Since May, McMaster student email has been undergoing a move from Gmail to Outlook (powered by Microsoft 365). Currently, approximately 28,000 students, about 50 per cent of accounts, have been migrated to the Microsoft 365 platform to take full advantage of the functionality of MS365 and its unique educational applications. The project, which migrates students in batches rather than all at once, will continue migrating the remaining student accounts throughout the summer.

A reminder that students are not required to complete any actions to migrate their McMaster email accounts as this will be done automatically. Students will be informed of their migration date a month in advance of migrating. Additionally, another two notices will be sent one week and one day ahead of their account migration date. If students should come across any issues related to their student email migration, please contact UTS for support.

Students will continue to have access to Google Workspace well into 2022. This gives you time to save any files you would like to keep to your Microsoft 365 account (OneDrive), another cloud service or a specific device (hard drive, USB flash drive, etc.). There are several methods available for students to back up data through hard drives or transferring data to OneDrive.

The student email migration process will ultimately enhance user experience from a collaboration and productivity standpoint. “Adjusting to change is hard, yet I think learning to adapt and innovate is important”, says student and McMaster IT Student Advisory Committee member Dione Leung. “We’ve got to be able to adapt and look for better ways to collaborate and be productive. Right now, M365 is at the forefront of educational technology.”

There are many resources and tools to assist you in your migration to the Microsoft 365 platform. To learn more, check out the McMaster 365 Hub or more information and FAQs.

Students can also get the latest updates on the student email migration on Twitter and Instagram.