Information Technology looks into changes for cmich e-mail

Student and faculty e-mail accounts have become the pulse of university life.

It is with this in mind that Central Michigan University is considering alternatives in place for university accounts.

Roger Rehm, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer, is leading a committee seeking to establish requirements to be used for testing e-mail systems against general requirements.

“We’re trying to understand how many options we’ve got,” Rehm said.

Many students, such as Vassar sophomore Nick Andreychuk, share a common concern.

“Maybe a little bit more storage so you can see more e-mails,” Andreychuk said.

The current maximum is 200 megabytes for all accounts. Rehm is already optimistic about expansion in inbox data limits.

“I can tell you we’re talking gigabytes, not megabytes,” Rehm said in an e-mailed statement to Central Michigan Life.

Survey Says

A large portion of data will come from a survey circulating this week.

The e-mail survey from the Office of Information Technology is presenting a series of questions and scales which it will use to confirm or modify what the committee has established as priorities.

“Filling out the survey is the best thing people can do right now,” Rehm said.

The current e-mail system used is Mirapoint from Merit Network, and faculty use Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. They have been used since before Rehm started at CMU in 2004.

The university license for Mirapoint will expire at the end of the academic year, and Rehm would like the transition to the new system to begin before then.

Rehm said the University recognized the e-mail access system has become somewhat outdated compared to the explosive growth of Gmail and other e-mail services.

Several options are currently being considered, including Google and Microsoft live@edu suites.

Some students said they want more capabilities with the e-mail.

“The one thing I would like it to do is to be able to sync with (Microsoft) Outlook,” said New Boston senior Stephen Glaab.

He is one of many students who use their cmich.edu accounts as their primary e-mail account, a trend that is higher than the national average, Rehm said.

“Right now, it’s my primary but, because I’m a senior, I’m using Gmail because I’m not sure how long it will last,” Glaab said.

Alumni e-mail retention is a major issue on the committee’s docket. Rehm said the problem with continued alumni account service is one issue being seriously considered.