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For Faculty & Staff: Making Sense of Email, Calendars and Mobile Devices at the University of Chicago

At NSIT, faculty and staff often ask us about email. How we answer them depends on what they want to do with their email.

Staff and faculty have four possible options for email, which are:

  1. cMail
    cMail is the University's primary email service, available free of charge to all faculty, staff and students. Individuals can access cMail via the web or can install a program, such as Mozilla Thunderbird, to read and file their email. In addition to standard email functions, cMail's web interface includes a stand-alone personal calendar and integration of the University directories. Mozilla Thunderbird includes a variety of additional capabilities such as RSS feeds and multiple account management. cMail is compatible with most mobile devices, such as Treos, BlackJacks, Windows Mobile devices, and the like.
  2. xMail
    xMail is a fee-based service designed for users and departments that want highly integrated messaging and calendaring based on Microsoft Exchange. Individuals can access xMail via a program such as Outlook, Thunderbird or Entourage, or via the web. The xMail calendar, through Outlook or Entourage, serves as the University's central administrative calendar. xMail is compatible with BlackBerry, Treo, BlackJacks, and Windows Mobile devices.
  3. Departmental Service
    Historically, many departments created their own email services to meet the needs of their constituents. Some of these services are still in existence, while others--even some who maintain departmental designations, such as press.uchicago.edu--have been migrated to take advantage of central services. Staff and faculty many opt to use local services according to the preferences of their departments.
  4. Outside Service
    Some individuals, particularly students, choose to forward their email to a non-University service, such as gmail or SBCglobal. However, please be aware that anyone who potentially handles sensitive information, such as medical, student, some kinds of research data, financial, or HR data, must ensure that such data stays within the University. Therefore, staff and faculty should generally use campus email services for University business.

So, given these options, how can you make an informed decision about which email, calendar, and mobile device to use? Before deciding, you should find out whether your department has any preferences that you are required to follow. To contact your local information technology personnel, see the list on the Computing Support on Campus page.

Assuming you plan to use one of the University's central email services, either cMail or xMail, follow the guidelines below to determine which is right for you:

  • If you have simple email needs and do not use the administrative xMail calendar or a small device, cMail is your best choice.
  • If you use a small device (PDA) other than a BlackBerry, such as a Treo, BlackJack, or iPhone, but you do not use the administrative xMail calendar, cMail is also a good choice. If you're not sure which mobile device is best for you, see Selecting a Mobile Device for Email Communications.
  • If you use the administrative xMail calendar, you should generally choose xMail for your email in order to take advantage of its integrated environment. See Using the Administrative xMail Calendar for more information.
  • If you use a BlackBerry device, it makes sense to choose xMail, especially if you also use the administrative xMail calendar. See Find IT for more information about using a BlackBerry in the University of Chicago environment.

We're here to help you. If you have any questions, please contact us at support@uchicago.edu or 4-TECH (773-834-8324). You may also review the Email website.

View a printable PDF of this Tip Sheet. 

Last updated: 3/19/08