Alumni Email Accounts

UVA Alumni Google (Gmail) Accounts 

On July 1, 2026, the University of Virginia will retire Google accounts for alumni and former students. That means that account owners must download or transfer all emails and files from UVA Google accounts (including Gmail and Drive) that they wish to retain.  

If your email address ends in @alumni.virginia.edu, you are in the right place. If your Google account is associated with an email address that ends in @virginia.edu, please visit UVA Information Technology Services for more information. 

Steps to complete immediately:

  1. Log in to your UVA Alumni email.  
    Trouble logging in? Please submit a support request to our team by emailing alumniemail@engagementuva.zendesk.com. Please allow 3 business days for a response to your support ticket. 
     
  2. Complete the download or transfer of your email and files. (Recommended deadline is June 24)
    A how-to guide for downloading and transferring your email and files is below. Due to the time it can take to transfer your account, we recommend not waiting until the last minute. 
     
  3. Review your files.  
    After downloading or transferring your content, carefully review your files to ensure they were downloaded or transferred successfully.

Current Timeline:

  • June 24: Last recommended day to begin account data transfers. Google recommends allowing a week for the transfer to complete.
  • June 24 (week of): Dual-delivery goes live. Opted-in accounts will receive emails at both their @alumni.virginia.edu email and their personal forwarding address. You will receive an email with final details for the ongoing management of your email address forwarding.
  • June 30: Last day to access your @alumni.virginia.edu Google account.
  • July 1: Google accounts are deactivated. Email forwarding is live
  • July 1: Self-service email forwarding management portal goes live. More details can be found here: https://engagement.virginia.edu/alumni-email/forwarding-guide.

Email Forwarding

The new email forwarding service allows you to maintain your alumni.virginia.edu email address after our current platform is sunset this summer. This service works by automatically redirecting any message sent to your @alumni.virginia.edu address to a personal inbox of your choice, such as Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud. The primary benefit is the ability to keep your established email identity. It ensures a seamless transition for your contacts.

Self-Service Management Once launched, you will have access to a secure, self-service portal that puts you in control of your forwarding preferences. Through this portal, you can easily manage your account on your own, including the ability to:

  • Update or change your destination personal email address at any time.

  • Temporarily pause your email forwarding.

  • Restart your routing service whenever you choose.

Enrollment & Timeline

The opt-in window for the new email forwarding service closed on June 10. Our team is currently processing all submissions. For those who opted in, you will receive an email prior to July 1 with details on the new self-service forwarding portal launch.

Important Note: Email forwarding does not begin immediately after opting-in, the service will launch shortly before the July 1 account sunset. You will receive an email when you can log into the portal and begin managing your email address.

Download and Transfer Guide

There are several services that will help you download or transfer your email and files. 

Transferring Emails & Drive Files

(Preferred) Google Takeout Transfer Tool (Free)

This transfer tool that allows you to perform a direct transfer from UVA Google to a personally owned Google account for specific services like Gmail and Drive. This tool transfers data from one Google account to another, allowing for a smoother transition. 

Step-by-Step Instructions

  • Sign In: Log into the UVA Google account that holds the data you want to move.
  • Go to Transfer Page: Open your browser and go to takeout.google.com/transfer.
  • Enter Destination: Type the email address of the personal Google Account where you want the data to go.
  • Send Code: Click Send code, then check the inbox of your destination account for a confirmation email from Google.
  • Verify: Open the email and select Get confirmation code; a new tab with the code will appear.
  • Enter Code: Go back to the Takeout Transfer page, enter the code, and click Verify.
  • Select Content: Choose which products (Drive, Photos, Contacts, etc.) you want to copy. Note: You cannot select specific folders to transfer; the tool will transfer everything within that service. However, it will preserve your existing folder/label structure in your destination account.
  • Start Transfer: Click Start transfer. The process begins and can take a few hours to a week, with a confirmation email sent when done. 
Google Takeout (Free)

This archiving tool allows you to download your data to your computer or hard drive in Zip files. This tool is not recommended because the exported files are zip files that may be difficult to unpack or organize.  

Step-by-Step Instructions

  • Sign In: Go to takeout.google.com and sign in to your Google Account if prompted.
  • Deselect All: Click "Deselect all" at the top to start fresh, then scroll down and select only the services you want to export (e.g., YouTube, Calendar, Photos).
  • Customize Data (Optional): For some services, click "All data included" to deselect specific labels or data types (like certain YouTube watch history).
  • Next Step: Scroll to the bottom and click "Next step".
  • Choose Delivery:
    • Method: Select "Send download link via email," "Add to Drive," or other cloud services (Dropbox, OneDrive).
    • Frequency: Choose "Export once" or schedule recurring exports.
    • File Type & Size: Select .zip or .tgz and choose a file size (e.g., 2GB, 4GB) for large archives.
  • Create Export: Click "Create export" to start building your archive.
  • Download: Wait for Google to email you a download link (check spam!), then click the link in the email to download your file(s). 
VaultMe (Paid)

VaultMe migrates emails with folders, attachments, dates, and labelling structure intact. Drive files retain folder structure.

 

Transferring Google Calendar

Calendar Export

The Google "Transfer your content" tool only moves Drive, Photos, and Gmail. To move your calendar history, you will need to manually export it from your alumni account and import it into your personal account.

