By Will Underhill
With a new e-mail server coming online, the college district’s old e-mail server is marked for decommission Dec. 15.
All employees using e-mail addresses ending in accd.edu will be switched to mail.accd.edu.
The decommission date for accd.edu was originally scheduled for Dec. 6, however, faculty members were concerned that decommissioning the server before the end of the semester would cause problems for students trying to contact their teachers during finals week.
“Part of the problem is that district personnel do not teach,” said Librarian John Deosadade and Faculty Senate member.
Deosadade saw the original decommission date for the e-mail server as a lack of faculty consultation.
“They do not consider the academic faculty,” Deosadade said. “All we’re asking for is consultation.”
The district does include faculty members from the colleges on its committees, as seen on the committee members list on the district IT Web site.
Economics Professor Susan Spencer is a member of the E-mail System Advisory Team; however, she has been unable to attend the committee meetings because of schedule conflicts with her classes, underlining Deosdade’s point.
“They have not scheduled a meeting I can go to,” Spencer said, adding that even though she has been unable to attend meetings, “faculty voice is being heard through e-mail discussions.”
To make sure that all faculty needs are addressed, Spencer suggests the use of a general survey or query of all the faculty and student organizations. The surveys would then be sorted by committee members to be given to the district information technology department; however, no such system is in place, Spencer said.
According to the Frequently Asked Questions posting on the district IT department’s Web site, the new e-mail system is necessary because the current system lacks the durability needed to meet the growing e-mail and spam volume of the district.
The same FAQ states that the new e-mail server, mail.accd.edu, is more rebust, reliable and offers a single unified e-mail environment. The system also promises added functionality with e-mail management, calendars, Web and mobility options.
With this system, Microsoft Outlook Web Access, a Web based e-mail application, was integrated into PALS.
Outlook Web Access is similar to its desktop counterpart in many ways but has limited features such as in calender options, contact options, lack of a search feature and a different user interface.
Help guides for employees detailing how to set up Microsoft Outlook on desktops at work and home are available on the district IT site at http://www.accd.edu/it/support/helpguides.html.
For human assistance, call support central at 220-1616.