The great migration: Gmail is in

West Virginia University students can now integrate their MIX email accounts with Google’s Gmail.

The migration began Tuesday and will continue on a first come first served basis until all requests in the queue have been fulfilled – a change that may take several weeks to complete.

Student and faculty email addresses will remain the same after the migration, and the portals used to access MIX will not be affected.

In a recent release, University Relations - Web said the process would not be automatic, and WVU students and faculty would need to log on using their Master ID to www.mix.wvu.edu/migrate to activate the process.

After logging in, the user will be presented with three options. University Relations - Web said the first option will best meet the needs of MIX users.

Users will be able to select one of the following: copy their existing MIX email and contacts to Gmail first, then switch the account to Gmail; switch the account to Gmail now and migrate the email and contacts later or switch the account to Gmail now and delete the existing MIX email and contacts.

According to the
release, "Depending on the timing of the request, migration of email messages and contacts could take up to several weeks. Users will be notified by email once migration has been completed.

Users are encouraged to be patient as they process through the queue request system."

The change will allow users to access Google Apps, including Google Docs, and a "cloud storage" system that will allow users to access stored documents from any computer.

Other features that will be introduced include a calendar, group features, chat capabilities and video conferences.

Mark Six, Director of systems administration within The Office of Information and Technology said he believes the long-awaited change will better meet the needs of WVU students, faculty and staff.

"In our opinion, we needed to give users more options and more features," he said. "This would be the best approach to meet the needs of the WVU community."

WVU students said they are excited about the change, as it will better fit the needs of their fast-paced lives.

"I can keep all of my Gmail accounts in one now on my iPhone. It’s really a lot easier for me to have it this way instead of having to go home and log onto MIX from my computer," said sophomore public relations student Allison Heller. "I love the new features, too. I can have a chat with anyone in my contacts right there on a side panel, which is very beneficial. This is just better organized."

Sophomore landscape architecture student Elizabeth Decker said she is excited to eliminate the hassle that the MIX system has caused her.

"It was a hassle to access my email through MIX on my iPhone," she said. "So I’m happy that we are finally able to send and receive emails that way."

For more information on the switch, email oithelp@mail.wvu.edu.