This month our “Alumni Email Forwarding for Life” service will be upgraded and all subscribers will now be issued full-featured Bucknell email (Bmail) accounts!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this change being made?
For a number of years Bucknell has offered email forwarding services for alumni, allowing them to maintain an email address ending in @alum.bucknell.edu that forwarded messages to another email account of their choice. However, students have often requested to keep their Bucknell email accounts when they graduate. Until recently the on-campus email system did not have the capacity to allow us to offer full featured email accounts to all alumni, so the forwarding service was set up as a compromise.
Our current system, Bmail, has enough capacity for an effectively unlimited number of accounts. For the last two years alumni have been able to simply retain their Bucknell email accounts. This is an improvement on the forwarding service, since alumni do not have to distribute a new email address, they continue to have access to the content of the accounts they used as students, and they are not required to forward their mail to a separate account. In addition to email, alumni have access to the many other services available in Bmail, such as Groups and Sites. Extending accounts subscribers to the forwarding service offers the same advantages to all alumni. In addition, it saves the University both the financial and administrative resources involved in maintaining two separate email systems. With their new Bmail accounts alumni will still have the option of forwarding email to another address (thus replicating the behavior of the old service), or they may choose to use the full featured Bmail account as it is.
How do I set up my Bmail account to replicate the forwarding service?
To replicate the forwarding service, you will need to login once to your Bmail account and specify your forwarding address. Step-by-step instructions are included with your account information, and are available online here.
Will my Bucknell Alumni email address change?
No. Your @alum.bucknell.edu address is still yours “for life” just as it was under the forwarding service.
Why doesn’t my Bucknell username match the first part of my @alum.bucknell.edu address?
Since Alumni Forwarding was a separate system from campus email, alumni were able to choose whatever email address they wanted. Now that we are combining the two systems, we have to issue usernames to alumni in the same way they are issued to current students, faculty and staff. Your email address is still the same @alum.bucknell.edu address you have been using. You may also use [username]@bucknell.edu as an email address if you like.
Can I change my Bucknell username or email address?
At this time it is not possible to change your Bucknell username or email address.
How do I access my Bmail account? What if I forget my password?
To access your Bmail account, you will first need to set a password. To do so, please visit https://pr.bucknell.edu, click on “Reset your password” and follow the prompts. If you ever forget your password, you can set a new one following the same procedure.
What if I don’t know or forget my Bucknell username?
Your Bucknell username was emailed to you when your account was created. If you ever forget your username and cannot locate the email, please contact alum-email@bucknell.edu and we will resend your account information.
What if I don’t set up my Bmail account? Do I have to set it up before June 27, 2012?
If you take no action, your Bmail account will still be created, and after June 27th any mail sent to your alumni address will be delivered there. If you never log in, your mail will simply collect in your Inbox. At any time in the future, you can set a password and log in to your account. There is no requirement that you access your account before June 27th, but doing so will ensure uninterrupted access to email sent to your Alumni address.
Will all email communications from the University be sent to my Bmail account?
No. Email communications will continue to be sent to whatever email address you have indicated as your preferred email address. However, communications from Library and IT which specifically pertain to your Bucknell account will be sent directly to your Bmail address.
How do I update my preferred email address?
To update your contact information, login to B-Link, or contact the Alumni Office at alumni@bucknell.edu or 570-577-3223.
What if I don’t want my alumni address anymore?
If you do not want a Bucknell email address, we will remove it for you. If you change your mind in the future, we will be able to reinstate your Bmail account. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to reinstate the same @alum.bucknell.edu address you had been using. Once your @alum.bucknell.edu address is removed, any email sent to it will be returned to the sender as undeliverable.
I am a Bucknell alum, but have not used the Forwarding for Life service. Can I have a Bucknell email address now?
Absolutely. After we have completed the switch from the forwarding service we will be happy to create accounts for any Bucknell alumni. Contact us at alum-email@bucknell.edu for more information.
If you have any further questions, or specific questions about your account, please contact us at alum-email@bucknell.edu.