While several universities have turned to Google’s Gmail to manage email, many higher-ed institutions have been reticent to make the move. The Chronicle of Higher Education explores this topic deeper, explaining that many colleges hesitate to make the transition because of:
- “Security: Colleges like to think they can hold onto data better than anyone else. When a sensitive e-mail message from a professor is made public, no one cares wether or not the college made the mistake or whether it was a hired company—the college’s reputation is still damaged.
- Ferpa (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act): The federal law that protects student records covers e-mail messages that professors or administrators send to students. So faculty and staff e-mail accounts are full of files that colleges must keep private.
- E-Discovery: What would Google or Microsoft do if a professor’s e-mail on its system was subpoenaed as part of a lawsuit? Outsourcing raises that question and more.”
More at The Chronicle of Higher Education
