Google Gmail migration, of FacStaff accounts, begins @ 6.00pm, Sunday, May 16^th

1. Faculty and staff Google accounts will be created 6.00pm, Sunday, May 16.  There will be no change in user email addresses, nor any significant interruption in the receipt of incoming email.
   
   
2. Faculty and staff Google accounts will be created 6.00pm, Sunday, May 16.  There will be no change in user email addresses, nor any significant interruption in the receipt of incoming email.
   
   
3. Information Technologies will provide a direct link that will enable users to access their email through Google’s Gmail interface. As soon as the accounts are created they will be available to you. During this process It will additionally copy over your email, contacts, and calendars to your new Google account. Due to the volume of this content, it may take up to two days for all of your old (read: “legacy”) email to be copied over.  Most legacy email should be available by Monday morning.
   
   
4. Beginning Monday morning, Information Technologies will provide instructions on how to use Outlook as a desktop email client to access email from its new Google location.  We will offer live training sessions beginning May 10, Monday thru Friday at 10:00am and again at 2:30 pm in room L319B. A link to online instructions will be provided  via a link on this page.
   
   
5. At 6.00pm. Sunday evening, May 16, WSC’s local Blackberry Enterprise Server (aka BES) will be retired.   Current BES users have received instructions on how to connect to their Gmail-hosted accounts.  
   
   
6. With the migration to Google’s Gmail, any member of the campus who has a smart phone (i.e., Blackberry, iPhone, etc.) will be able to access their email.  Instructions can be found at http://www.google.com/mobile/more/. 

   Be SURE and use this URL to change your password before you begin setting up your mobile device < https://wwwfac.worcester.edu/it/tools/pwdlookup/login.aspx>.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. What’s wrong with our current email system?
   Nothing, really, other than the College doesn’t have the capacity to significantly expand service.  Our current email system is housed internally, which means that WSC must cover the costs associated with licensing and infrastructure.    The current MS Exchange system works fine; the problem is that the College does not have the funds or the staffing to justify a significant expansion of resources for email and data storage.  Additionally, housing faculty and staff email internally results in a split data environment—students are not integrated with faculty resources, which creates a number of communication and logistical issues.
   
   
2. Will I still be able to use Outlook?  Will my email address change?
   Your email address will remain the same and there will be minimal interruption in email service during the migration.  Microsoft Outlook fully integrates with Google’s email stores, so you will not see any changes in terms of your desktop applications, either.  Information Technologies will roll out a data synch tool that will transfer all of your current email, contacts, calendar appointments, etc. to Google automatically. 
   
   
3. What other schools are partnering with Google for email and document storage services?
   Over 450 college and universities already have partnered with Google for email and document storage services, including Dartmouth, Arizona State University, Northwestern, and the University of Southern California.  You can read an account of Google's higher education program by visiting: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/27/email 
   
   
4. Is Google's email service reliable?
   The short answer is yes.  Google has made a significant investment in its email and data infrastructure that guarantees a high level of redundancy and reliability.  While WSC's email system has been extremely reliable, its storage capacity is limited (Google offers 600x more data storage to each user than WSC).  Additionally, Google’s data infrastructure is distributed over a large geographic region (WSC's infrastructure is centralized on campus) to help minimize outages in the event of a regional disaster. 
   
   
5. Will I see advertisements in my college email?
   No.  As part of WSC's agreement with Google, there will be no advertising presented to WSC Users.
   
   
6. Will Google read my email?
   As part of Google's terms of agreement, no personally identifiable information will be gathered from any user's account.  General trending data may be gathered from users as a whole, but this is standard practice for any email provider.  There are no additional FERPA or other regulatory concerns associated with a migration of faculty and staff email to Google.
   
   
7. I already have a Gmail account.  Can I use this instead of WSC's email?
   WSC's email has been designated as an official means of college communication, so you will have to use your college email address for communication with your students, faculty and staff.  However, you will be able to self-forward non-WSC email messages to your WSC-Gmail account, as well as check outside accounts (if supported by your provider) within WSC-Gmail.
   
   
8. How will I access WSC-Gmail and when will it become available?
   WSC plans to complete faculty and staff migration between Monday, May 17 and Wednesday May 19th.  You will be able to access WSC-Gmail through the college's Community System.
   
   
9. What happens to my current email, contacts, and calendar items when we move to WSC-Google email?
   When WSC-Gmail goes live in May, you will still have access to the items on the college's current email system.  Information Technologies will roll-out a data synch tool, which will migrate your personal data to Google automatically.  Additionally, IT will document a manual process which will enable you to migrate specific data in priority fashion. 
   
   
10. Why should I be excited about the WSC-Google partnership?
    ·   A huge increase in the amount of email and data that you can store online (7GB for email and an additional 7GB for data storage)
    ·   Better SPAM filtering
    ·   Proven reliability and ease of use
    ·   The ability to use collaboration features
    ·   The ability to generate word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation files without having an office suite installed on your computer
    ·   The ability to use Outlook to access your email, in addition to Google’s easy to use web interface
    ·   The ability to access email through your data capable cell phone