Faculty & Staff
On October 20th, all of our students will have access to SMCCD branded email and a suite of Google web-based applications.
This new my.smccd.edu college email system for students also means there are new features that staff and faculty can use to help enhance learning and communication with students.
FAQ's for Faculty & Staff
Why are we giving students email?
Which students are getting my.smccd.edu email accounts?
How do these new email accounts affect me?
How will this affect WebAccess or eCollege?
If I am an employee taking a class will they get a my.smccd.edu email?
Where should I direct my students for help?
How can I help promote this is my classroom?
What are the student usernames?
How do I download the email addresses of my students?
Can I have a my.smccd email account?
Why are we giving students email?
As more of our communication becomes electronic we need a reliable means to communicate with our students. About 8% of our students currently do not provide us with an email account. Of the 92% of students who provide us with email addresses only about 66% of emails sent to those addresses reach those students. Many messages bounce back because of incorrect addresses, mailbox full, spam flagging, isp issues, etc... Also many faculty are frustrated trying to figure out the identity of their students based on cryptic and sometimes unprofessional email usernames (ie. sexymama123@yahoo.com). We as an educational institution are responsible for providing our students with the tools for success and nowadays reliable email is a necessity.
We are not the only college to implement email for students. In fact, we are playing catch up since a majority of four year colleges and universities provide their student body college branded email accounts. We are also not the first college to outsource our email to google. Thousands of colleges around the world and millions of students are using google apps for education including nearby community colleges. View US map of Google Apps campuses
Which students are getting my.smccd.edu email accounts?
All students currently enrolled for Fall semester as of October 5, 2008 and all new students from October 5th forward will be receiving email accounts. We are not giving email accounts to students from previous semesters (example: Summer 2008).
New students receive their email accounts after they apply for admission (either online at CCCapply or paper). At that time Banner will automatically generate their gnumber and email address.
How do these new accounts affect me?
On October 20th we are giving all our students @my.smccd.edu email accounts. We will update the students' email information in WebSMART meaning all emails sent to students via WebSMART or the Colleges will go to their new @my.smccd.edu email account.
If you send email to your students, please do not send email to their personal email accounts. We would like all email communication to be directed to their @my.smccd.edu email.
Google Apps for education also includes a suite of applications besides email including calendar, docs and google talk. Since your students will have these tools available to them, free of charge, you may want to use them in your classes, clubs or programs.
How will this affect WebAccess or eCollege?
We will not be updating students email accounts in WebACCESS and eCollege until the Spring Semester. Starting Spring semester 2009 students will have their new email accounts updated automatically in their profile and will not be able to change their email address in their profile.
How does this affect GWAMAIL?
After October 20th, all email sent via GWAMAIL will go to the students' @my.smccd.edu email accounts.
If I am an employee taking a class will they get a my.smccd.edu email?
If you are an employee but are also taking classes at Cañada, CSM or Skyline you will receive an @my.smccd.edu email account automatically.
Where can I go and learn more?
Faculty can attend hands-on workshops on the exciting features of my.smccd.edu (Google Apps) through the Centers for Teaching and Learning. Learn how you can take advantage of these new tools in your courses.
Where should I direct my students for help?
Please direct your student to http://my.smccd.edu/support
How can I help promote this is my classroom?
You may want to discuss the new email system in your classes. You can let your students know that information about their new email accounts including their address and password can be found in WebSMART.
It may also help your students to add a couple lines about my.smccd.edu on your syllabus for the next semester.
Example:
"Please note that all email communication coming from your instructor will be going to your my.smccd.edu email account. For more information about your my.smccd.edu email account please go to http://my.smccd.edu"
What are the student usernames?
Your student usernames are dynamically created base don the following rules
- The username is 8 characters long
(example: XXXXXXXX@my.smccd.edu )
- The first character is always their first initial
(example: Joe Robinson's email will start with a "j") - The next 7 characters will be the student's last name
(example: Joe Robinson's email username would be "jrobinso") - If there is more than one "jrobinso" then we will add a number to the end of their username.
(example: Joe Robinson's email username would be "jrobins1") - The username will never exceed 8 characters so letters of the last name will be truncated and replaced with numbers if more than one user exists.
(example: Joe Robinson's email username would be "jrobin25")
How do I download the email addresses of my students?
You can download your students' email addresses in WebSMART.
- Login to WebSMART https://websmart.smccd.edu
- Select the Faculty Services option
- Under the Faculty Menu Page – scroll to Detailed Class List
- Select Detailed Class List
- Select MS Excel Download button
- Select Save (save on desktop)
Tutorial on how to download your class list and load it into a distribution list in Outlook 2007
Can I have a my.smccd email account?
Because we already provide our faculty & staff with @smccd.edu email accounts we didn't want to confuse everyone by giving them a second email account. If you would like a @my.smccd.edu in addition to your @smccd.edu you can make a request on the ITS request Form.
How are these different than gmail accounts?
1. No Ads for Students, faculty and staff
2. Advanced tools and APIs to manage student accounts and integrate Google apps with existing IT infrastructure
3. Control of tools and privacy settings controlled at the domain level by School Administrators
4. Customer Support available to schools for Administrators
Is Gmail 508 compliant?
Google's is actively working on 508 compliance and we have conducted testng with the DSPS centers.
- You can view your google email using free 508 compliant software such as thunderbird.
- You can use Gmail with a JAWS screen reader. More information on Jaws and Gmail
- Our DSPS coordinators have found work-a rounds for students using Kurzweil.
If students have accessibility issues with their my.smccd.edu email accounts that cannot be resolved in our DSPS centers, ITS will provide those students with a usb thumb drive and thunderbird pre-loaded.
Does Gmail meet FERPA guidelines?
Google is contractually and legally responsible to protect information. Google will not share email contents or personal information to outside parties.
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