Starting on May 7, Sinclair students will be sending emails to professors in a different way, as Microsoft Outlook is replacing Gmail in an effort to streamline the process and make it more convenient for students and staff alike.
The official student email account will switch to Outlook 365 and the address will become first.lastname@sinclair.edu, instead of first.lastname@my.sinclair.edu.
The @sinclair.edu suffix has been the default for Sinclair faculty and staff, which has caused confusion for students sending emails outside of eLearn and is cited as a reason for the change.
“Having two locations for email, as well as two Sinclair email addresses was confusing and frustrating for many users,” a FAQ page on the college’s site states. “Using Outlook email while providing eLearn users with the ability to send email from eLearn allows the use of a single email address and provides a single location for email.”
Other reasons for the change include eLearn’s lack of a user-friendly interface for email on mobile, the fact that eLearn email that is forwarded to external email systems can’t be replied to and because some students are unaware that there are multiple email systems, potentially causing them to miss important communications.
However, students can still send messages in eLearn but they work under a “send-only” mode. The mailbox function will be removed and messages sent through eLearn will go directly to the recipient’s Outlook inbox.
Once the change is put into effect, emails sent to the Gmail account will be forwarded to students’ new Outlook account. The Gmail account will be deactivated Oct. 31 and students are advised to update any subscription services or accounts that use the my.sinclair.edu address. Any messages that they wish to save must be sent to the new account.
Full details on how to use the new Outlook 365 account can be found here or students can call the IT help desk at (937) 512-4357.
Henry Wolski
Staff Writer