College of the Desert has launched “MyCOD,” a campus email system that will enable students to keep in touch with classmates and faculty. The service is supplied and supported by Microsoft  and provides a Microsoft Windows Live Email account for all students with a unique address: @mycod.us.  There was no cost to the college.

Students will be able to import their contacts from Yahoo, Outlook, Hotmail and other popular vendors.  They’ll also be able to forward the email to their regular accounts, since many students already have established digital identities they don’t want to give up.

College officials say it will simplify correspondence sent to students, both speeding up the process and cutting down on costs. Students are signing up now. By next spring, COD hopes to begin eliminating some or most “snail mail” to students in favor of the email system.

To sign up students can go to the college website and click on the “Student Email” link under “My COD.” The page includes step by step directions for establishing an account or forwarding the email to an existing account.

The college created a task force to implement the system and students began signing up on Oct. 15.