Marketing Unit
Macquarie University launches Google Apps to provide better email service for students
September 6, 2007Macquarie University has become the first university in Australia to give all of its students customised GoogleTM email accounts - and GmailTM accounts for staff will soon follow.
Macquarie joined Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Trinity College in Dublin, Nihon University in Tokyo, Universidad Panamericana in Guadalajara and five US colleges - including Arkansas State University - by launching Google AppsTM Education Edition on campus recently.
Like most universities, Macquarie has traditionally provided students with a free email account when they enrolled. However, over four days in July, Macquarie staff created some 68,000 new customised Macquarie Gmail student accounts - for 31,000 current students and 37,000 recent graduates - with a range of benefits to the students and the University.
"For starters, the students now have two gigabytes of email storage capacity, as well as IM capabilities with their contacts, and an online calendar that allows them to add classes, tutorials and meetings right from the Gmail interface. Students will also get the benefit of Google's powerful spam filtering and fast tagging and searching of email," says Director of IT Services at Macquarie, Mary Sharp.
"We knew that students were already comfortable using Gmail," Sharp adds. "When we surveyed students about their computer use in 2005, 63% said their free web-based email was their primary email account, and many were already forwarding their University email account to their private Gmail account.
"Our rollout of Google Apps on campus will benefit Macquarie's students in their studies, and assist them greatly to collaborate and co-ordinate with their classmates, lecturers and tutors."
Although emails will continue to appear to have originated from, or been sent to, the student's Macquarie email account, all data will reside on Google's servers rather than the University's. Cost savings will result and the shift to Google will free up time for Sharp's staff to help students in other ways.
"Google is able to provide us 24/7 support - which is critically important to students juggling study and work - so we decided to make Google's products available to all our students," Sharp says.
"Google's expertise in the applications area is matched by its commitment to privacy and security," Sharp adds. "Students can expect industry best practice - after all, information security is Google's core business."
Sharp is keen to explore other ways in which the University can work with Google in the future in order to help students in their daily lives, but her immediate project will be setting up a further 6,000 Gmail accounts for Macquarie's staff.
"Google has always had a close relationship with higher education,' says Alan Noble, Google's Head of Engineering - Australia and New Zealand. "We want to work closely with Australian and New Zealand universities to help them implement smart use of technology for education. We're delighted that Macquarie is one of the first universities worldwide to implement Google Apps Education Edition."
Google Apps Education Edition is a free service and includes the Google Docs & Spreadsheets program, Gmail email services, Google Calendar shared calendaring, Google Talk instant messaging and more.
Any enquiries from the media should be directed to:
Greg Welsh phone: (02) 9850 7456
email address: greg.welsh@mq.edu.au
Back to the news archive