Iowa State Information Technology Services (ITS) recently announced that all student email and calendaring will be switching from Google to Microsoft Outlook. 

“ITS evaluated email services at Iowa State and determined that moving to one common platform would benefit the university in many ways,” said Pat Howard, communication manager for ITS. “Specifically, this change will help create a unified and secure email environment for all campus customers.”

Switching all students and faculty to a single email platform will be a step towards achieving campus’ goal of ensuring the security of students. Outlook offers a one-click reporting option for spam emails and will reduce the number of internal messages that are marked as spam.

Outlook will also provide other benefits for students and faculty. These include the ability to schedule when emails are sent, recall emails after they are sent, integrated meeting and appointment scheduling, view others’ calendars when they are shared and filters that allow users to sort their inbox. 

Opposite from Google, Outlook’s emailing, calendaring and contacts will all be in one tool for easy access. Students will continue to have access to Google Drive, Google Docs and other Google applications.

Having experience with Outlook will prepare students for business environments where it is commonly used, Howard said, and it will allow ITS to focus on other tools and services that students and faculty use. 

The official transition to Outlook will take place in June, and student email and calendar data will automatically move platforms. Students currently have the option to make this transition early. Instructions for switching email platforms are available on the ITS website.

ITS will also be providing how-to articles to help students adapt to the Outlook platform. 

For more information on Outlook or future ITS projects, visit their website.