Follow these steps carefully:

  1. Export from your Alumni Account:
    1. Log into Google Calendar using your @alumni.virginia.edu account.
    2. Click the Gear icon in the top right corner and select Settings.
    3. In the left-hand menu, click Import & export.
    4. Under the "Export" section, click the Export button.
    5. A .zip folder containing your calendar data will download to your computer.
       
  2. Extract the File: Do not skip this step as importing a .zip file will cause an error.
    1. Locate the downloaded .zip folder on your computer (usually in your Downloads folder).
    2. Open or extract the .zip folder.
    3. Inside, you will find a file ending in .ics.
    4. Drag that .ics file directly onto your Desktop. You must use this extracted file for the next step.
       
  3. Import to your Personal Account:
    1. Log out of your alumni account and log into Google Calendar using your personal Google account.
    2. Click the Gear icon and select Settings.
    3. In the left-hand menu, click Import & export.
    4. Under the "Import" section, click Select file from your computer and choose the .ics file you placed on your Desktop.
    5. Choose which calendar you want to add these events to, and click Import.
Important Considerations for Google Takeout

Preparing for Transfer
When you initiate a transfer, Google takes a snapshot of your inbox at that exact moment. Because the process can take several days to complete, any new emails that arrive while the transfer is running in the background are not included in the migration. At the time you initiate the transfer, we recommend setting up an auto-forward in your alumni account so new messages make it to your personal destination email.

We do not recommend doing a second transfer as that will copy your entire account again and result in many duplicate messages and files.

Collaboration
Google Takeout does not preserve file sharing or collaboration settings. After copying your files to your destination Google account, you will need to reshare any files or folders with collaborators.

Transferring Ownership
Due to Google Workspace limitations, file ownership cannot be transferred directly to another account. However, Google Takeout Transfer allows you to copy your files to a different Google account. 

Common Error Messages
If you attempt to directly transfer ownership, the error will read:

 "Sorry, cannot transfer ownership to <personal@gmail.com>. Ownership can only be transferred to another user in the same organization as the current owner."

If you are signed into multiple Google Accounts, you may see:

“Transfer Your Content is only available to authorized G Suite for Education accounts. Please contact your administrator, or sign in with another Google Account.”

Solution: Log out of all Google accounts, then sign back in using only your UVA Google account before attempting the transfer again.

How Google Drive Transfers Work

When you use the "Transfer your content" tool to move your Google Drive files, the system creates a copy of your files in your personal account. Your original files will remain in your alumni account until the sunset date.

Here is exactly what you can expect during the Drive transfer process:

  • Your organization is preserved: The tool will not scatter files randomly across your personal Drive. It creates a new master folder (usually named after your alumni email address) and places all of your transferred folders and files neatly inside.

  • Only files you own will transfer: The tool only copies files that you created or uploaded.

  • "Shared with me" files are left behind: Files that others have shared with you (files located in the "Shared with me" tab) will not transfer. If you want to keep a file that was shared with you, you must right-click it, select "Make a copy," and place that copy into your "My Drive" before initiating the transfer.

  • Sharing permissions are reset: The transfer process breaks all existing sharing links. The newly copied files in your personal account will be private to you. If you previously shared a document with colleagues or family, you will need to re-share the new copy from your personal account.

  • Watch your storage limits: A standard, free personal Google account has 15GB of total storage. Because Google Drive files can be large, ensure your personal account has enough free space to receive the incoming files before you begin.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we need to make this change?

This decision was not made lightly. When UVA first began offering Google accounts in 2007, cyberattacks were far less prevalent and Google services were free for higher education institutions. Today, the landscape has shifted: 

  • Cybersecurity threats have grown in both frequency and sophistication, with alumni Google accounts increasingly targeted.
  • Technology vendors, including Google, have shifted from free offerings to increasingly expensive cost-based models. 
I am both an alumnus and a faculty or staff member. Will this change impact my UVA Google account?

Yes. All @alumni.virginia.edu email addresses and associated Google accounts will cease to function as of July 1, 2026. 

If you also have an @virginia.edu email address, there are several considerations that will determine the path forward for your account. Please visit the ITS Information Technology Services project page to learn more. 

How does this change align with other universities?

Limiting access to University-related email and storage accounts to the duration of active affiliation is now the standard in higher education, this change brings UVA into similar practices with peer institutions such as:

  • Virginia Tech – Currently undergoing this change.
  • Vanderbilt
  • Duke University
  • Penn State
  • University of South Florida
  • University of Minnesota
  • Princeton University
  • … and many, many more.

Practices at other institutions are widely published and available via an internet search. 

I have forgotten the login credentials for my UVA Google account. How do I regain access?

For help logging in to your @alumni.virginia.edu account, please submit a support request to our team by emailing alumniemail@engagementuva.zendesk.com. Please allow 3 business days for a response to your support ticket. 

For help logging into your @virginia.edu, please visit UVA ITS Password Help & ID Lookup. 

Support and Feedback

Feedback about this change can be shared via this survey form. Please note that we appreciate your feedback but will be unable to respond to each submission.

For questions about migrating your email content or accessing your account, please review the Download and Transition Guide above. If you need additional support, contact our External Relations Help Desk by emailing alumniemail@engagementuva.zendesk.com. Please allow 3 business days for a response to your support ticket.