Getting Started with Slack at U-M

U-M Slack accounts are available to all faculty, staff, students, and Type-1 sponsored affiliates on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses and Michigan Medicine.

Create a U-M Slack Account

  1. Go to slack.umich.edu.
  2. Click Sign in with U-M Weblogin and sign in with your uniqname and UMICH password.
  3. Click I Agree to accept the Slack Terms of Service. 
  4. Click View Details on the appropriate tab under Workspaces at University of Michigan
  5. Click Launch in Slack. You are now a member of U-M Slack.

Once you create a U-M Slack account, you can opt to join the Maize & Blue workspace. This public-to-UM workspace enables members to create private channels for their specific needs. Refer to U-M Slack Maize & Blue Workspace below for steps on joining the workspace.

Slack for Teaching

Slack can be used as a part of your instructional toolkit as it is appropriate for both synchronous or asynchronous class discussions, student group conversations, and more. Refer to U-M Slack: Channels & Workspaces Comparison for more information on using Slack for teaching. You can also enable Canvas notifications in U-M Slack.

U-M Slack Maize & Blue Workspace

The Maize & Blue workspace is designed for eligible individuals, groups, teams, projects, or departments to connect people and information in organized, dedicated spaces. This public-to-UM workspace enables members to create private channels for their specific needs. Once you create a U-M Slack account, you can opt to join the Maize & Blue workspace. You can also then add U-M members to channels you create.

  • Public channels: The only public channel available is #welcome. Everyone who joins the Maize & Blue workspace is automatically added to the #welcome channel. Members cannot create public channels.
  • Private channels: Any member can create a private channel, but individuals must be added to a private channel by a current member. Any messages or files posted in a private channel are only viewable by all channel members. Refer to Create a channel for more information. 
  • Direct messages: Any member can start and send direct messages to other members. Direct messages are conversations in Slack outside of channels and can be one-to-one or include up to nine other members. 
    • Direct messages are not workspace specific, which means Slack members will see all of their direct messages in every U-M Slack workspace of which they are a member.
    • If you cannot find an eligible individual in U-M Slack, they have not yet created their account.

Join the M&B workspace

  1. Log in at slack.umich.edu.
  2. Find the Maize & Blue workspace in the Workspace Directory and click Join.

You should now be able to access the workspace. It should also appear in your Slack desktop app automatically.

Additional Resources