An updated version of this story, which ran in print, may be found here.
Say goodbye to Cubmail.
After a year of negotiations, Columbia’s email interface will be making the move to a Google-based client, Dean of Student Affairs Kevin Shollenberger told Spectator on Friday.
The move to a more student-friendly email client reflects a large percentage of students who already forward their columbia.edu email to a personal account. Of the approximately 30 percent who do so, about 90 percent of the forwarded accounts are on Gmail, according to Melissa Metz, director of unix, e-mail and databases at Columbia University Information Technology.
CUIT will roll out the Gmail-like interface in phases. First, 50 to 80 students—some of whom already forward their Columbia email to their personal accounts and others who don’t—will be selected for the trial run by Shollenberger, Columbia College Student Council President Aki Terasaki, CC ’12, and Engineering Student Council President Nate Levick, SEAS ’12.
Later in the year, 1000 students chosen by lottery will make the transition, and by the end of 2012, every undergraduate in Columbia College, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the School of General Studies will be on the new system. All incoming first-years will have their email set up on the Google system.
The phased rollout is intended to help CUIT recognize and troubleshoot any problems associated with the new system before transitioning it to the student body.
Terasaki said it was “fantastic” that the university was able to make the switch in spite of the logistical concerns.
“I’m glad that it’s finally here,” Terasaki said. “I’m really excited that our senators were able to lead the way on this and take this charge up for the students.”
Terasaki said Gmail is a “better system” that offers more possibilities for integrating features like Google Calendar with academics.
While the new interface’s inbox will still remain separate from a personal Gmail account, University Senator Kenny Durell, CC ’12 and a member of the Information and Communications Technology Committee, said that integration with Google calendars and the school directory would be streamlined.
University Senator Alex Frouman, CC ’12, stressed that the ultimate goal of the initiative is to make this change effective throughout the university, including graduate schools. “We want everybody to have it as soon as they can,” he said.
Metz said CUIT was still working with faculty members to determine “whether the new system was right for them.”
Frouman acknowledged potential legal concerns—for instance, if a columbia.edu email were subpoenaed, the possibility that only Google, and not Columbia, would be informed—but Metz said that, “Ultimately, privacy will not be an issue.” The new system will be under the terms of a Columbia-approved contract, not Google’s new privacy contract.
Eleanor Templeton, director of communications for Student and Administrative Services, said that, in the long-term, “the cost is pretty minimal.” The main expense will come from consulting with an information technology firm about the transition.
Barnard has already made a similar transition from Barnard College Webmail to a web-based Google system. A survey conducted by Barnard College Information Technology in October 2011 showed positive feedback from students.
Concerns about Google Docs’ noncompliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act held up the negotiations because the application is not fully ADA-compliant. The Google Docs functionality will not be part of the new system because of issues with readers for the visually impaired.
Columbia began contract negotiations with Google last January to address privacy and ADA compliance in a consortium called the Common Solutions Group along with 28 other universities including Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford.
Students have voiced their complaints about the outdated look of the Cubmail interface for years. Frouman said that when he first raised the issue in the Senate in fall 2009, he was surprised that nobody in CUIT knew it was a widespread student criticism.
Levick said he was looking forward to seeing how Gmail and Google Calendar would integrate with classes.
“I think it’s an almost universally good move,” Levick said. “I think everyone’s excited.”
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