Webmail stuck in arrested development

Duke University prides itself on being a bastion of technology advancement. The Perkins Library and Few residence hall are populated with top-of-the-line Mac computer clusters. The Office of Information Technology freely lends iPads and loaner laptops to its students. Even the school-wide Wi-Fi compatibility outmatches networks at most college campuses today. Yet, despite positioning itself at the cutting edge of consumer electronics, the University has failed to address arguably the most vital of students’ technology needs: an effective email system.

The Atmail email server deployed by Duke is about as functional as a pinky toe. Sudden system-wide freezes—which often coincide with the drafting of important messages— and graphical display errors that render the user’s email experience tedious and painful number among the many debilitating inefficiencies that haunt Webmail. A university that takes seriously the potential of technology to empower students has strong reasons to revamp an email system resembling one from the last millennium.

Students thus far have been forced to shoulder this burden. Many choose to auto-forward incoming Duke account emails to their personal inboxes, but this is hardly a solution. The ensuing flood of messages leaves students unable to distinguish easily among the different emails in their cluttered inboxes. Even more regrettably, students choose to send subsequent outgoing emails from their personal account and fail to make use of the influential “duke.edu” email extension.

Webmail needs a reboot. Although students have not officially filed a complaint, they often gripe about their loathsome Atmail experiences. Student dissatisfaction ought to drive development of new student services. Indeed, OIT ought to replace any obsolete web technology it currently implements, with priority given to email overhaul (ACES, you’re next).

We recommend Duke emulate Harvard by adopting Gmail as the sole email client for the University’s email system. Beyond the overall improvement in the look and feel of message browsing (no more five-second load times per message!), Gmail affords opportunities to sync with other Google software, thus providing access to the entire suite of Google applications for student use. The extinction of the Duke Buzz calendar this summer leaves room for a new, more dynamic catalogue of campus events. Imagine seamless integration of Google Calendar with Duke’s Events Calendar or incorporation of Google docs with OIT’s online email directory to facilitate collaborative projects. These enhancements, while seemingly minute, could compound and spur greater student productivity.

But we would be foolhardy to leap headfirst onto the Gmail bandwagon. We offer the most salient concern here: Google has been plagued by accusations of mishandling sensitive user data. Yale University, for instance, delayed its adoption of a Gmail email client in response to fears about information security during a Gmail switch. Before Gmail can be approved, OIT must ensure that it can enact appropriate security measures to safeguard student information transmitted via email.

To establish itself as a university that fully embraces the notion of student empowerment through technology, Duke must make a concerted effort to retrofit Webmail. The University must otherwise face the dim reality that its primary online service is stuck in arrested development.