Truman switches email to Outlook

GRACE POTTER News Editor

Truman State University will switch from Gmail to Outlook starting the fall semester of 2023.

Google services like Docs, Slides and others will still be accessible, though with reduced storage.

Chief Information Officer Donna Liss said Microsoft 365 brings new services, one of them being the Outlook Calendar. The calendar allows students to not only write all their events in one place, but also to connect with others and compare calendars to easily schedule meetings.

Multi-factor authentication or “two-way verification” is another beneficial aspect of Outlook, Liss said. The verification strengthens account security by ensuring sign in processes on different devices done by the original user and not someone impersonating the user.

Since many professional work environments use Microsoft, Liss said the switch will better prepare students for future jobs.

“We have quite a few classes needing us to offer that next version of software for a lot of students in a lot of disciplines,” Liss said. “This is what they use when they go out to get a job, so they need to know how to use the latest and greatest.”