GW’s Division of Information Technology is currently migrating faculty and staff email accounts off the current system, Colonial Mail, and introducing a new Google-based system called GWemail.
The new system offers 7,500 megabytes of storage – replacing the more expensive on-site email storage currently in use – and features a collaborative tool that integrates email and calendars, according to Rachel Blevins, marketing and communications manager of the Division of Information Technology.
New accounts will take the form of [email protected], but the address will be hidden, so there will be no change in the way faculty and staff send and receive email.
“All users will keep their current address of [email protected],” Ms. Blevins says. “The email forwarding will take place in the background.”
The migrations have already begun and accounts of administrative departments should be completed by the end of January, according to Ms. Blevins. Accounts for staff members at the schools and faculty will begin in February, and new staff and faculty will receive GWemail accounts.
Staff members who use GroupWise for their email will have their accounts upgraded to GWemail in a later phase. GroupWise users can continue to use their accounts as they normally do, but if they have Colonial Mail forwarding set up, they will have to reconfigure that process. Step by step instructions for that update can be found on the division’s Help Desk website.
The division will be contacting deans, vice presidents and division heads with more details about the migrations in the near future. “This is a phased migration, and you will receive another email from the Division of IT with exact dates and information with instructions,” Ms. Blevins says.
“The schedule of the updates is based on the academic calendar, so there should be limited impact to the staff and faculty,” she says.