Just a few weeks ago, we wrote an editorial asking for the University to be more conscious of the timeframe when they make major changes. Many students’ Degree Audits, the program used for navigating their coursework, had been switched over to a new platform in the middle of advising and enrolling in fall classes.
To us, this was one of the most inconvenient times this switch could have taken place.
Two weeks have passed, and it appears that making major changes at inconvenient times is becoming a theme.
The University system should not have migrated student emails with only three weeks left in the semester.
From 6 p.m. on April 25 through the end of April 27, students were unable to access their emails due to the University of Nebraska system migrating tenants into one server. The migration is meant to improve collaboration across campuses and save money, but waiting until a later date would have lowered the potential for issues.
Students need full access to their Microsoft 365 accounts, especially when we are nearing the end of the semester. Most of us are working on projects and studying for final exams, so we can’t just easily accommodate to being unable to email our professors for over two days.
The announcements prior to the migration encouraged students to get their homework done before the migration in order to run into less problems. Yet, for most of us students, the weekend is when we are able to work on our homework. We are all busy and don’t have the time in our schedules to try and cram it all in during the week.
Migrating at a later date would have been less stressful. We see the value in migrating while students are on campus for the semester as it would be easier to solve any issues that arise if we are here. Still, if we would have waited until the start of next semester, we could have faced these changes during a less chaotic time.
Waiting until next semester would also have prevented the trouble for graduating seniors. We don’t see the point in wasting the time and creating more of a hassle for them when they won’t be using their emails in three weeks.
Some of our staff still don’t have access to their OneDrive accounts and have had trouble logging in. While we didn’t expect a completely smooth transition, students should not have to navigate these difficulties during an already hectic time.
Despite the timing, we appreciate all UNK officials have done to inform us about the change. Signage was posted around campus, announcements were made several times on social media about the change and students were texted a reminder the day the migration started.
Once again, we ask UNK officials to be more aware of the academic calendar. While we trust this migration was done with good intentions and will be beneficial in the long run, the timing was not helpful for students.
