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Questions and answers

523

Can I have my Sussex email address changed?

Staff and postgraduates are entitled to a friendly email address of the form A.N.Other@sussex.ac.uk, using their given initials and family name as recorded in the central staff/student database.  Such an address is created as a matter of course for new members of staff when their IT accounts are created.  If a person changes their name, for example by marriage, we can change their friendly email address accordingly, but this is not automatic; the person would need to contact IT Services to request the change.

Undergraduate students have as their email address their Sussex username - which consists of all the initials of their name, plus a number - followed by @sussex.ac.uk, for example ano23@sussex.ac.uk.   We do not normally provide friendly email addresses for undergraduates, because most leave Sussex after three years and we cannot release their email address for re-use for at least three years after that. Friendly email addresses are therefore reserved for those who are likely to stay longer at Sussex. If a graduate re-registers as a postgraduate or becomes a member of staff, they then become eligible for a friendly email address, but as this doesn't happen automatically, they would need to contact IT Services to request a friendly email address, though they may be offered one if someone in IT Services notices that they don't have a friendly email address.

Sometimes we are asked if we can drop a person's middle initials from their email address, and have an address like A.Other@sussex.ac.uk as their friendly address. IT Services would not normally permit this because of the possibility of someone else arriving at Sussex with the same forename and surname but without a middle initial, who would have the greater claim to such an address and where a conflict could thus arise. We can usually however offer alternative forms of address such as Ann.Other@sussex.ac.uk in such circumstances.

Remember that even if you do have a friendly email address, you will always by definition also have an email address based on your username (for example, ano23@sussex.ac.uk) which will always work if used as an alternative, and both addresses will deliver to the same account.

If you qualify for a friendly email address and would like one set up for you, please contact ITS enquiries.