In order to improve functionality, the Division of Information Technology is upgrading the campus’s email system in the next few weeks.

MU currently uses the 2007 version of Microsoft Exchange and is now upgrading to the 2010 version. DoIT Director Terry Robb said the email system is in need of an upgrade.

He explained the new version will bump up storage from two gigabytes to 15. It also will work to improve record retention by adding more managed folders, and will benefit students by outsourcing their email to Microsoft.

Other locations will be receiving similar upgrades as well. University Hospital and UM-Kansas City’s campus will be upgraded in the same way, and UM-St. Louis and Missouri University of Science and Technology will receive upgrades from Exchange 2003, Robb said. The different Exchange systems being used by the UM System are another cause of this upgrade.

“(We are) looking to reduce the cost of operating multiple Exchange environments,” Robb said.

The upgrade for Columbia should be complete in a little more than two weeks, and the University Hospital should be upgraded a few weeks after that, Robb said. The time could vary depending on the size of the mailboxes being transferred. Robb also said students shouldn’t be affected by the transfer process at all.

Freshman Hilary Schmidt said the email upgrade will help with managing the large amounts of email she receives.

“I get probably 20 emails a day,” she said. “I’ll be able to hold on to more of my emails, instead of deleting them and relying on my memory.”

Overall, Schmidt said she finds the MU email system’s design useful.

“It’s helpful to have an email address that corresponds with my PawPrint because I know all my school email will go to one place,” she said.

The process to upgrade the Exchange system should begin Friday.