Slack is a cloud-based messaging and collaboration platform designed to streamline communication within teams and organizations. It offers real-time messaging, file sharing, and integration with various productivity tools, making it ideal for both academic and administrative use at Oakland University.
Who is Eligible
Active Staff, Students, and Faculty.
Non-university affiliated access is available on a workspace-by-workspace basis/configuration.
How does Slack work at OU
Oakland University utilizes Slack Enterprise Grid to license and centrally manage university Slack Workspaces.
Slack is split into areas called a Slack Workspace. A Slack workspace is a central hub for a team or group, acting as a container for all their communication and collaboration. It includes channels for different topics or teams, direct messaging for private conversations, and can be customized with apps and integrations to connect with other tools. Each workspace has its own set of members, channels, and settings, creating a dedicated environment for a specific group, like a department, while still being a member of the Enterprise Grid.
Who can use Slack
Slack is available to anyone with a oakland.edu email address. External users (non @oakland.edu) are also able to use Slack, but this setting is workspace dependent, meaning that not all workspaces allow external users.
How do I request a Slack Workspace
A Slack Workspace can be requested by active Faculty, Staff, and Students with a valid use case for the workspace.
Use cases include but are not limited to:
- For internal departmental communication
- For a class
- For a student organization
- For a class project
To request a workspace, please see the linked service request on the right side of the page.
Why can't I make a workspace on my own
Oakland University does not allow the creation of workspaces outside of our Enterprise Grid plan. This means that you will be unable to create a Slack Workspace on your own, and must go through the Enterprise Grid plan.
Migrating a workspace to Enterprise Grid
If you have a workspace that is not a member of the OU Enterprise Grid subscription, Slack allows workspaces to be migrated to the OU Enterprise grid while retaining all data under the workspace. Please submit a service request using the linked service offering, making sure to include your full workspace ID and URL
I need more help with my workspace
Please see Slack's support article for additional assistance with your workspace. University Technology Services and the Technology Center are able to provide limited support with Slack.
Slack Support - https://slack.com/help
Please note that before submitting a support request to Slack, submit a support request to OU using the linked service offering on the right.