SFCC started its transition to replace its e-mail system with Google's Gmail on March 18, while UF is still working on a switch of its own.
Tim Nesler, SFCC's associate vice president for information technology services, said about 500 students have switched to Google's Gmail so far, and SFCC's Webmail would be deleted May 4.
UF Student Body President-elect Kevin Reilly said he couldn't estimate when a more efficient e-mail system would replace UF's WebMail until Student Government had done more research. Changing e-mail systems was announced as a Gator Party goal during spring SG elections.
Nesler said in fall 2007, SFCC administrators took the idea to its Student Government members, who found that most students were more familiar with Google's system. SFCC students would still log in through SFCC's Web site and use the same domain name, he said.
Marc Hoit, UF's Office of Information Technology interim chief information officer, said research comparing Microsoft's Windows Live Mail, another replacement option, to Google's Gmail began about four weeks ago and would be ready for analysis the first week of April.
Hardware and labor for WebMail's upkeep is about $250,000 a year, Hoit said. Though SFCC's Gmail service is provided for free, Hoit said he thinks there could be fees that might creep up over time.
UF needs to determine cost-effectiveness, perform more tests and analyze more peer institutions before choosing a system or setting a date for a switch, he said.
"If it was just turn the switch, and we're done, that'd be great," he said. "But it's not."
