Students can expect to see an upgrade to their digital school inboxes — including calendar and chat features — sometime in the near future.
After meeting with students, faculty and administrators, the Binghamton University Information Technology Services (ITS) has proposed a Web mail server change from Mirapoint, the current server, to Google Apps Education Edition.
The transition to the Google-based mail application was planned to be implemented by mid-September. According to Frank Saraceno, associate director and chief architect of ITS, the lack of a signed contract between Google and the State University of New York has delayed the upgrade.
Gail Glover, a Binghamton University spokeswoman, said in an e-mail statement that the details of the contract are still being finalized, and there is no definitive timeline for when it will be signed.
The new mail server would boast 7 GB of e-mail storage space and the e-mail address will remain with students after they graduate.
In addition, the proposed system would be equipped to handle a larger workload than Mirapoint.
“Google Apps Education Edition provides other collaborative tools in addition to e-mail, like calendar, docs, sites and chat,” Saraceno said.
A committee of faculty, staff and students, appointed by the Academic Computing and Educational Technology Committee (ACET), reviewed the University’s e-mail service last semester and made a recommendation back to the ACET regarding the direction the University should take with its e-mail service, Saraceno said.
The committee met weekly over a number of months and looked at the pros and cons of the current system, as well as the different options Google and Microsoft offer. Eventually, members agreed on a transition from a locally maintained service to a third-party system.
“The committee unanimously agreed the external service providers offered more features and functionality than our existing e-mail service,” Saraceno said. “We selected Google over Microsoft Live@Edu because it was a better fit for Binghamton University.”
Abeer Minhas, a senior political science major, said she tried to forward her Mirapoint e-mails to her Google account after her Web mail service ran out of available space.
“This is quite frustrating because my Mirapoint [account] goes over quota pretty much every week,” she said. “I am looking forward to this change.”
This fall, BU upgraded its Blackboard program to Blackboard version 9.
“ITS staff are constantly applying software upgrades to our software inventory,” Saraceno said. “Our upgrade schedules are based on the vendor’s software release schedule and when it best fits into the academic calendar. It is our goal to stay current with all our software products.”
In the future, there will be a Web site informing students of new server updates.
“We have been working with the Office of Communications and Marketing to plan our awareness program,” Saraceno said.