We’ve noted the growing number of colleges outsourcing their e-mail systems, often to Microsoft or Google. A new U.S. News & World Report article identifies one of the chief reasons to make the move to Gmail or Hotmail: In the eyes of many students, most campus Web-mail clients really stink.
For one thing, in-house e-mail services can barely aspire to the spam-blocking and virus protection that larger operations offer. For another, commercial systems tend to look and feel a bit more polished than their collegiate counterparts.
“If you’re not going to embrace it,” a Northwestern University student says of e-mail outsourcing, “you’ll get left behind.” Is this true? Or are there savvy colleges that seem to be faring well by going it on their own? —Brock Read
