Local Dialing

Dialing a Campus Number from On Campus

To call a number within the university telephone system, dial only the four-digit extension.

 

Dialing an Outside Local Number from On Campus

To make a call outside the university phone system but inside the District of Columbia, dial 9 followed by the seven-digit number. To make a local call outside of the District of Columbia, dial 9 followed by the area code and seven-digit number.

 

Dialing a Campus Number from Off Campus

To call a number inside the university telephone system from a number outside the system, dial 202-885 plus the four-digit extension. For calls from outside the system to the Washington College of Law building, dial 202-274 plus the four-digit extension. Direct-dialed calls bypass the university telephone operator.

 

Long Distance Dialing

Your department will need to request a long distance account for you, by contacting the IT Help Desk at 202-885-2550, helpdesk@american.edu, or AskAmericanUHelp. A long distance card will be issued. All long distance and information calls must be for official business. Individuals and their associated departments are individually billed and responsible for their calls.

 

Dialing a Domestic Long Distance Number from On Campus

To call a domestic long distance number, dial 9, 1, the area code, and the seven-digit number being called. Wait for the steady tone, and enter your eight-digit PIN.

 

Dialing an International Long Distance Number from On Campus

To call an international long distance number, dial 9, 011, the country code, the city code, and the local number being called. Wait for the steady tone, and enter your eight-digit PIN.

 

Dialing a Domestic Long Distance Number from Off Campus

When you are away from campus and want to use this service, simply dial 1-800-466-1116. Follow the prompt and enter your four-digit identifier followed by your eight-digit PIN. Wait for the prompt, and enter the area code and the seven-digit number being called.

 

Dialing an International Long Distance Number from Off Campus

When you are away from campus and want to use this service to call an international number, simply dial 1-800-466-1116. Follow the prompt and enter your four-digit identifier followed by your eight-digit PIN. Wait for the prompt, and enter 011, the country code, the city code, and the local number being called.

 

Locating Telephone Numbers

Locating a Campus Number

For information on numbers not listed in the directory, dial 0 or x1000 to reach the university telephone operator or search the online directory.

 

Locating an Outside Local Number

For directory assistance information for the D.C. metropolitan area, you may use the Verizon SuperPages, a free online version of the local residential, business, and government listings. To access the SuperPages, log on to the my.american.edu portal. Go to the COMMUNICATIONS section, and click on the VERIZON SUPERPAGES link.

Please note that toll charges apply to all local or long distance directory assistance information calls.

 

Standard Telephone Features

Auto Dial

Auto dial lets you program a specific telephone number by pressing a special key.

 

Call Forward

You may use this feature to forward your incoming calls to another campus extension. This is convenient for times when you are away from your desk and either wish to receive your calls elsewhere or would like someone else to answer calls on your behalf.

 

Call Pickup

Using call pickup, you can answer a ringing telephone from any telephone in your predefined group of colleagues.

 

Conference Calling

You can set up a conference call for up to six parties, including yourself.

 

Dial Intercom

You can intercom a colleague within your office.

 

Placing a Call on Hold

 

Redial

Last number redial allows you to automatically redial the last number you dialed.

 

Ring Again

This feature is used only with extensions that do not have voice mail. If you receive a busy signal when trying to reach someone in another office, ring again automatically redials that number and lets you know the person is free.

 

Speed Call

The speed call feature allows you to store a single telephone number that you can dial quickly.

 

Transferring Calls

You may use this feature to transfer a caller to another campus extension.

 

Transferring Calls to Voice Mail

You may use this feature to transfer a caller directly to a voice mailbox.

 

Setting Up Your Voice Mailbox

Logging In

To log in to your voice mailbox, dial x3800, which is the voice mail access number, or press the MESSAGE button. (Dial x2800 from the Brandywine Building, x4990 from the Tenley campus, or x4399 from the Washington College of Law.) The system will ask for your mailbox number followed by the # sign. Then, you will be prompted for your mailbox password followed by the # sign.

 

Setting Your Personal Verification

The personal verification is what is heard at the beginning of any voice mail recording that you leave for a colleague, as well as what others will hear when they leave you an express message. This usually consists of your name and extension number.

