By Chris Bodirsky
Reporter
Cal State University, Bakersfield students have lacked an internal email system since Runner Mail’s closing in late 2009, but plans are in place to change that. The question is when will the system be released. Madhu Gogulapati, project manager for IT services, stressed that a key concern for the delay is to make sure not to interrupt academic schedules.
With concerns of the system working properly, there are plans to test the system and make sure that students will have a great experience when it’s released. The CSUB student email system is currently going through early testing, according to Christopher Diniz, director of infrastructure and support services for IT. With plans to expand testing to a larger student group in February, the team is cautiously optimistic.
Kallya Shenoy, interim assistant vice president for IT services, explains that the previous Runner Mail system was closed because the system was not popular.
Many students simply forwarded emails to their primary accounts and bypassed Runner Mail altogether. With that lack of usage and costs associated with maintaining Runner Mail, a decision was made to close down the service.
A problem faced by students is that many are having trouble getting emails from the college and professors, leading to liability issues. A student who fails to update their email address information or has their college emails end up in their spam folders will not get the information they should be getting.
To make sure there will be no lost emails in the system, the team is carefully testing and adjusting. With plans to make the email system mandatory for all students in the future, they want to provide a product that will be reliable, but Stacey Childress, web communications manager for CSUB, made it clear that “we can’t commit to a date yet.”
With budget concerns looming across campus, Shenoy was happy to note that the future system will come with no budget changes. The future system will be based on Microsoft Office 365 services which will be available for free and is a cloud based system. There will be no onsite servers for CSUB staff to maintain or pay for.
Childress pointed out that Office 365 services are additionally beneficial because of the wide usage in business settings of this same email service and allow students to become experienced with what they will likely face in work settings. Childress also pointed out that the IT help desk will take on any concerns and help with handling the email services on campus.
When asked about features, basic functionality of email and calendar services were the main concerns. The staff is eager to hear about what students want to see available. “The best ideas still come from students,” Childress explains, “so we need that feedback.”
There was a general excitement about the CSUB email system for students. Diniz happily offered that he is “really looking forward to this system.” The team also pointed out they are currently looking for more testers of the system when they expand the testing in February. Students who are interested in testing the new email system can contact Student Affairs at (661) 654-2161.