On May 17, Indiana University changed email service providers from Gmail to Microsoft Outlook. Students had been using a different email platform than faculty and staff, causing issues with shared calendars, address books, and spam filtering.
According to the University Information Technology Services (UITS), some benefits of the switch include having all students, faculty, and staff on the same email platform, allowing appointments to be made more easily within Outlook Exchange and video meetings within Microsoft Teams. Additionally, Microsoft’s email comes with advanced cybersecurity protection that is built into Microsoft 365.
All Google apps such as Drive, Docs, Sites, Slides, Sheets, Jamboard, Chat, and Meet should still be available for use. Students will keep the same email and passphrase, and all other data from Gmail should be transferred to Outlook. Like with Gmail, students can download the Outlook app for mobile access.
Canvas also plans to integrate with Microsoft Teams for video conferencing. Since many companies already use Microsoft Exchange, UITS suggests being familiar with the platform will ensure IU students are ready for the workforce.
IU, however, likely implemented the switch to save money. “Google increased their Workspace cost per user from six dollars per month to eighteen dollars per month in December,” said Carson Miller, a student at the School of Engineering and Technology. “An increase of 300 percent.”
Many students are still not happy with the change, preferring Gmail as a more user-friendly product. As Miller put it, “I would rather tag on an extra one hundred twenty dollars in tech fees to my bursar each year than have to use the absolutely horrid Outlook app.”
On July 12, UITS will also introduce Duo Universal Prompt, a simplified redesign for Duo Login. Some changes students might notice will include the ‘SMS’ and ‘Call Me’ options being removed, which UITS claims will protect them and the university from phishing attacks. Besides the newer interface, UITS says the Universal Prompt will add more languages such as Spanish, French, German, and Japanese.
According to UITS, any student that uses Duo Push will have it automatically sent to their device through Universal Prompt. The Universal Prompt will also remember the last authentication method and set it as the default option. For other login methods, it will be found under “other options”.
If you have any questions about the switch to Microsoft Outlook or Duo Universal Prompt, contact UITS at 317-274-4357 or through ithelp@iu.edu.
Isabella Mokaya (she/her) is a junior majoring in Psychology with two minors in Spanish and Legal Studies. She is a staff writer for the Culture and Campus sections of The Campus Citizen.
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