Thousands of University of Oregon students will soon get a major email upgrade when their accounts move to the UOmail system.
Students who use Webmail will be assigned dates to transition to UOmail starting Feb. 9.
"We're eager to provide all students with the benefits of UOmail," said Jessie Minton, vice provost for information services and chief information officer.
"You'll get a mobile-friendly system, a built-in calendar and seamless integration with Microsoft Office. UOmail is also significantly more secure," Minton said. "And we'll be here to help you make the transition."
Webmail is used by about 13,000 students who claimed their Duck IDs before July 17, 2019.
Starting with newer students first, Information Services plans to transition thousands of students per month to UOmail until the process is complete, in mid-2023 or sooner.
All affected students will receive direct email notifications before their scheduled transition dates, some during the summer.
On the scheduled date, new email messages will start arriving in the student's UOmail inbox, accessible through a browser at uomail.uoregon.edu, through the Microsoft Outlook app for their computer or mobile device, or through other mail applications on their devices. More information about getting started with UOmailis available in the UO Service Portal.
Students' old email messages won't be automatically moved to UOmail. To keep those messages, which is optional, students must move them within 180 days of their switch, before losing access to Webmail. Emails can be moved out of Webmail in several ways.
Students who forward their UO email to an external account, such as Gmail or Yahoo, can set up their forward again after switching to UOmail. However, Minton encouraged students to try UOmail first. "The UO can't guarantee delivery of email to third-party services," she said, "and employees shouldn't be forwarding email at all, to ensure security and compliance with FERPA," the federal law protecting student records.
Webmail users can still opt in to UOmail any time before their scheduled email upgrade. Over one thousand students have already opted in.
"Opting in to UOmail lets you choose the time, and you'll get a better email system sooner," Minton said. "No need to wait for us to schedule you."
Although switching to UOmail is mandatory, students scheduled to make the transition this winter or spring will have the opportunity to defer until summer. A link to a deferment request form will be provided by email.
As announced by Minton in October 2018, moving all students, staff and faculty members to UOmail will create a consistent user experience throughout the university, provide feature enhancements, facilitate collaboration and improve information security and operating efficiency.
More than 22,000 people are already using UOmail, including thousands of students and employees who have arrived at the UO since July 2019. About 12,000 existing staff, faculty members and departmental role accounts transitioned from the older Exchange system to UOmail during the 2019-20 academic year.
Students are the largest group remaining on the Webmail system.
Information Services continues gradually moving departmental role accounts from Webmail to UOmail. About 700 remain on Webmail. The last group planned to switch to UOmail will include most retirees.
The Information Services website provides more information about the student transition to UOmail and the overall email consolidation project.
Students seeking help with UOmail are encouraged to contact the Technology Service Desk by live chat, by phone at 541-346-4357, through the email and calendar help page in the UO Service Portal or in person in Room 042, Erb Memorial Union.
—By Nancy Novitski, University Communications