UOmail, a new email service, will launch at the University of Oregon in mid-July for new students and employees who claim their Duck ID accounts after July 16.
UOmail is a cloud-hosted version of the Exchange email service that is currently used by more than two-thirds of UO faculty and staff members. The change is part of an email consolidation effort announced in October by Jessie Minton, vice provost for information services and chief information officer.
Minton said all UO students, staff and faculty members will be moved to UOmail by 2023. Moving everyone to UOmail will create a consistent user experience throughout the university, provide feature enhancements, facilitate collaboration, and improve information security and operating efficiency.
Functionally, UOmail is very similar to the existing Exchange service. However, to access email through a web browser, UOmail users will need to visit a new URL: uomail.uoregon.edu. People on UOmail will also have access to some additional Microsoft tools and features from an ever-evolving suite of cloud offerings.
Previously, every new student or employee would start with Webmail. Students typically continued using Webmail throughout their time at the university, while many employees' email accounts were manually moved to the existing Exchange service by information technology staff in their departments.
For the time being, only new students, staff and faculty members will use UOmail.
"We're excited to be rolling out UOmail to a growing portion of the campus community," said Patrick Chinn, associate chief information officer for customer experience in Information Services. "We realize people may experience some confusion while we have three email systems during this transition. Thankfully, this change brings us one step closer to a more consistent email experience for everyone."
Anyone who is unsure which email system they're using can find that information at Duck ID Self-Service. After you log in, a new "Email Service" section at the bottom of the gray box states whether the user is using Webmail, Exchange or UOmail.
The All About Email page in the UO Service Portal also has been revamped to help students and faculty and staff members navigate the email transition.
"If you have any questions about email, start there," Chinn said.
Information Services is also working to prepare IT staff across campus to administer, troubleshoot and answer questions about the new UOmail system.
The plan for the email consolidation project will keep many students on Webmail as long as they're at the UO.
However, faculty members and staff who are still using Webmail will be moved to Exchange over the next few months, as announced in March. Information Services aims to complete that work in September, in collaboration with IT staff across campus. Employees affected by this work will be contacted directly before any changes are made to their email service.
The next step in the project will be to transition faculty and staff members who are already using Exchange to the UOmail version. Information Services hopes to complete that work by March 2020. A more detailed timeline will be developed in the coming months.
More information about the campus email consolidation project is available on the Information Services website. Anyone with questions about the project can contact the project team at emailproject@uoregon.edu.
Students seeking help with their email should contact the Technology Service Desk by phone at 541-346-4357, in person in Prince Lucien Campbell Hall, Room 68 or through the UO Service Portal. Employees seeking help should contact the IT staff in their respective schools and colleges, if applicable, or the Tech Desk.
—By Nancy Novitski, University Communications