Microsoft 365 for Students

Durham College students have access to Microsoft 365 to support their academic work. Microsoft 365 includes DCMail (Outlook) and applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams and OneDrive.

You can use Microsoft 365 applications online through office.com or download and install the desktop applications on up to five personal devices.

Before You Begin

To access Microsoft 365, you will need:

Your Durham College student email address
Your network password
Microsoft multifactor authentication (MFA) set up using the Microsoft Authenticator app

Your Microsoft 365 username is your Durham College student email address firstname.lastname@dcmail.ca

If you have not completed your account setup or do not have this information, follow the first-time login and MFA setup instructions.

Go to office.com.
Select Sign in.
Enter your Durham College student email address using the format firstname.lastname@dcmail.ca.
Enter your network password.
Complete the Microsoft Authenticator verification when prompted.

After signing in, you can access the online Microsoft 365 applications, your DCMail and files stored in OneDrive.

Important: Always use your Durham College student email address to sign in. A personal Microsoft account will not provide access to your Durham College Microsoft 365 services.

Accessing Your Student Email

Your Durham College student email, also known as DCMail, is accessed through Outlook.
Go to office.com.
Sign in using your Durham College student email address and network password.
Select Outlook from the list of applications.
Check your student email regularly for important messages from Durham College, your instructors and college services.

Accessing Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams is a communication and collaboration application that may be used for:

Attending online meetings or appointments
Communicating with classmates
Participating in group discussions and projects
Sharing and collaborating on files
Receiving messages, meeting invitations and notifications

Access Teams Online

Go to https://www.office.com.
Sign in using your Durham College student email address and network password.
Complete the Microsoft Authenticator verification when prompted.
Select Teams from the list of applications.

You can also access Teams directly at https://teams.microsoft.com.

Install the Teams Application

For the best experience, you can install the Microsoft Teams application on your computer or mobile device.

Download Teams from the Microsoft Site (https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-teams/download-app).
On a mobile device, download Microsoft Teams from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.
Sign in using your Durham College student email address and network password.

Important: If you also use Teams with a personal account or another organization, confirm that you are signed in with your @dcmail.ca account before joining a Durham College meeting or accessing college content.

Join a Teams Meeting

You can join a Teams meeting by selecting the meeting link provided in your student email, calendar, course information or other college communication.

Before joining:

Check that your camera, microphone and speakers are working.
Confirm that your display name is appropriate.
Mute your microphone when you are not speaking.

Use headphones when possible to reduce background noise and feedback.

Using Microsoft 365 Online

You can use Microsoft 365 applications from a supported web browser without installing any software.

Go to office.com.
Sign in using your Durham College student email address and network password.
Select the application you want to use.
Files created using the online applications can be saved to your Durham College OneDrive account.

Installing Microsoft 365 Applications

Durham College students can install Microsoft 365 applications on up to five personal devices.

Go to office.com.
Sign in using your Durham College student email address and network password.
Select Install apps.
Select Microsoft 365 apps.
Open the downloaded installation file.
Follow the instructions to complete the installation.
Open one of the installed applications, such as Word.
Sign in using your Durham College student email address to activate the applications.
The applications will remain activated while you are signed in with an eligible Durham College student account.

Using a Chromebook?

Use the online Microsoft 365 applications through office.com. The full Windows and macOS desktop applications cannot be installed on a Chromebook.

Access Your OneDrive Files

OneDrive provides online file storage through your Durham College student account.

To access OneDrive:

Go to office.com.
Sign in using your Durham College student email address and network password.
Select OneDrive.
Open an existing file or upload a file from your device.
Keep backup copies of important academic files and do not rely on OneDrive as the only location where your files are stored.

Active students receive 500 GB of OneDrive storage.

Use Microsoft 365 on Durham College Computers

You must sign in to the Microsoft 365 applications before using them on Durham College classroom or lab computers.

Open the Microsoft 365 application you want to use.
Sign in using your Durham College student email address and network password.
Complete the Microsoft Authenticator verification when prompted.

Important: When you are finished, save your work and sign out of both the Microsoft 365 application and the computer. This helps protect your account and prevents others from accessing your files or email.

Common Sign-In Problems

My username is not accepted

Make sure you are entering your complete Durham College student email address:

firstname.lastname@dcmail.ca

Check for spelling errors and remove any spaces before or after the address.

Microsoft displays my personal account

Sign out of your personal Microsoft account and select Use another account. Sign in using your Durham College student email address.

If the wrong account continues to appear, open a private or incognito browser window and try again.

I am not receiving an Authenticator notification

Open Microsoft Authenticator and check for a pending request.

Confirm that your mobile device is connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data.

Make sure notifications are enabled for Microsoft Authenticator.

Confirm that the date and time on your mobile device are set automatically.

If you have another authentication method registered, select I can’t use my Microsoft Authenticator app right now on the sign-in screen.

Never approve an Authenticator request that you did not initiate.

I replaced or lost my mobile device

Contact the IT Service Desk if Microsoft Authenticator was registered on a device you no longer have and you cannot access your account.

I cannot see the option to install Microsoft 365

Confirm that you signed in using your Durham College student account and not a personal Microsoft account. If the installation option is still unavailable, contact the IT Service Desk.

Need Help?

Contact the Durham College IT Service Desk if you:

Cannot sign in to Microsoft 365
Forgot your network password and could not reset it using the Self-Service Password Reset portal
Cannot complete the Microsoft Authenticator setup
Replaced or lost the mobile device registered to your account
Cannot install or activate the Microsoft 365 applications

When requesting assistance, describe the problem and include the exact error message you received.

Protect your account: Never send your password, an MFA verification code or an Authenticator approval request by email. The IT Service Desk will also not reset passwords or MFA over email.