MS Teams Quick Start Guide

This guide is for students and employees who want to create and manage Teams in MS Teams.

Do You Need to Create a Team?

You don’t need a team to use chat, meetings, file sharing, or collaboration in MS Teams.

Create a team only if you need a dedicated workspace for a group.

When you create a team, a Microsoft 365 (M365) group is also created to manage membership and connected apps.

Steps to Create a Team

1. Sign in to MS Teams with your UFV email and password.

2. Click Teams on the left menu.

Uploaded Image (Thumbnail)

3. At the bottom, click Join or create a teamCreate team.

Uploaded Image (Thumbnail)

4. Choose a team type (Class, Staff, etc.).
Note: You cannot change the type later.

Uploaded Image (Thumbnail)

5. Enter:
Name (descriptive)
Description (optional)
Privacy:
Private – Only invited members can join.
Public – Anyone at UFV can join.

6. Click Next.

Uploaded Image (Thumbnail)

7. Add members:
Type a name → Select → Click Add.
Or click Skip to add later.

Uploaded Image (Thumbnail)

8. Assign roles:
Owner or Member.

Uploaded Image (Thumbnail)

When a Team Owner Leaves UFV

It is recommendation is to have at least two team owners for full coverage.

If there are two owners: The remaining owner removes the departing one.

If only one owner: Mention the team in the  employee offboarding form and name the new owner.

For help, contact IT Service Desk.

M365 Group Usage Guidelines

Expiration Policy:

  • Groups expire after 365 days.
  • Owners get email notification reminders at 30, 15, and 1 day before expiry.
  • Renew the group via the instructions and link in the email.

If not renewed:

  • Group is soft-deleted for 30 days (can be restored).
  • After 30 days, it’s permanently deleted.
  • If you need to restore a group within a 30-day period after deletion, contact the IT Service Desk.

Auto-Renewal

Groups stay active if users:

  • Use SharePoint (view/edit/upload files)
  • Use Outlook (join group, send/read messages)
  • Use Teams (visit channels)