To set your personal verification, log in to your voice mailbox and dial 89. When ready, record your full name and extension number by pressing 5, waiting for the tone, and then speaking. Press the # sign to stop recording. Your recording will automatically be played. If you are not satisfied with the recording, press 76 to delete it and repeat the steps.

 

Setting Your External and Internal Greetings

The greeting is the announcement notifying callers that you are unavailable to take their call. You may have a separate greeting for callers who are on campus versus off campus. If no internal greeting is recorded, your external greeting will serve for both.

To set your greeting, log in to your voice mailbox and dial 82. You will hear: "For your external greeting, press 1. For your internal greeting, press 2." Enter the appropriate number. When ready, record your greeting by pressing 5, waiting for the tone, and then speaking. Press the # sign to stop recording. To play what you have recorded, press 2. If you are not satisfied with the recording, press 76 to delete it and repeat the steps.

 

Setting a Temporary Greeting

To set a temporary greeting when you are going to be away from your office, log in to your voice mailbox and dial 82. Press 3. When ready, record your temporary greeting by pressing 5, waiting for the tone, and then speaking. Press the # sign to stop recording. To play what you have recorded, press 2. If you are not satisfied with the recording, press 76 to delete it and repeat the steps. This greeting will override both the internal and external greetings.

To restore your external and internal greetings, log in to your voice mailbox. Then, press 82 and select option 3. Press 76 to delete the temporary greeting.

 

Resetting Your Password

By default, your mailbox password is set to your four digit extension. To protect the privacy of your messages, you should change the mailbox password as soon as possible. The new password must be between 4 and 16 digits in length. To reset your password, log in to your voice mailbox and dial 84. You will hear: "Please enter your new password followed by number sign." Enter a 4- to 16-digit password followed by the # sign. Confirm the new password by entering it again followed by the # sign. Finally, you will be prompted for your old password followed by the # sign.

 

Retrieving Your Messages

From an On-Campus Telephone

Dial x3800, which is the voice mail access number, or press the MESSAGE button. (Dial x2800 from the Brandywine Building, x4990 from the Tenley campus, or x4399 from the Washington College of Law.) The system will ask for your mailbox number followed by the # sign. From your own phone, you can simply press the # sign. Then, you will be prompted for your mailbox password followed by the # sign.

 

From an Off-Campus Telephone

Dial 202-885-3800, which is the voice mail access number. (Dial 202-885-2800 for the Brandywine Building, 202-895-4990 for the Tenley campus, or 202-274-4399 for the Washington College of Law.) The system will ask for your mailbox number followed by the # sign. Then, you will be prompted for your mailbox password followed by the # sign.

 

Moving Around in Your Mailbox

Use the following shortcut keys to move around your mailbox while listening to your messages:

• Press the # sign at any time to stop the recording or playback of a message. 
• Press 1 to skip backward 5 seconds. 
• Press 2 to bypass time and date information and play the message. 
• Press 3 to skip forward 5 seconds. 
• Press 4 to move backward to the previous message. 
• Press 6 to move forward to the next message. 
• Press 9 to have the system automatically dial the sender's phone number.

 

Deleting a Message

To delete a message, listen for the message you want to delete and press 76. Each message is automatically saved for seven days from the time you first listen to it, unless you delete it earlier.

After deleting a message by pressing 76, you may restore it during the same session by pressing 76 again. Once you hang up or log off of voice mail, the message cannot be restored.

 

Forwarding a Message

You may forward a voice mail message to a colleague within the university system.

To forward a message, log in to your voice mailbox and listen for the message you want to forward. Press 73. Dial the mailbox number(s) to which the message should be forwarded (press the # sign after each mailbox number). When you have entered all of the recipients' numbers, press the # sign twice. When ready, record your introduction to the forwarded message by pressing 5, waiting for the tone, and then speaking. Press the # sign to stop recording. Press 79 to forward the message.

 

Express Messaging

You may leave quick messages for colleagues without calling their extensions.

To compose an express message, dial the express messaging number for the campus person you wish to reach. (Dial x3830 for the main campus, x2880 for the Brandywine Building, x4991 for the Tenley campus, or x4397 for the Washington College of Law.) Enter the person's extension number followed by the # sign. After the tone, record your message. Press the # sign when you are finished recording. Press 2 to review your message. Press 5 to record more or simply hang up.