Technology officials continue to postpone the University’s final transition to its new e-mail system, Colonial Mail, which will fully replace Webmail later this semester.

The University began phasing in Colonial Mail last summer and originally planned to switch to the new system by October. But problems with its Web browser caused Information Systems and Services to push back the conversion.

“Cmail is fully functioning, and everyone should use it now,” said Johnny Bret Jones, director of ISS Technology Engineering. “But we’re still working with the vendor to work out some issues.”

Jones said ISS will integrate the GWeb portal with Colonial Mail, so students logged into the portal can have one-click access to Colonial Mail accounts. He added that user feedback has generally been positive, but several students noted that they did not care for the spell-checking feature.

The University chose to launch a new e-mail system because Webmail had “functionality issues,” Jones said. Last year, the GW community experienced several Webmail outages, some of which lasted for several days. Jones called Colonial Mail a better, faster product.

“Webmail is only a client; it’s on a separate server. Cmail is an integrated piece of the e-mail system, so it works better with the e-mail system,” Jones said. “It’s faster and more functional.”

Jones said he could not specify a date when the University will phase out Webmail but he said it should occur this semester. Students will be notified through a mass e-mail and Web postings when they will no longer be able to access Webmail.