Anticipating some important emails after class on July 26, I gasped when I found out that my UTM email account apparently no longer existed. I panicked, wondering how to contact classmates for a presentation due in a few days.
I fumed in frustration when I was informed that all Erindale students were expected to get an utoronto.ca account as of Wednesday, July 26, and that all UTM email accounts would no longer be valid after that date. I searched frantically for the UTORID activation information I had tucked away long ago, since no services or computers at UTM required a UTORID login.
Hours-and many curses-later, I calmed down a little when I was notified that in 24 hours I would have my very first utoronto.ca email account. Sure, it was my fault that I hadn’t read about the address change on the UTM website, but then again who really bothers to read every piece of information on the school site?
Upon learning the reasons for the switch, I admit that UTM did have some reasonable explanations for transferring to the UTORID system. One explanation was to ensure an easier transition when new services requiring a UTORID are introduced at UTM.
An implausible reason given, however, was that students would now have only one U of T email account to remember. What difference would it make to the administration if a student chose to remember two passwords and email addresses instead of one?
The changeover was not without its problems. We were assured that our existing email folders would be moved to the new addresses and that any mail addressed to utm.utoronto.ca accounts would be forwarded to our new ones. However, many students lost old emails and address books, and did not receive any new mail sent to the old UTM accounts.
Although UTM’s decision proved to be a major inconvenience for email users, at least the switch occurred over the summer, when the majority of students were not busy with school. When the general U of T webmail system was overhauled this September, students were starting all their classes and thus heavily dependent on their email accounts, which was far worse timing.
A common complaint about this switchover was that it made webmail too slow, causing students to miss important meeting notices and hindering assignments that required email communication with professors.
Another problem that students voiced was the unreliability of the new system. Some students claimed to have sent emails that the system did not deliver. Some tried to forward mail to other email accounts, but the system also hindered this because email from the UTORID account took a whole week to reach the other email account.
The question I was left asking myself in regards to both the UTM address switch and the UTORID system changeover was why the administration wanted to change something that seemed to be working well. Although I’m sure they were attempting to better services for students, the changes instead caused a lot of inconvenience.
