This article explains Ithaca College's interim email policy for retired staff and administrators, including what happens after retirement, the one-time email deletion process, and how to retain personal email messages.
Audience
- This interim email policy applies to staff and administrators who retired on or after January 15, 2026
- This policy does not apply to faculty and does not apply retroactively to employees who retired prior to January 15, 2026.
Contents
Interim Email Policy for Retirees
As part of a broader review of retiree email access, Ithaca College has implemented an interim policy to support privacy, security, and responsible stewardship of institutional information, while continuing to provide our valued retirees with a secure email to stay connected with the campus community and beyond.
Under this interim policy:
- Retired staff and administrators may continue to use their @ithaca.edu email address after retirement through Outlook on the web.
- Information Technology (IT) will create Personal-Inbox and Personal-Sent folders within the retiree's mailbox and notify the retiree once they are available.
- Retirees have a 30-days from the date of notification to review their mailbox and move any personal email messages they wish to retain into these folders or their subfolders.
- A one-time email deletion process will occur, and institutional and work-related messages will no longer be accessible in the mailbox.
- Institutional email records are retained by the College in accordance with records management and data governance practices.
The One-Time Email Deletion Process
As part of the interim retiree email policy, Ithaca College performs a one-time deletion of emails outside of the Personal-Inbox and Personal-Sent folders.
During this process:
- IT creates a Personal-Inbox and Personal-Sent folder and notifies the retiree via email when these are created.
- Retirees have 30-days from that notification email to move personal messages they wish to retain.
- After the 30-day period, institutional work-related email messages will no longer be accessible from your mailbox. Personal messages stored in Personal-Inbox, Personal-Sent, and their subfolders remain accessible.
What To Do During The 30-Day Transition Period
After receiving notification that your Personal-Inbox and Personal-Sent folders have been created, typically on or shortly following your retirement date, you have a 30-day transition period to complete the following:
- Sign in to your Ithaca College email account using Outlook on the web.
- Locate the Personal-Inbox and Personal-Sent folders that have been created for you by Information Technology (IT).
- Important: Only messages stored within Personal-Inbox, Personal-Sent, or their subfolders will remain accessible after the transition process is complete.
- Move any personal email messages you wish to retain from Inbox, Sent, Drafts, Archive, or other folders into Personal-Inbox, Personal-Sent, or subfolders you create within those folders.
- Tip: Use Outlook search tools to locate personal messages by searching for Sender, Subject, or Keywords.
After The One-Time Email Deletion Process
- New email messages sent or received after the one-time email deletion process will continue to appear in your Inbox and Sent Items folders and can be managed normally moving forward.
- You may move, organize, or delete messages within your mailbox as you normally would.
- Email storage quota is reduced from 100 GB to 50 GB.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Does this policy apply to faculty?
No. This interim policy applies only to staff and administrators.
- Does this policy apply to employees who already retired?
This policy applies to staff and administrators retiring on or after January 15, 2026. It does not apply retroactively to individuals who retired before that date.
- When will my Personal-Inbox and Personal-Sent folders be available?
Information Technology (IT) will create the Personal-Inbox and Personal-Sent folders and notify you by email once they are created. You will have 30 days from the date of that notification to move any personal email messages you wish to retain before the one-time mailbox transition process occurs.
- Can I create additional folders?
Yes, you can create additional subfolders within Personal-Inbox and Personal-Sent to organize personal messages. Any messages you wish to retain should be stored within these folders or their subfolders.
- What if I already have personal folders scattered throughout my mailbox?
After the transition process, institutional and work-related messages stored outside Personal-Inbox, Personal-Sent, and their subfolders will no longer be accessible. If there are personal messages you wish to retain, move the folders or messages into Personal-Inbox, Personal-Sent, or their subfolders during the 30-day transition period.
- What if I do not move my personal messages within the 30-day transition period?
Personal messages that are not moved into the Personal-Inbox, Personal-Sent, or their subfolders within 30 days of notification will no longer be accessible from your mailbox, though institutional email records are retained by the College in accordance with records management and data governance practices.
- Can I move or save personal email outside of Outlook?
Yes. You may export or save personal email messages. The IT Service Desk can help with options for exporting individual or bulk messages.
- Can I continue using my Ithaca College email for personal correspondence?
Yes. After the one-time transition process is complete, you may continue sending and receiving email using your Ithaca College account. New messages will continue to appear in your Inbox and Sent Items folders, while older personal messages retained during the transition process remain available in Personal-Inbox, Personal-Sent.
- Can I move messages after the one-time deletion process?
Yes. After the transition process is complete, you may continue organizing, moving, and deleting messages in your mailbox as you normally would.
- Can I continue accessing my email on my phone or other devices?
Retirees can continue to access their Ithaca College email through Outlook on the web. Use of the Outlook desktop and mobile apps may require a personal Microsoft 365 subscription.
- Will my email account be shut off at some point?
This is an interim policy while a long-term retiree email policy is developed. If additional changes are made, affected individuals will be notified in advance.
Additional Resources
Need help or have questions?
- The IT Service Desk can assist with locating your personal folders, organizing subfolders, searching for messages, or moving emails.
- Human Resources can help with retirement-related guidance or connect you with additional support.
- Learn more about which Ithaca College applications and services remain available after retirement here: Article - Retiree Access to Applications
We appreciate your contributions to Ithaca College and are here to support you during this transition.