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GREENSBORO - Communication is getting an overhaul at UNCG this fall. The school confirmed this week it will outsource e-mail services to Internet giant Google.

The school announced earlier this summer it is doing away with telephone service to students because of the overwhelming use of cell phones. Like the phone service, the school says it is outsourcing e-mail service to meet the evolving technology preferences of the student
body.

Surveys of the student body found many were frustrated with the Lotus Notes-based e-mail and calendar system the school was using. In October UNCG began a pilot program using Google Apps Education Edition. More than 3,000 students opted into the program. Of the participating students surveyed, nearly 97 percent of were pleased with the Google system.

Todd Sutton, assistant vice chancellor of application services, said students are getting a better service and the school will save money.

"We're getting a great e-mail service that is better than what we have," he said. "Plus, the other (applications) we didn't have before. It's a real win-win for us."

Those other applications are a calendar system, word processor, Web site development, instant messaging client and voice-over-IP client, among others. All are very popular with students.

Google offers a similar suite for free to the public; however, the service provided to schools does not permit advertising.

Sutton has not worked out how much the switch will save the university, but the Google service is free and eliminates the need for several licensing fees.

The switch means information will no longer be stored on UNCG servers and support will come from Google. This will free up personnel and equipment, eliminating the need for additional resources in future budgets, Sutton said.
Google declined to give an exact number of how many schools use the system; however, its Web site lists Arizona State University and the University of Southern California as clients.

UNCG is the first school in the UNC system to make the change, but representatives with the state's community college system are in talks with Google.

Jeff Keltner, a spokesman for Google, said the company views the partnerships as a way to give back to the academic world that spawned it. Google also sees it as an opportunity to increase its brand recognition.

"There are a couple of reasons why this is important to us. One is generating lifelong users," Keltner said.
Faculty and staff e-mails will not be moved to the Google system this fall. Sutton said his department is working with the school's attorneys and Google to resolve concerns about security and document retention.

State employees' e-mails are subject to the state's public records laws. Amanda Martin, an attorney for the N.C. Press Association, said moving those e-mails to the Google system could raise legal questions.

"You can't help wonder if compliance with public records law will become more difficult with this change," she said, adding the development is worth watching.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com