Student E-mail Accounts Underutilised by Administration
April 18, 2007 at 9:18 am (Education, Technology)
Do students really check their college/university e-mails?
After learning of the devastating killings at Virginia Tech, it seems that an e-mail was sent to students about two hours after the first killing. I wonder how many students were already in class? Also, how many students actually check their college/university e-mail accounts? I can’t speak for them, but I can speak for my own educational institution.
First, students must purchase a computer lab account in order to be assigned an e-mail account. For those who either are unwilling to fork out the cost and/or feel that they don’t need it (use of college computer lab), they don’t get an account.
Second, for those who do get a lab account, their student e-mail is only functional during the term that they use it. This means that during the summer months, students cannot access their student e-mail accounts. Therefore, the last time I purchased a lab account, I didn’t even bother opening my student e-mail once. I already had my home e-mail and my free online e-mail account, so why would I even bother with a third one that was to be temporary anyway? (Yeah, yeah, I know I could’ve had mail forwarded from my student e-mail to my regular e-mail, but I didn’t bother, knowing it was a temporary account.)
Finally, in my first year, I did purchase a lab account and I did use my student e-mail account. However, it was not used by our administration or others as a means to notify the student body of any important information.
When registering for courses, there is an area where students are to fill in their e-mail address. It is anyone’s guess why this is asked if administration are not using this as a means to notify students of important announcements. When I log into Banner, the online system where students can view their academic records, I can also view/change my personal information, such as my e-mail address. Wouldn’t it be nice if, somehow, these e-mail addresses could form a distribution list to which college administration could send important notifications? The onus would be on students to ensure that their current, correct e-mail address is in the system. Surely this is possible in today’s technologically advanced society?
Andrew said,
April 18, 2007 at 12:54 pm
I dunno what school you go to, but that’s totally lame. I attend Royal Roads University and everyone automatically gets a school email account by default and it’s good until you die (so they know how to dig at you once you’re alumni).
All school correspondence goes to that account, so you really need to maintain it. They offer a web-based interface for accessing that account. Most people, however, choose to forward the school address to one of their other addresses that they use in the real world.
Like I said, I don’t know what school you go to, but it sounds like a totally lame policy. With Royal Roads if you’re not checking your school email regularly, or having it delivered to your real-world address, you’re missing out on everything from in-class discussions to tuition invoices.
Fawn said,
April 19, 2007 at 8:43 am
I must say that I, too, find it strange that you have to purchase a lab account. When I was in university, we had to use our school e-mails for posting to newsgroups and things that were part of our courses. It might be a different story now, however. On the other hand, I know a number of friends who still use their university e-mail addresses. As Andrew points out, a lot of institutions like to stay in contact with their alumni. But then, perhaps universities get more alumni donations than colleges tend to…?