Get the Facts:
Benefits, Timeline, How to Prepare
Northwestern University is moving toward a more enhanced communication and collaborative environment to carry out the teaching, research, and administrative needs of the University.
Northwestern Collaboration Services, a Microsoft-powered messaging and collaboration product, will soon facilitate e-mail, calendaring, document sharing, and more for faculty and staff who choose to transition.
Key Benefits
Standard E-mail Platform—Faculty and staff can choose to use Microsoft-powered e-mail, standardizing and streamlining communications between all University schools and departments.
University-wide Calendaring—Faculty and staff will have the ability to schedule and reserve meetings in a new, intra-institutional fashion. Both calendaring and e-mail will be accessible within a single program.
Anytime, Anywhere Web Access—Faculty and staff can access a secure, Web-based e-mail and calendaring program, called Outlook Web App, that provides many of the same features on the full Outlook clients for both Windows and Mac.
Increased Mobility—The University's growing mobile community will have secure, enhanced mobile access to e-mail and calendaring services.
Additional Services—Future phases of the Northwestern Collaboration Services initiative plan for additional services including instant messaging, document storage and sharing capabilities, and an integrated voicemail system.
Increased File Storage—The default quota for the majority of Northwestern Collaboration Services accounts is 2GB for the primary mail file and an additional 6GB of online, secondary storage via the Outlook Web App (OWA) and Outlook 2010 for Windows.
Affected Users
All current and future University faculty and staff
Timeline
- The Northwestern Collaboration Services integrated e-mail and calendar system was operational on July 11, 2011 for users of the former University calendar system (Meeting Maker).
- Non-Meeting Maker users were able to begin their transition to Northwestern Collaboration Services (e-mail, calendar, Web access) on July 18, 2011.
- The legacy e-mail system (casbah/hecky/lulu/merle.mail.it.northwestern.edu) was retired on December 19, 2011. Questions about specific school or departmental transitions can be directed to Local Readiness Team Leads or the NUIT Support Center.
- The project team is currently preparing for phase two implementation of Microsoft Lync that is scheduled for February 23, 2012. Read more about instant messaging, webconferencing and presence implementation on the project status page.
What Actions Can I Take?
...before Northwestern Collaboration Services is launched
Attend Hands-on Training—Register to attend an in-person computer application training session to get questions answered in a learner-friendly, hands-on environment.
Update Microsoft Software—Utilize the latest Microsoft products for both Windows and Mac in everyday work. Several products are available for University faculty and staff at no additional cost.
Check E-mail Client—Access a Northwestern Collaboration Services-compatible e-mail client for sending and receiving University mail. For an optimal collaboration experience, Outlook Web App (OWA) and Microsoft Outlook 2010 for Windows are the recommended e-mail clients. Outlook 2011 for Mac (Service Pack 1, released mid-April) and the Outlook Web App are recommended for Mac users.
Upgrade Personal Computer Software—Install the latest Microsoft Office products to personal computers, available for less than $10, through the Home Use Program.
...after Northwestern Collaboration Services is launched
Collaborate—E-mail colleagues and schedule meetings with fellow members of the University community in one place: your Northwestern Collaboration Services account.
Attend More Training—Computer application training sessions are continuously offered. If personalized attention is still needed, register to attend a session.
Once Northwestern Collaboration Services is fully launched, University faculty and staff can use new services to:
- Send and receive University e-mail
- Reserve meeting rooms and schedule meetings with other University faculty and staff
- Centrally store and share University documents
- Access mail and calendaring tools on smartphone devices
- Better track tasks and manage University contacts
What Types of Computer Platforms Function with Northwestern Collaboration Services?
Northwestern University is committed to facilitating multiple platform collaboration throughout the University, and Northwestern Collaboration Services will be available for Windows, Mac, and Linux-based platforms through Outlook Web App (OWA).
What E-mail Clients Can Support Northwestern Collaboration Services?
