Information Technology is changing students’ email accounts from Gmail to Microsoft Outlook starting May 31.

Microsoft Outlook, also called Exchange Online in the Office 365 platform, is the email service NIU employees use, and Information Technology Manager John Kearsing said he hopes the platform consistency will improve his department’s program prioritization report, which is suggested as a candidate for enhanced resources.

Despite the task force’s recommendation for enhanced resources, it deemed the division to have issues with consistency and efficiency in hardware and software purchasing, among other things, according to Monday’s task force report.

What began as a multi-year project to move NIU to Office 365 will not only narrow the variety of platforms the department uses, but will also save the department $15,000 a year, Kearsing said.

Office 365 will give students full access to the Microsoft Suite services on up to 10 devices until graduation, which provides access to programs like Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Skype for Business.

Features like voice meetings, video meetings and instant messaging will be included in Office 365, which ranked in the 90th percentile for what students were most excited to use, according to a Division of Information Technology survey.

Kearsing said the transition will help teachers and students communicate more efficiently and will allow for information to be integrated into each students’ account like a full directory of NIU students, faculty and staff emails and personalized calendar integration.

Data from the Gmail account will not be transferred to the Outlook account, however, students can access their Gmail account until Dec. 16 to move their data. The department will host a workshop June 2 to show faculty how to use various features of Office 365. The date for workshops in the fall to teach students how to use various features of Office 365 is to be determined.

For more information, go to doit.niu.edu.