Current undergraduate and graduate students, alumni and retirees can now switch from Bruin OnLine email services to Gmail.
Google Apps for UCLA, an application which includes Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Docs, went live this morning.
Students, alumni and retirees can switch their accounts from Bruin OnLine to Gmail by accessing the Google Apps for UCLA website and clicking “Switch my account,” according to the application’s website.
The switch to Gmail has been in the works since 2009, according to Daily Bruin archives.
Incoming freshmen and transfer students had access to the new accounts starting last spring, after they submitted their Statement of Intent to Register. Originally, there was no set timeline for when graduate students would be able to make the transition from Bruin OnLine to Gmail, the Bruin reported last year.
[UPDATED at 3:45 p.m.: More than 175 individuals have activated their UCLA Gmail accounts since the application went live this morning, said Mark Bower, a director in infrastructure services within the UCLA Information Technology Services department.
Currently, faculty and staff cannot access the new service, Bower said. Information technology departments for faculty and staff are still reviewing how the new service will fit policies and security services that stipulate appropriate use, Bower said.
Students, alumni and retirees, however, can choose whether or not to make the switch from Bruin OnLine to Gmail, Bower said.
After a user opts into the service, they will have 28 days to move their email and other data from Bruin OnLine to Google Apps by importing or forwarding it to their new Gmail account, Bower said.
The goal is for the Google application to eventually be the only email service available at UCLA, Bower said.]
Compiled by Jillian Beck, Bruin senior staff.