For an optimal collaboration experience, Outlook Web App (OWA) and Microsoft Outlook 2010 for Windows are the recommended e-mail clients. Outlook 2011 for Mac (Service Pack 1, released mid-April) and the Outlook Web App are recommended for Mac users.
Read more about Northwestern Collaboration Services-compatible e-mail clients on the E-Mail Client Comparison Matrix.
OWA is anytime, anywhere Web access to University e-mail and calendaring and is the recommended Web client for future University collaboration. OWA looks and feels very similar to Outlook 2010 and 2007. Use OWA to send and receive messages and attachments, create folders and organize messages within the folders, view calendar appointments and contacts, look up names in the University directory via the Global Address List (GAL) and set up an Out of Office message.
How Much E-mail Storage Space is Available?
The default quota for the majority of Northwestern Collaboration Services accounts is 2GB for the primary mail file and an additional 6GB of online, secondary storage via the Outlook Web App (OWA) and Outlook 2010 for Windows. Other supported mail programs, including Thunderbird, Apple Mail, and Outlook 2011 for Mac, cannot see the online secondary storage. Further details are available on the E-Mail Client Comparison Matrix.
Individual account size allotments are as follows:
| University Role | Account Storage Size | Online Archive Storage Size |
|---|---|---|
| Faculty, Staff and Visiting Scholars | 2 GB | 6 GB |
| Emeritus/Retired Faculty | 1 GB | n/a |
| Departmental Accounts, Graduate Students, Teaching Assistants, Community Assistants, Work Study Students, Temporary Employees and Contributed Service Faculty | 500 MB | n/a |
Can Users Continue Forwarding University E-mail to External, Non-NU Addresses?
The University's Policy Review Committee is currently in the process of reviewing e-mail forwarding guidelines. Any revisions to the policy regarding e-mail forwarding occur under the authority of the Policy Review Committee and are a separate undertaking from the launch of Northwestern Collaboration Services.
Are End Users Responsible for Changing Computer Settings During Launch?
Every effort has been made to ensure that end users are prepared for any potential one-time computer or e-mail client setting changes, dependent on the level of local technical support provided in specific schools and departments. A Get Started Checklist is available for review prior to any transition.
What Happened to Meeting Maker Accounts?
Over the weekend of July 8, 2011, NUIT collaborated with engineers at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to successfully migrate Meeting Maker events occurring on or after June 27, 2011 to the new system. These events were made available to faculty and staff at the start of business on Monday, July 11, 2011, when the Collaboration Services calendar became the University calendar of record for meeting scheduling. Access to Meeting Maker is available until July 31, 2011.
Are Mobile Devices Supported?
Because mobility and increased collaboration functionality like wireless synchronization play an integral role with Northwestern Collaboration Services, industry-standard smartphone devices (i.e. BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, and Palm webOS) will be supported. More information is available at Mobile Support Tools.
Will Northwestern Collaboration Services Accounts Be Provided for University Affiliates?
A change will be made in NU Validate in support of the launch of Exchange that will allow any affiliates to have an alias-based @northwestern.edu, @law.northwestern.edu, or @kellogg.northwestern.edu address as their primary e-mail address (depending on their affiliation). This is a function that administrators can use that won't be offered to end-users.
Affiliates won't be provisioned with Exchange accounts. Administrators will need to supply external e-mail accounts as the affiliate mailboxes. Messages sent to the @*northwestern.edu address will forward to the external e-mail account if this option is selected for an affiliate.
Where Are Northwestern Collaboration Services Project Updates Posted?
Monthly status reports and milestones are posted and updated at IT Project Status: Collaboration Services Initiative.
Where Do Users Go For Help? Who Can They Contact?
Contact local technical support specialists before changing any software or settings on a University machine. Local Readiness Team Leads, UNITS Representatives and direct supervisors are also available to answer questions about school- or department-specific migration questions.
Additional inquiries related to Northwestern Collaboration Services should be directed to NUIT Communications.