Service overview

As part of the Microsoft 365 offering, Microsoft Teams is a collaboration platform offering workspace chat, videoconferencing and file storage. The solution helps you communicate and organize information in a single area. It creates a central location where you can:

• Stay in the know with real-time information and updates shared in persistent team conversations, private chats (these can be moderated if needed), team meetings, and other channels
• Get your team on the same page with group chat, online meetings, calling, and web conferencing.
• Meet virtually at McGill (Teams meetings, classes, lectures, webinars, town halls or live events)
• Co-author files and share resources with built-in Microsoft 365 apps.
• Create meaningful assignments, provide transparent guidance, and share rich feedback using OneNote.

IMPORTANT:

Microsoft Teams is a McGill-approved Cloud Service. Teams data is stored on Microsoft infrastructure located in North America. Although you can store protected and personal data in Teams, it must not be used to store certain types of regulated data. For definitions of the various types of institutional data and guidance about which type of data cannot be stored in Teams, see Cloud services that have been approved/rejected for McGill use (This list is only accessible to faculty and staff members).

Notice: Features changes in the new Microsoft Teams

Development of Microsoft Teams is ongoing. Microsoft regularly releases new features to improve your experience. 

As of March 1st, 2024, the New Teams will be automatically installed on all McGill managed computers.

Until March 31st, users will still be able to switch between Classic and New Teams. After that date, Microsoft will uninstall Classic Teams, so switching back will no longer be possible.

Please read: Features that are changing in the New Microsoft Teams for more details about the upcoming changes.

Consult the New Teams' FAQ to find answers to the most common questions about this new version of Teams. (There is a general FAQ about Teams below in this article.)

Recent additions to Microsoft Teams at McGill include:

• View someone's LinkedIn profile if they have opted to enable the integration.
• Meeting organizers and presenters can disable/enable the camera and mic of specific attendees as long as there is at least one specified presenter.
• Share your system audio while screen sharing via Teams on the web.
• New filters for chat to filter out bots or meetings.
• You can pin a specific message to always be visible in a chat.
• Select the chat density between compact and comfy modes.
• Turn off Mirror my video in Teams meetings.
• Reply to a specific message in chat by hovering over the message and clicking the three dots for more options.
• Recordings automatically turn on live transcriptions.
• Use the spotlight feature to pin someone's video during the meeting.

Who can use it

Active McGill students, faculty, and staff.

Affiliated consultants, lecturers, and service providers are also eligible. (Teams is provided for all affiliates with email accounts.) 

How to access the service

You can access Microsoft Teams in several ways:

• Desktop: The Teams Desktop client provides the best experience. The desktop app is available at teams.microsoft.com/downloads.
• Mobile: Download the Teams app on your smartphone or tablet from the Apple App Store or the Google Play store.
• Web: Log in to the Microsoft 365 portal using your McGill username and password, then click on the Teams icon to get started.

For a quick overview of how Teams', visit our Microsoft Teams How-To website.

Creating a new team

To Create a new team in Teams:

1. On the left pane of the Microsoft Teams app, select Teams. 
2. Click Join or create a team
3. Click Create team
   
   
   
   
4. Choose the team type from the options presented. We recommend using a Class or Staff site. See Choosing a Teams template for additional guidance.

   

   Caution: Public vs. Private Teams

   When creating a new Team, you can select between a Private and Public Team. A Private Team is the best option for most use cases. 
   
   If you choose to make a Public Team, all content stored within the Team, including files and documents, will be visible to all of McGill. This means that:
   
   1. Any McGill user can find and join your team/group.
   2. Even without joining, any McGill user will be able to find, access, and likely edit any document anywhere on your site. This includes files you post in your Teams channels.
   3. Email attachments sent through your group email will also be visible and saved to your site.

Cost

There is no cost associated with this service.

Availability

This service is available 24 X 7. Check the home page of the IT Support site for announcements in case of any outages.

Frequently asked questions

NOTE:

For instructions on adding participants from outside McGill to your Teams site, see Add guests to a team in Teams and Guest capabilities in Teams on the Microsoft support site.

How is my content protected against data loss on Teams?

All documents in the Files tab of a Team are stored on a SharePoint Online site, similar to OneDrive. If these documents are accidentally deleted, you have 93 days to recover them from the Recycle Bin unless someone deletes them from there or empties that Recycle Bin. In that case, the items go to the site collection Recycle Bin, where they stay for the remainder of the 93 days. View more on the Microsoft website.

For all the content a team generates (e.g., chat sessions, team email, planner) if a group/channel is deleted, it can be restored, with all its content, within 30 days.

