Using the CAC Student E-mail

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the CAC Student E-mail. You will find the answers to common questions below:

Using CAC Student E-mail

I have my own e-mail account. Why do I need a CAC e-mail account?

All Central Arizona College students are given Central Arizona College e-mail accounts. Most instructors require their students to use these accounts.
Very often the personal e-mail addresses chosen by students do not reflect the students' real name. In this age of computer and e-mail viruses many instructors will not read a message from an e-mail account the instructor does not recognize - especially if that message has an attachment. When you use your CAC e-mail account the "from" name on the message will match your name on the class roster. Also, using a CAC e-mail account insures that your e-mail messages are virus scanned - both the messages you send and the messages you receive.
Other problems which might occur when using a personal e-mail account are the personal e-mail account not being completely compatible with CAC's e-mail or CAC's security software thinking that an attached file is "suspicious". Occasionally file attachments sent to CAC e-mail accounts from personal accounts are deleted as possible viruses. When an e-mail is sent from one Central Arizona College e-mail address to another Central Arizona College e-mail address most problems with attachments are prevented.
The student e-mail server is located at http://cactus.centralaz.edu . Your e-mail address is your Blackboard username plus @stu.centralaz.edu. Your initial e-mail password is your birthdate in MMDDYYYY format - 8 numbers are required.. Again, it is very important that you change your e-mail account password after logging in for the first time. For additional information see the Accessing your CAC E-Mail section of the Online Tutorials. (Return to Top)

Will the instructor contact me and tell me what to do? How do I contact the instructor?

Some instructors e-mail their students before the first day of class or during the first week to welcome the students and make suggestions on getting off to a great start. If your instructor does send you such an e-mail it will be sent to your Central Arizona College e-mail account. Make sure to check your CAC e-mail account frequently at the beginning of the semester.
Other instructors will not contact you, but will expect you to enter the online class, read the syllabus and get started. Some instructors send messages to the entire class through the Announcements area inside of Blackboard and will only contact you directly if there is a concern.
Because you will not know what to expect from a particular instructor it is very important that you contact your instructor before the end of the first week of class. If you do not contact your instructor you may be dropped from the course.
All Central Arizona College instructors have CAC e-mail accounts. You can look up your instructor's e-mail address in the Faculty Directory. If no instructor is listed for a particular course, send an e-mail to the Blackboard System Administrator at: blackboard@centralaz.edu Phone: (520) 494-5293 or (800) 237-9814, x5293.
Contact your instructor and just say "hi". Let your instructor know that you are registered for the class and that you have been able to login to Blackboard. Many instructors will ask that you send contact information - your telephone number and/or address. Sometimes an instructor will make information available before the semester starts. Contacting your instructor early will make sure you are ready to go on the first day of class.
Use your CAC e-mail account when contacting your instructor and you will gain confidence using the account. (Return to Top)

What are attachments and how do I send and receive them?

Sometimes you will want to send someone a file (like a word processing document or a picture) that has already been created on the computer. The only way to send this is as an "attachment" to an e-mail message. Basically, the file just goes along for the ride!
The details of sending an attachment differ from one e-mail program to another. Basically, though, to send an attachment, you simply click on the "attachment" button on your e-mail program. This button may either have the word attachment written on it or it may be a picture of a paper clip.
After clicking on this button, you will be prompted to browse to the location of the file. This window will look similar to the one you see when you want to open a file when using your word processing program. Go through your computer's file structure until you find the file you want. (Make sure the file type shows the kind of file you are looking for!)
Receiving attachments works very much like the above, only backwards. Your e-mail program will let you know that you have received an attachment in some manner - this differs with the various programs. The file may be automatically downloaded or you may have to click on an icon of a paperclip (or some other such item) to start the download. Then, you will need to choose where you wish the file to be stored on your hard drive. Once it has been downloaded to the location you chose, open the program you wish to use to read the file (like your word processing file if it was an .rtf file that you downloaded) and open the file. This may sound a bit confusing at first. You may also wish to practice this skill by sending yourself an e-mail with an attachment! After doing this once or twice it will become much easier. (Return to Top)

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