E-mail services for Virginia Western and several other VCCS colleges is currently hosted by ITS (Information Technology Services) in Richmond.  We have been notified that ITS will be discontinuing support for our current e-mail products, and we will be required to either move to the new VCCS supported product or to our own supported product by June 30, 2007.  While TSS has been planning for an e-mail change to our own supported product, we did not expect it to happen so soon.  This change does present some very exciting opportunities for VWCC going forward, but it also creates some short term challenges that must be addressed. 

We want to take a moment to outline what we expect in the near future, as well as our long range plan.  Please understand that much of what we are outlining is still subject to change as we work out the details, but we want to provide you with the information we have thus far.

Short Term Plan--
1.      Effective June 28, 2007, all VCCS e-mail will be going through a different server before you receive it.  This change will impact everyone that uses a VWCC e-mail account!  Please read the important information below! 

Changes that will impact users on campus that use college owned computers with Eudora or Outlook:

• Every e-mail password will be changed!   This may necessitate all users calling the Help Desk to get a password before they can check their e-mail on June 28.  Needless to say, we are hoping we can devise a solution that will not require a call to the Help Desk from every e-mail user but to date, no secure solution has been found.

• Please note:  Your e-mail name will stay the same!

• E-mail messages that are already downloaded from the server will still be in your Eudora or Outlook!  There is no need to forward any of these messages since they have already been received and stored (if you did not delete them) in your local e-mail client, Eudora or Outlook.

Changes that will impact users that access e-mail from off-campus:

• VWCC will be among the colleges using Mirapoint for Web based e-mail -- this will replace WebMail for now!  The current WebMail application will be retired and all WebMail users must switch to the new web based e-mail system.   (Mirapoint offers a much larger e-mail box per user, 50MB.)

• Every e-mail password will be changed!   This may necessitate all users calling the Help Desk to get a password before they can check their e-mail on June 28.  Needless to say, we are hoping we can devise a solution that will not require a call to the Help Desk from every e-mail user but to date, no secure solution has been found.

• Users need to delete outdated/old e-mails from WebMail before June 28!

• After the June 28 cut over to Mirapoint, any e-mail stored on the WebMail system that you want to retain,  MUST be forwarded to the new system by the USER!  You will have until September 1, 2007 to do this.  Should the old system crash before September 1, WebMail messages you have not forwarded to the new e-mail system will be lost!  Directions on how to forward these e-mails will be available soon!

• The new e-mail system is very intuitive but TSS plans to have on-line "training" available and as well as other documentation to help you with this transition. 

• Please note:  Your e-mail name will stay the same!

We are working to make this transition as smooth as possible, but it is likely that there will be some challenges associated with this for you as well as TSS. 

Long Term Plan--Outlook at VWCC!
As many of you know, Microsoft Outlook offers enhanced options such as calendaring, tasks, shared data, etc.  Many of our users have asked to be moved to Outlook, and have also asked for enhanced features such as calendar sharing.  It is our intent to use this opportunity to begin that migration process.  Over the next 8 – 12 months, TSS will be implementing our own Exchange environment and migrating all faculty and staff to Outlook 2007! This will allow us to move all mail to servers located here on campus, and provide enhanced services and support.  Information regarding VWCC's migration to Outlook 2007 and Exchange 2007 will be provided soon!

TSS will be sending periodic updates via E-mail to keep you informed and up-to-date as we embark on this huge e-mail migration project!  An E-mail Migration Web page will be available soon which will provide important information as well!

Be assured, we will be working diligently to make this transition and migration to a new e-mail system a success for all of us!