As you approach graduation or prepare to leave Ithaca College, it is important to understand the changes that will affect your Microsoft 365 account, including OneDrive. Approximately 30 days after your commencement date, your account will transition from a student license to an alumni license. This transition will impact your access as follows:
- Your Ithaca College email account will remain active for one year after graduation. You must opt in annually to maintain access.
- Access to files stored in your IC OneDrive will be discontinued.
- Your Microsoft 365 subscription provided through Ithaca College will no longer be available.
To avoid losing important data, back up your files and make alternative arrangements before the transition.
Impacted Applications and Services
Email and Calendar
After graduation, your Ithaca College email account (@ithaca.edu) will remain active for one year. To retain access beyond that period, you must opt in on an annual basis. Failure to opt in will result in the deactivation of your email account.
Beware of Phishing Attacks: The legitimate opt-in process will not ask for any information, require a login, involve Duo, or include text messages. Reminder emails are sent in April from noreply@ithaca.edu, and the annual opt-in deadline is July 1st.
More information is available in this companion article.
Microsoft Loop
If you are the only owner of a Microsoft Loop workspace, there is a risk of data loss should your account become inaccessible. To help preserve the workspace and its contents, it is recommended that you assign a second owner or to export data. See also: Data Export in Microsoft Loop
Microsoft OneDrive
Following graduation, you will no longer have access to files stored in your Ithaca College OneDrive account. To avoid data loss, it is recommended that you transfer your files before graduation. You may move your data to a personal Microsoft 365 account (free or paid), or to an alternative storage solution such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, an external hard drive, or a flash drive.
See also:
Microsoft OneNote
After graduation, access to content stored in your Ithaca College OneNote notebooks will be discontinued. To retain your notes, transfer the data to a personal OneNote notebook using either a free Microsoft 365 account or a paid Microsoft 365 Personal subscription. Ensure this transfer is completed before graduation to avoid losing access to your materials.
See also: OneNote: How to Transfer Data from One Notebook to Another
Microsoft Teams
Access to Microsoft Teams through your Ithaca College account will end after graduation. If you own any Teams, you must transfer ownership to another member prior to graduation. This ensures others' continued access and management of the Teams once your account is deactivated.
See more: Managing Members and Guests
Microsoft To Do
Microsoft To Do, which integrates with Outlook Tasks, will remain available as long as your Ithaca College email account is active. Since Ithaca College email access continues for one year post-graduation—renewable annually through opt-in—your use of Microsoft To Do is tied to the status of your Ithaca College email account.
Other Microsoft Applications
Your Microsoft 365 subscription provided by Ithaca College will expire upon graduation or departure from the institution. As a result, you will lose access to associated applications and services, including Excel, OneDrive, OneNote, PowerPoint, Shifts, Sway, Teams, Whiteboard, and Word.
To maintain access after your IC subscription ends, consider the following options:
- Free web access: Sign up for a personal Microsoft 365 account using a non-IC email address.
- Desktop applications: Purchase a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription for continued use on Windows or macOS devices.
Obtaining a free Microsoft 365 account
To maintain access to specific Microsoft 365 web applications and 5 GB of OneDrive storage after your Ithaca College subscription ends, register for a free Microsoft 365 account.
To create an account:
- Visit https://account.microsoft.com/account.
- Select Sign in, then choose Create one to register with a personal (non-Ithaca College) email address.
Before proceeding, transfer any necessary data from your Ithaca College account. After completing the data transfer, uninstall the Microsoft 365 applications associated with your Ithaca College subscription from your Windows or macOS device.
See also:
Purchasing a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription
If you require desktop versions of Microsoft 365 applications for Windows or macOS after your Ithaca College subscription ends, you must purchase a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription. To compare available plans and make a purchase, visit Microsoft 365 Plans. You will be prompted to sign in with your free Microsoft account to proceed.
- Ensure you transfer any necessary data to a personal Microsoft account before proceeding. Then, uninstall Microsoft 365 applications (your IC subscription) from your Windows or macOS device after completing the data transfer.
- After purchasing your Microsoft 365 Personal subscription and completing data transfer, install the new version of Microsoft 365 (microsoft.com).