Beginning last year with the graduating class of spring 2023, graduates no longer have indefinite access to their netid@wisc.edu email account, calendar, contacts and tasks. Those who graduate or leave UW will lose access to their email account and other Microsoft 365 data 9 months after leaving the university.
This change also applies to former students who left or graduated before spring 2023. Those individuals no longer have access to their UW–Madison email, calendar, contacts, and task management tools.
While this change is needed, our alumni and former students remain important to our university community. We’re here to assist with this process and to answer any questions you have. Please review the information below and contact the Help Desk if you need assistance.
Questions? Contact the Help Desk
When will my access end?
- After graduating or departing, you will have access to your email and Microsoft 365 (M365) account for 9 months.
- Beginning 90 days before your account is deactivated, periodic emails will be sent to your netid@wisc.edu email, notifying you of the specific date you will lose access.
- Important: Deactivation timelines are subject to change at any time. Please closely monitor your netid@wisc.edu email for notifications and updates about account deactivation.
What should I do?
- Monitor your wisc.edu email and watch for emails notifying you of what date you will lose access to your email and M365.
- If you have files, emails or other information you want to keep, migrate your email, files, etc., out of M365 before the account deactivation date.
Important things to note
- If you have email forwarding set up for your UW–Madison email, forwarding will stop when your account is deactivated.
- If a special case requires you to keep access to your account, contact the Help Desk to discuss options.
- If you are staying on as faculty or staff, or continuing as a graduate or professional student, nothing will change. You will continue to have access to your email and M365 account.
Why am I losing access to email?
Microsoft recently made changes to their education license. In response, the university adjusted service eligibility for former students. Former students are not required to use Duo, resulting in their accounts posing a security risk to university data. These accounts also consume a significant amount of storage. If indefinite access continued, the university would face increasing annual costs for storage that is largely abandoned.
We strive to offer alumni and former students access to services when possible, while also responding to rising costs and licensing changes. Productivity tools like Microsoft 365 continue to be a changing landscape. Because of the nature of cloud-hosted IT services, licensing and service eligibility may be re-evaluated at any time.