enterprise subscription, retention policies may be set at the campus level.

Tip: Slack will notify all workspace users if an owner or admin changes the default retention policy (which is to keep all messages indefinitely).

If possible, delete the message containing the information as soon as you are aware.

Tip: Slack owners and admins can customize the deletion policy in your workspace. If you do not see a delete option, that feature may not be enabled. Contact your Slack workspace owner or admin for help in this situation.

Your first line of support should be your Slack workspace owner or admin. If they aren't able to answer your question, feel free to reach out to the Engineering Digital Service team via eds@umd.edu for more help.

You should report inappropriate behavior on Slack to your workspace owner or admin.

Here's some tailored content EIT has put together for Slack in the university environment:

• Slack
• Slack Best Practices in Education
• Useful Slack Integrations for Educational Environments

Slack's help center can also be a great place to find additional information on how to use Slack effectively.

Absolutely! Your first point of contact should be your Slack workspace owner or admin. If you have ideas that could benefit the entire University community, feel free to reach out to the Engineering Digital Service team via eds@umd.edu as well.

Yes! Head to Slack's downloads page for the link to the relevant app for your device.

EIT recommends you have notifications at the system level turned on for Slack. To manage your Slack notification preferences, see this Slack help doc.

Here is Slack's help doc on the requirements for their desktop and mobile apps.

Tip: In the future if the University were to enter into an agreement with Slack to purchase an enterprise subscription, additional requirements or restrictions could be set by enterprise policy.