Learn more about SharePoint through online sessions

The UAB Information Technology SharePoint team will be hosting various training session events online to help promote collaboration across campus and offer assistance to new users.  

SharePoint is a web-based service provided through Microsoft 365. It promotes collaboration across teams by utilizing workflow “lists” and helps control who has access to what. SharePoint is customizable and even has the ability to create apps.  

“I began to see an increased number of new users coming to SharePoint and noticed that there was a need for entry-level training,” said Eric Kirkpatrick, a systems analyst for IT. “These sessions will be an opportunity to meet our users and introduce our new team to campus.” 

Kirkpatrick and his team provide service and support for all SharePoint-related matters on campus. They are the experts for all things SharePoint and offer professional fee-based services to help create custom applications. Hosting this series will allow the team to provide the UAB community with instruction focused directly on what they need help with.  

“Years ago, our team would host a monthly group meeting on campus. We would have guest speakers from across the UAB community share from their areas,” Kirkpatrick said. “Our team would then take the floor and present a topic, usually a new development project. These events were great in bringing our user community together to share ideas.” 

The first event in this new series will be held Sept. 18. Users attending the event will be introduced to the new SharePoint team, learn how to log in to SharePoint, troubleshoot login issues, and discuss a variety of topics about site layout and features.  

“The main goal for the team is to teach users about using SharePoint. We also want to empower the community and spark a new interest in using it,” Kirkpatrick said. “When they attend these events, we want them to leave with ideas on how to organize and transform their data.”  

You can sign up for this event by visiting the campus calendar.  

Personalize myUAB — and streamline your work day

Change is hard, but transitioning to myUAB was easy. Within 10 minutes, I customized my homepage experience and am now in control of how I access the resources and applications that are important to me.

MyUAB launched in 2020 to provide employees with a single portal for employee news, applications, links and information. Since the initial launch, it has received upgrades to optimize its performance for faculty, staff, and students. In January of this year, beta testing began for myAcademics, a new tab that houses student information, coursework, registration information, payment portals, and more. Whether you are faculty, staff or a student, myUAB has three widgets that can help us all customize our homepage and create an optimal workflow.

The first widget is myApps. Its location is in the top left of your myHome page, and these are applications that require single sign-on. By using myUAB as your landing page, you only sign in once. As a full-time employee, I found my top three apps to be Outlook, Box, and Oracle. These are the ones I visit the most daily, and it is easy to click a button and be launched straight into the app. myApps has shortcuts to other SSO applications like Kronos, Canvas, and Asana. Don’t worry though, there are over 60 apps that you can customize on your homepage.

Right under myApps is a section called UAB QuickLinks, this is where you can find some important resources that are spread across campus. It is the information you need less frequently, but ones you want easy access to. Saving your Quicklinks takes the trouble out of remembering URLs or navigating web pages to find the information you need. My quick links include AskIT, BlazerPulse, and the Brand & Comm toolkit. UAB Benefits, ONE Card Balances, and Campus Map are other quick links that could be added to your homepage.

The final widget is called myBookmarks, which are the unique-to-you links. This is ideal for web pages that you visit frequently. As a communicator for the IT department, I have the majority of our social media accounts and backend pages for IT bookmarked. This section changes the most as my projects and priorities adjust. Each section can be easily managed and updated as you need.

This application is just at the beginning. Now, the team is working on new integrations for the myWork tab which will bring more power to myUAB and how we navigate our online resources. Start your day with myUAB by setting it as your browser start up page.

Learn how to customize your myUAB and browser start up page with these resources:

Customize myApps:

1. Click “Manage Apps”
2. Explore the three sections of applications or search the app name.
3. Click “add” to include this app on your homepage. Click “launch” to immediately open the application in a new window.
4. Once added, you can click and drag the icon to reorganize your apps.

Customize UAB Quicklinks:

1. Click “Manage Quicklinks”
2. You can explore the complete list of UAB quick links and add to your homepage by clicking “+”.
3. Click outside of the pop-up window to complete your customization.
4. Once added, you can click and drag each link to reorganize your links.

Customize myBookmarks:

1. Click “Manage Bookmarks”
2. Click “Add new bookmark”
3. Choose a simple name that you will recognize.
4. Copy and paste webpage URL
5. Click “Add”

Names and URLs can be edited at anytime with by clicking “Manage Booksmarks” and clicking the pencil icon to the right of the link.

Customize your browser start up page:

• Microsoft Edge
• Safari for Mac
• Chrome
• Firefox

Report a phish quickly with Outlook button

When you report a phishing email to UAB IT, you spark a process that can help protect everyone on campus.

On March 24, UAB IT will release a new phishing button, that works similarly to previous report phishing buttons. The location of the button varies depending on your device. Check out these knowledge articles to determine how to use the button, or view this video to learn how to use it.

Reporting a phish helps UAB IT more quickly respond to these malicious emails — and protect your accounts, research and data. Once we validate that a phishing email has infiltrated UAB inboxes, UAB IT has tools to help search and destroy that email across all campus inboxes within four minutes, preventing others from clicking malicious links.

Because UAB IT is using the phishing button that is native to Outlook as part of a new license that encompasses a variety of other security tools, UAB will save $50,000 annually by removing the old phish reporting mechanism.

You can also report a phish by forwarding it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

myApps is the new AdminSys

Beginning May 1, the Administrative Systems page will be replaced by the myApps tab in the myUAB portal.

myApps keeps the functionality of the AdminSys page — allowing you to choose which apps most benefit you and arrange them as needed — but the mobile-friendly myUAB portal gives you even greater tools to streamline your day.

On the myHome tab of myUAB, you can also manage UAB quicklinks; add your own bookmarked URLs; keep track of UAB news and events; and get quick access to technology resources and the UAB directory.

On the myWork tab of myUAB, you’ll see quick links to your personnel and payroll information, and you can manage your subscriptions and B-Alert and DUO accounts. More features of myWork will be rolled out in coming months.

University Relations and UAB IT have partnered on the myUAB page, which also has a separate tab for students called myAcademics.

“myUAB is a great place to start your day,” said Rosie O’Beirne, UAB chief digital strategy and marketing officer. “All of the tools you need to work are in one place, and you can personalize your page. Our team in University Relations has worked closely with UAB IT developers to determine the right content for myUAB, and we’re looking forward to making even more improvements.”

myUAB debuted at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, and the team has been working steadily to make changes that benefit employees and students.

“myUAB is an example of the digital transformation we are making in cooperation with partners across campus,” said Curtis A. Carver Jr., Ph.D., vice president and chief information officer. “Our goal, simply, is to delight.”

To get to know myUAB, click on the “start tour of myHome” button in the upper lefthand corner of the myHome tab.