Groups and Generic Accounts
Learn more about Google Generic Accounts, Groups, Messaging and Group Chats!
Generic Accounts
A Google generic account is a shared institutional email account (like eoshelp@ncsu.edu or engineering@ncsu.edu) that multiple authorized users can access to manage communications for a department, service or function rather than being tied to a specific individual.
Google generic accounts ensure critical professional separation by maintaining distinct boundaries between individual Google services and institutional administrative functions.
Groups
Google Groups are organized collections of email addresses that enable efficient distribution of information to multiple recipients simultaneously. They serve various purposes including organizational announcements, course communications, marketing campaigns and academic discussions. Groups can range from administrator-only announcement formats to open discussion forums, with modern systems offering features like automated subscription management, message archives and analytics to support ongoing community communication and knowledge sharing.
Posting to Engineering Google Groups is restricted. If you need posting access send an email to eoshelp@ncsu.edu.
Calendar Resources
A calendar resource for room reservations is a digital booking system that integrates with organizational calendars to manage space scheduling and prevent conflicts. Users can view real-time availability and create reservation requests through their email or calendar applications, with the system automatically checking for conflicts and confirming bookings or routing them for approval. Once approved, reservations appear on both the room’s calendar and the requester’s personal calendar, often including access details and setup instructions. Advanced systems offer features like recurring bookings, buffer times, capacity limits and integration with facilities management for automated environmental controls, creating a centralized solution that eliminates double-bookings while providing transparency and an audit trail for space utilization.
Chat Spaces
Chat spaces are dedicated channels where groups of people can have ongoing conversations about specific topics or projects. It’s key features are:
- Integration – Works seamlessly with other Google Workspace apps like Drive and Calendar
- Persistent conversations – Messages stay available for everyone to see, even if they join later
- File sharing – Easy to share documents, images, and other files
- @mentions – Tag specific people to get their attention
- Threading – Reply to specific messages to keep discussions organized
There are currently two established chat spaces. ENGR-SysAdmins is a public channel for discussion of general IT topics relevant to the College. Engineering Web Migration is a private channel for questions and discussion among departmental and college communicators and their partners in Engineering IT and University Communications.