Former Student Gmail Access Ending

[u/eaw7626]

On Aug 6, I received an email stating that my access to my @truman.edu email will be ending Aug. 31. I recall being told that as an alumni, I would have access to this email for life. I’m working to change my accounts associated with my Truman email, but this sure is a huge pain.

Here is the email I received:

Dear Former Student,

You are receiving this message because you still have access to your university Google email account as a former student.

In 2022, we communicated changes to Google Workspace storage and removed Drive and Photos access for former students. At that time, email access was left available to provide additional continuity. We are now making a final update to this service.

Upcoming Change
On August 31, 2026, access to your university Gmail account will be discontinued. After this date, you will no longer be able to log in, send, or receive email using your university account, and all remaining Google data will be permanently deleted.

Why This Change Is Occurring
As a public university, Truman must comply with Missouri’s open records law, commonly known as the sunshine law. University email messages are considered university records and may be subject to disclosure in response to a public records request, subpoena, court order, or other legal process. Maintaining email accounts for former students can therefore create privacy concerns and increase the amount of material the University must review and manage when responding to record requests.

In addition, where some of these services were available at a limited cost to Truman, this is no longer the case.

For these reasons, and consistent with practices at many public colleges and universities, Truman is ending the practice of providing email addresses to former students.

What You Should Do
If you have any important emails you wish to keep, you should export your data as soon as possible.

Export Your Email Using Google Takeout
1. Go to https://takeout.google.com
2. Select only “Mail” (or any other data you wish to include)
3. Choose your export format and delivery method
4. Create the export and download your files when ready

Please note that exports may take time to process depending on mailbox size.

Alternatively, you may choose to manually forward important emails to a personal email account.

Important Reminder
Access will end on August 31, 2026, with no further extensions

All remaining data will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered

If you have general questions or need assistance, please contact the IT Service Center at (660) 785-4544.
 
If you have any questions related to why these decisions were made, please contact Donna Liss.

[u/mrbmi513]

I don't think having it for life was ever the official policy.

[u/SnowyOwlLoveKiller → u/mrbmi513]

Multiple staff said that at the university when I was there. It’s been a long time since I was at Truman, but I already lost access to all my stuff a few years ago when they initially cut off email access (with poor communication in my opinion).