Microsoft Teams - Getting Started

Overview

Microsoft Teams allows you to create a collaborative workspace where all the members of your work group can communicate and share files in one central location. Teams is part of the Microsoft 365 subscription service, which is available for Temple students, faculty and staff.

Access Teams

To access Microsoft Teams:

  1. Go to portal.office.com and log in with your AccessNet and password. Note that the first time you log in, you may have to first enter your AccessNet username@temple.edu email address and then select work or school account.
  2. On the portal page, in the panel on the left, click Teams .
  3. When prompted to download the Teams desktop app, you can either download and install the app, or select Use the web app instead.

Learn How to Use Teams

Download the Teams App

In addition to using Teams on the web, you can download the app to your computer or mobile device:

Download the Desktop or Mobile App

Governance

 

Third-Party Apps
Microsoft Teams has an AppSource site that contains many third-party applications that work with it. Temple has already licensed some of these applications, which have been integrated into our Microsoft Teams environment.

​​Faculty/Staff Members - To request access to a third-party app not currently enabled, please use the Purchasing Pre-Approval form . This will enable us to determine:

  • if the app meets our accessibility and security standards, and
  • if Temple already licenses for that app or a similar app.

Retention Policy for Teams meeting recordings
Starting on March 12, 2025, ITS will delete from Teams all recordings older than:

  • ​​​​​​120 days (faculty/staff)
  • 30 days (students)

Once a recording is deleted from Teams, it will be kept in the OneDrive Recycle Bin for 30 days.

Microsoft 365 - Group/Teams Expiration Policy
Any Microsoft 365 Group or Team with no activity in the last 180 days will enter a 30-day expiration process. Group/Team owner(s) will be notified by email or Teams (if no mailbox is associated with the Team) that the group will expire in 30 days.

When a group expires, all associated services and data (mailbox, calendar, Planner, SharePoint site, Teams chats/channels, etc.) are also deleted.

Expiration Notifications:

  • Owners receive the first renewal notification at the start of the 30-day period.
  • 15 days later, if the Group/Team is not renewed, another notification is sent.
  • 1 day after the 30-day period ends, the Group/Team is soft-deleted.
  • 30 days after soft deletion, the Group/Team is permanently deleted.

FAQs

Can I add someone from outside of Temple University to my team?

Yes. To learn how, see Add guests to a team in Teams .

How can I keep my Microsoft 365 Group from expiring?

Groups/Teams that are actively used are automatically renewed. Any of the following actions will prevent a group from entering the expiration process:

SharePoint: view, edit, download, move, share, or upload files.

Note: Viewing a SharePoint page alone does not count as an action for automatic renewal.

Outlook: add a member to the group, read or send a message from the group mailbox, or like a message (Outlook on the web).

Teams: visiting a Teams channel.

Yammer/Viva Engage: viewing a post within a Yammer community.

Need Help?

Please contact the Technology Support Center at tuhelp.temple.edu (click Chat or Request Help) or call 215-204-8000 .

Print Article