Campus Colleagues:
Many of you have been asking great questions about the next steps for the Google to Microsoft transition. We hear your concerns! Please be assured that the Information Technology team has been working on this project non-stop, making sure the details are in place before we open up Microsoft apps. Here are some answers to some of the questions you have asked.
Email - Employees, faculty, and adjuncts will retain their current @nnu.edu email address. The migration on February 5, 2024 will transfer all email accounts from Gmail to Microsoft Office365. After that date, you will no longer be able to receive emails using Gmail. You can still log into Gmail after the transition to confirm the transfer was successful. Office365's Outlook Web Access (OWA) is similar to Gmail in that you log into it using a browser to access your email, calendar, contacts, etc.
To make this migration faster and more efficient, check your current email filters. It's much better not to use filters if possible at this time. Also, delete old emails no longer needed.
Google Drive to OneDrive - IT will transfer your Google Drive files to OneDrive during the migration to a folder in OneDrive marked "Google Drive Migration". You do not need to move files now. After the migration, you will still be able to log in on Google to confirm your files are in OneDrive. Your best practice will be to work in OneDrive only after February 5. To make this migration smoother and quicker, remove unwanted files and folders in Google Drive now. Google apps will be available until June 30, 2024, except for Gmail.
Shared Google Drives - We are currently testing this migration and it is not quite ready. Hold up working on Shared Drives in OneDrive Shared Files until we have it all ready to go.
Teams - MS Teams meetings on the web are operational, but invitation links to participants right now must be sent from Google Mail. Your Google calendar has a Teams meeting option now. If you continue to use Google Meets after the migration date, be aware of the cut-off date of June 30, 2024. Teams sites are not available yet. We are building those out still.
Learning Labs Coming After Thanksgiving - To help users become comfortable with the look and feel of the Microsoft platform, a series of Learning Labs are being scheduled after Thanksgiving through January. Lab facilitators will help you log in, present instructional videos, and help you navigate around the Microsoft applications that are ready. As more features are added to our Microsoft workspace, additional learning labs will be provided. These labs will enable you to get away from your phone and normal work environment to concentrate on becoming comfortable with Microsoft 365. An email will go out soon with the learning lab schedule and sign-ups.
We appreciate your patience and prayers as the IT team gets the campus ready for this big transition.
Sincerely,
Todd Baker, Director
NNU Information Technology