Do McGill affiliate accounts have the same access as McGill faculty and staff accounts?

Affiliated consultants, lecturers, and service providers can be added to teams as members or team owners. They cannot create new teams.

Can I grant access to Teams to people outside of McGill?

If you are a team owner, you can invite someone from outside McGill (non-McGill address) to your team. This person will be added as a guest. Guests have fewer capabilities than team members or owners, but there's still much they can do. For a deeper look, see Guest capabilities in Teams.

How do I add participants from outside of McGill to a Teams Meeting?

To host a Teams meeting with people from outside of McGill, create your meeting using Outlook and add participants by adding their email addresses.

Note: When adding participants outside McGill, create your meeting in outlook and use the Reply with meeting button.  

How do I access Teams while working from home?

You can access teams through the McGill Microsoft 365 portal. You can also use Teams on your mobile smartphone or laptop by downloading the Teams app and signing in with your McGill credentials. Avoid using Remote Desktop to connect to your work computer for Teams meetings, as the connection may try to use the microphone and camera at McGill instead of your local personal computer.

What are the limits for the size of teams, participants in a meeting, etc.?

Limits and specifications can be viewed on the Microsoft Website.

Where are meeting notes stored, and how long are they accessible?

IMPORTANT:

Meeting notes created in the OneNote app, in a Teams’ chat are stored in the personal OneDrive folder of the person who creates the notebook. The notebook is in the Notebooks folder at the root of your OneDrive – McGill University and they are automatically accessible to all meeting participants (shared).

When that person leaves McGill, their OneDrive folder will be deleted, including meeting notes that may contain important team data.

It is recommended that the notes be transferred to another participant in the chat’s Notebooks folder if they must be kept when the person leaves.

Where are Teams meeting recordings saved, and how long are they accessible?

They are either saved in the OneDrive account of the person who started the recording or on the SharePoint site of the channel meeting. Recordings will automatically be deleted unless the owner takes action. See Managing MS Teams meeting recordings for details.

Do Teams ever expire?

All Teams have a one-year expiration policy. If a team site is unused for 11 months, the team owner receives renewal notifications 30 days, 15 days, and one day before the expiration date. The owner can renew the team by selecting Manage Team > Settings > Team expiration and then clicking Renew now.

Auto-renewal of the team is also enabled to prevent an accidental team deletion when an owner is unavailable to renew it.  A team with at least one visit from any team member before its expiration date is automatically renewed without intervention from the team owner.

Which teams meeting should I use for my meeting?

There are currently six ways to meet in Microsoft Teams that are available to the McGill community. See Meeting virtually at McGill – Choosing the right type of Teams meetings to help you select the most appropriate solution for your needs.

Best practices & policies

• McGill's Cloud Services Directive governs your use of this service.
  
  
• When naming your Teams or Channels avoid using special characters. Since the Team or Channel name is embedded in the SharePoint Online URL, having special characters can cause issues in some cases. Note: If you rename your Team or Channel, the corresponding URL will not be changed.
  
  
• In a Teams site, all members have the same rights. Use private channels if you need to restrict some content to a subset of team members private channels. If you want to collaborate with a significantly different user group, creating a new Teams site is preferable. 
  
  
• Never give your McGill credentials to another person to allow them access to your Microsoft Teams or for any other reason. This violates the Policy on the Responsible Use of Information Technology Resources.
  
  
• It is preferred to ensure permanent employees create team meeting notes over casual employees and contractors, such as affiliates. Affiliates (and other meeting participants) can still contribute to the notes, but they will be stored in the permanent employee's OneDrive folder and, therefore, will more likely be accessible longer.
  
  
• Notes, files, and conversations that need to be kept as a permanent record can be transferred to the Files tab of a Team site or another location on the associated SharePoint Online site.
  
  
• Always assign at least two team owners to prevent your team site from being orphaned if the sole owner leaves the University. A team owner can add other owners to their site. If you happen to be a member of an orphaned site, contact the IT Service Desk and ask for a new owner to be assigned.

Training & documentation

Training (live online):

• Register through Minerva for the Introduction to MS Teams for faculty & staff course.
• Register through MS Booking for a Q&A session with an instructor.

McGill resources:

• For a quick overview of MS Teams and links to video tutorials, visit our Microsoft Teams How-To web page.
• For links to how-to's and videos, please see the Index of documentation for Microsoft Teams

Additional resources from Microsoft

• Teams video resources and training 
• Training and resources for educators by Microsoft
• Register for a live online training session provided by Microsoft

Support

For access/authentication issues, contact the IT Service Desk.