Editor’s Note: This article has been changed since its initial publication. It was originally reported that new students would not have access to Google Drive. It has been corrected to clarify that students will still have access to Google Drive, the change is only with the Gmail accounts.
Information, Resources, and Technology (IRT) will be moving email accounts for new students from Google’s Gmail to Microsoft’s Exchange Online. Rowan has made this decision to “provide a more unified and secure communication platform for the entire campus,” according to a Rowan Announcer.
As of Friday, Jan. 5, students who are enrolled for the summer session of 2024, or any semesters after will receive a Microsoft Exchange account instead of a Google Gmail. For the students who are previously enrolled before the 5, they will use their Gmail account throughout their time at Rowan University no matter the year they are currently enrolled in.
This switch will only affect the Gmail platform, students will still have access to Google resources including Google Drive and Google Docs.
Junior Christa Borino believes that students should stick to what they have been using in years prior, even though the transition will not impact current students and their accounts.
“I find it very easy to use and very efficient. So, I think it may look like it’s helping in the big scheme of things, but honestly, just making students life’s a little more frustrating,” Borino said.
The school’s administrators understand that it can be frustrating for students to have to switch and make things more complicated for professors, but they felt that this transition would be the smoothest.
The University felt they needed the change seeing that Microsoft Exchange includes advanced security features that allow them to more quickly spot and address malicious emails and attachments as well as getting better prepared for the workforce since a majority of Fortune 500 companies use Exchange Online and the Microsoft 365 suite.
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