The UCLA Information Technology Planning Board voted today to begin shifting its undergraduate student, alumni and retiree email accounts to Gmail, after delaying a vote for the motion earlier this year.
The decision marks the end of two years of work for the board, which had been working toward this goal since 2009.
The shift to Gmail will establish a new domain called @bruins.ucla.edu that will allow the campus community to access Google Collaboration Tools through their UCLA email accounts.
A set timeline for the completion of the switch is not set, but it is possible that Gmail accounts will be available for students by the end of the academic year, said Julie Austin, director of the computing facility at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science and the chair of the board.
Next year’s freshman class can expect to have the option to use Gmail as their UCLA account, Austin said.