Your access to University technology doesn't last forever. Whether you're graduating, resigning, retiring, or ending a contract, your accounts and services — including email and OneDrive — change or close on a set schedule. This article covers what happens, when, and what to do beforehand so you don't lose files, miss important messages, or get locked out of accounts tied to your university email. See our Account Expiration Policy knowledge base article for more detailed information.
| Service |
Students |
Faculty/Staff |
Emeritus |
Retiree |
| University Email |
Students who have completed courses: Access is revoked after three inactive enrollment periods (including summer).
Students who have not completed a course: Access is revoked during the semester they are admitted and have not enrolled.
OU graduates are encouraged to visit the Email Services section to learn more about available post-graduation email services. |
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment.
Departments may request mailbox delegate access - see Non-Standard Account Action Requests - to review/retain email contents for university business purposes. |
OU IT recognizes the prestige and honor granted to Professor Emeritus and works with the Emeritus, department, and Provost Office to ensure seamless and appropriate access to the university account for the holder. Please visit our Emeritus Account Access knowledge base article to learn more. |
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment.
Departments may request mailbox delegate access - see Non-Standard Account Action Requests - to review/retain email contents for university business purposes.
OU Retirees are encouraged to visit the Email Services section below to learn more about availability as part of their retirement.
|
| OneDrive |
Students who have completed courses: Access is revoked after three inactive enrollment periods (including summer).
Students who have not completed a course: Access is revoked during the semester they are admitted and have not enrolled.
|
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment.
Departments may request OneDrive access - see Non-Standard Account Action Requests - to review/retain OneDrive access for university business purposes. |
OU IT recognizes the prestige and honor granted to Professor Emeritus and works with the Emeritus, department, and Provost Office to ensure seamless and appropriate access to the university account for the holder. Please visit our Emeritus Account Access knowledge base article to learn more. |
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment.
Departments may request OneDrive access - see Non-Standard Account Action Requests - to review/retain OneDrive access for university business purposes. |
| Microsoft 365 apps (e.g. Outlook, Excel, Word) |
Students who have completed courses: Access is revoked after three inactive enrollment periods (including summer).
Students who have not completed a course: Access is revoked during the semester they are admitted and have not enrolled. |
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment. |
Microsoft desktop application access (e.g. Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word) is downgraded to web-based access only, approximately 30 days after the last day of employment.
Emeritus are encouraged to review the Microsoft License Transition knowledge base article to learn more about how to maintain Microsoft desktop application access. |
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment. |
| SharePoint |
Students who have completed courses: Access is revoked after three inactive enrollment periods (including summer).
Students who have not completed a course: Access is revoked during the semester they are admitted and have not enrolled.
Data directly stored in SharePoint will remain active for authorized individuals until deletion. |
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment.
Data directly stored in SharePoint will remain active for authorized individuals until deletion.
|
OU IT recognizes the prestige and honor granted to Professor Emeritus and works with the Emeritus, department, and Provost Office to ensure seamless and appropriate access to the university account for the holder. Please visit our Emeritus Account Access knowledge base article to learn more. |
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment.
Data directly stored in SharePoint will remain active for authorized individuals until deletion. |
Note: OU account reminders are sent 30, 15, 5, and 1 day before deletion/revocation. Don't rely on catching them. Act early.
Quick-Reference Timeline - OU Health Campus
| Service |
Students |
Faculty/Staff |
Emeritus |
Retiree |
| University Email |
Graduates: Access is revoked 30 days after graduation.
Students who are no longer active or have withdrawn: Access is revoked immediately.
OU Health Campus graduates are encouraged to visit the Email Services section to learn more about available post-graduation email services. |
Access is revoked the last day of employment.
Departments may request mailbox delegate access - see Non-Standard Account Action Requests - to review/retain email contents for university business purposes. |
OU IT recognizes the prestige and honor granted to Professor Emeritus and works with the Emeritus, department, and Provost Office to ensure seamless and appropriate access to the university account for the holder. Please visit our Emeritus Account Access knowledge base article to learn more. |
Departments may request mailbox delegate access - see Non-Standard Account Action Requests - to review/retain email contents for university business purposes.
OU Health Campus Retirees are encouraged to visit the Email Services section below to learn more about availability as part of their retirement.
|
| OneDrive |
Graduates: Access is revoked 30 days after graduation.
Students who are no longer active or have withdrawn: Access is revoked immediately. |
Access is revoked the last day of employment.
Departments may request OneDrive access - see Non-Standard Account Action Requests - to review/retain OneDrive access for university business purposes. |
OU IT recognizes the prestige and honor granted to Professor Emeritus and works with the Emeritus, department, and Provost Office to ensure seamless and appropriate access to the university account for the holder. Please visit our Emeritus Account Access knowledge base article to learn more. |
Access is revoked the last day of employment.
