The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Cloud

Catholic Education Ministries

Computer Support

The diocese provides neither email hosting nor technical support for email servers. There are several options for outsourcing email services.

Potential vendors in this category include RackNebula, NetGain, Cloudnet, Victor Communications, WebMail.us, MacDoc, Groetsch Technology Group, and many, many more.
Email addresses include the school's domain name. Example: gradeone@StFrancisRockville.orgg
This is a common choice of organizations and businesses.
Pricing structures vary. Many providers offer this for $1/month for each email account. Some offer it for as little as $12/month for an unlimited number of email addresses, but charge extra if bandwidth limits are exceeded.
The school should never need to change email addresses again. Email addresses remain the same, even if the ISP changes or the email provider changes.
By using email addresses that include the school's name, the name may become more visible in the community. Plus, the email addresses have a professional appearance.
A variety of email hosting companies exist, thus there are a variety of vendors from which to choose. There is not much of a committment to any specific ISP or email provider.
This option does requires that the school own an internet domain name. This domain name can also be used for the school web site (eg: www.StFrancisRockville.org). The diocesan office of C.E.M. can manage domain name purchases for schools and parishes, though reminbursement of the $12-$15 annual fees is requested.

These addresses are provided to a customer by the Internet Service Provider (eg: DiversiCom, NextEra, Arvig, Charter, Qwest, ClearWire, Cloudnet, iZoom, Citescape, etc)
Email addresses include the ISP's domain name. Example: gradeonestfrancis@astound.nett
This is a common choice of private individuals for personal use.
Only one or a few email addresses are normally free from the ISP.
By using these addresses, the school is essentially advertising the ISP every time the email address is distributed.
By choosing ISP-specific email addresses, the school is committing to not change their ISP long-term.
Any of the following counditions would cause loss of the email addresses. This would be a headache for staff, parents, donors, and vendors. It could also mean reprinting advertising, business cards, stationary, etc.
- ISP changes names
- ISP goes out of business
- ISP is bought-out
- school changes to a different ISP
- school changes to a different email provider

Potential vendors in this category include FastMail, Yahoo, GMail, HotMail, etc.
Email address includes the email provider's domain name. Example: gradeonestfrancis@fastmail.fmm
This is a common choice of private individuals for personal use.
Service is normally free or mid-range pricing, depending upon restrictions placed on account.
Using these email addresses is sometimes viewed as unprofessional. At one point, some online companies refused business with customers using free-service email accounts.
By choosing email-provider specific addresses, the school is committing to not change email providers long-term, though the school can easily change ISP's at any time.
Any of the following counditions would cause loss of the email addresses. This would be a headache for staff, parents, donors, and vendors. It could also mean reprinting advertising, business cards, stationary, etc.
- email provider changes names
- email provider goes out of business
- email provider is bought-out
- school changes to a different email provider

Do they provide POP3 or IMAP access? (This allows you to continue using your existing email software.)
Do they offer a good web-based interface for accessing email when you are away from your normal computer?
Do they offer anti-virus protection?
Do they offer good SPAM filtering? (Ideally, you want most SPAM eliminated before it gets to you, but you also don't want to be so protected, that you miss legitimate email.)
Do they offer SMTP, the ability to send email?
When your school or parish needs to create or delete email accounts, do you call the company to request the change or is it possible for your technology leader to remotely change this information? (The best answer depends on your preference.)
Do they offer discounts to non-profits or schools?
Do they offer discounts if invoiced annually?
Do they limit the size of individual email messages?
Do they limit the total storage of all accumulated email messages?
Do they have any business relation restrictions, such as only doing business with customers whose web site is hosted by that same company or whose internet connection is from that same company?

Does your school currently own an internet domain name (eg: StFrancisRockville.org)?: If unsure, look at both the school's current email addresses and current web address. Do the email addresses end with the school's name (no mention of the current ISP or the diocese)? Is your web address simply the school's name (no mention of the current ISP or the diocese)? If you answered YES to either of these, then YES, your school currently has an internet domain name. If NO, you may want to contact the diocesan office of C.E.M. about buying an internet domain name.
Who will manage the domain name registration?: C.E.M. is continuously willing to manage domain name registration for schools and parishes. C.E.M. simply asks that the school or parish reimburse the diocese for the $12-15 annual fees.
Who will manage the DNS records?
: C.E.M. is continuously willing to manage DNS records for schools and parishes. The C.E.M. simply asks that the school or parish reimburse the diocese for any fees (currently none).
Who will host the school or parish web site?: C.E.M. will continue to manage the diocesan web server, which is currently shared with both school and parishes. The diocesan server is fully capable of hosting the school or parish web site via their unique domain name.