Name: David DoddsInstitution: Dept Business Systems, University of Wollongong
E-mail Address: d.dodds@uow.edu.au
Title of Presentation: Integrating Electronic Mail into University culture.
Format: Paper Presentation
Suggested Audience: People interested in electronic communication on a campus wide basis and what effect this has on users.
Presentation Outcome:
1. See how people react to new technology - particularly email
2. See what the Uni of Wollongong is looking for in its new electronic communication medium
Presentation Content:
Keywords: Electronic Mail, Campus Wide Information Systems
Over the last 7 to 8 years, the University of Wollongong has evolved in many areas, especially in terms of electronic communication. No longer is it just a method of mailing messages. It has evolved into a rich communication tool enabling the exchange of electronic documents. Electronic mail, while an immensely productive tool, has caused a great deal of friction between Wollongong Faculty Departments and the central ITS (Information Technology Services) Department who are responsible for the installation and support of electronic mail on campus.
Currently, the University has gone through two generations of electronic mail and is about to embark on its third and hopefully most successful era of electronic communication. The first generation was basically a UNIX implementation for those that had access to the particular machine while the second generation was a campus wide implementation of Microsoft Mail for Macintosh and PC.
This paper will briefly discuss the first two generations so as to establish the history of email on campus. It will also review technology based and society based problems experienced during these times. The main focus, however, will be on the third generation, of which planners are aiming to incorporate customer requests while obviously taking into account the confines of current technology.
The paper will also discuss the relationship between ITS and its customers, who are the departments and faculties. What is being done to ensure customer satisfaction and acceptance ? As previous installations have met with resistance and friction, experience has shown that it is very important to obtain customer feedback and have them involved in the planning.
The aim of this paper then, will be twofold: what the next generation of electronic communication at the University of Wollongong is going to be and secondly, what is being done to ensure customer satisfaction and acceptance of the new system.