Departments may request OneDrive access - see Non-Standard Account Action Requests - to review/retain OneDrive access for university business purposes. |
| Microsoft 365 apps (e.g. Outlook, Excel, Word) |
Graduates: Access is revoked 30 days after graduation.
Students who are no longer active or have withdrawn: Access is revoked immediately. |
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment. |
Microsoft desktop application access (e.g. Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, Word) is downgraded to web-based access only, approximately 30 days after the last day of employment.
Emeritus are encouraged to review the Microsoft License Transition knowledge base article to learn more about how to maintain Microsoft desktop application access. |
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment. |
| SharePoint |
Graduates: Access is revoked 30 days after graduation.
Students who are no longer active or have withdrawn: Access is revoked immediately.
Data directly stored in SharePoint will remain active for authorized individuals until deletion. |
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment.
Data directly stored in SharePoint will remain active for authorized individuals until deletion.
|
OU IT recognizes the prestige and honor granted to Professor Emeritus and works with the Emeritus, department, and Provost Office to ensure seamless and appropriate access to the university account for the holder. Please visit our Emeritus Account Access knowledge base article to learn more. |
Access is revoked approximately 30 days after the last day of employment.
Data directly stored in SharePoint will remain active for authorized individuals until deletion. |
Note: OU Health Campus graduate account reminder is sent 30 days before deletion/revocation. Don't rely on catching them. Act early.
Step-by-Step: Before You Lose Access
1. Update your contact info on external accounts
Any account tied to your university email — banking, LinkedIn, job applications, professional licenses, streaming services, two-factor authentication — should be updated to a personal email address you'll keep long-term. University email forwarding is not guaranteed to work with every external service, and once the account is deleted, password resets sent to it will fail.
Action: Make a list of every external account using your university email and update each one.
2. Back up your OneDrive files
Do not wait until the deadline. Two reliable options:
-
Sync and copy locally: Install the OneDrive desktop app, sync your university OneDrive, then drag files to a personal drive, external hard drive, or a personal cloud account (personal OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox).
-
Direct download: Log into OneDrive in a browser, select all files/folders, and download as a zip.
If you're a researcher (student, faculty, or staff): Move any research data into a shared OneDrive or SharePoint folder owned by your department, PI, or lab before you lose access. This isn't just convenience — funding agencies, IRB requirements, and collaborators may have data retention obligations, and losing this data can jeopardize ongoing grants or publications.
3. Export your email, contacts, and calendar
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Export mail as a .pst file (Outlook desktop) or use your institution's built-in export tool if available.
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Export contacts as a .csv file.
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Export or screenshot recurring calendar events you'll need going forward.
4. Forward or archive important threads
Search your inbox for anything tied to your professional identity or role — offer letters, recommendation letters, performance reviews, grant correspondence, transcripts, financial/payroll records — and save copies outside the university system, consistent with your institution's records-retention policy.
5. Check SharePoint and shared drives
If you own or contributed to shared SharePoint sites or Teams, note that your personal access ends, but content generally remains visible to other members. Download anything you specifically need a personal copy of, and transfer ownership of any sites, Teams, or shared mailboxes you administer to a colleague before you go.
6. Uninstall or transition licensed software
Software licensed through your university account (e.g. EndNote, ExamSoft, Qualtrics, Zoom Pro, statistical packages) will stop working. If you rely on any of these ongoing, look into personal or employer-provided licenses ahead of time.
7. Set an out-of-office
While your account is still active, set an auto-reply directing senders to your personal email or to a colleague who can assist after your departure.
8. Faculty and staff: hand off institutional responsibilities
If you manage listservs, shared calendars, department SharePoint sites, or systems access for others, coordinate a handoff with your department before your last day — these don't transfer automatically.
- Stop using your university email as your primary contact as your departure date approaches — for job applications, professional licensing, references, and networking.
- Don't store sensitive personal documents (SSNs, medical records, financial info) in university-provided storage; it's intended for university business.
- Use a password manager to update saved logins that reference your university email as the recovery address.
- Check two-factor authentication (2FA) settings on any accounts using your university email or a university-managed device/phone number.
- Retirees and long-term affiliates: don't assume "emeritus" or "alumni" status means unlimited access — confirm what's retained versus what requires reapplication.
Can I keep my university email after I leave? Only Emeritus are entitled to keep their university email and access after leaving the institution. Alumni and Retirees are encouraged to visit the Email Services section below to learn more about email service availability. Please note: OU IT does not transfer or move email from @OU.EDU to @ALUMNI.OU.EDU.
What if I'm changing roles? You'll continue to have access to services, based on your new role.
What if I continue to be part of a research project or working with a faculty/department? University policy requires an active employment record with OU Human Resources. Access will be revoked - based on the above timelines. Please work with your department to be hired into the appropriate position to ensure continued access without deletion of files.
I missed the deadline and lost access - can you recover my files? Please work with Open Records and submit an Open Public Records Request. The team will work with you to determine what information is available to be shared with you.