Alumni Email: Transitioning Your Account

If you choose to sign up, your Microsoft 365 email account will remain the same; however, your alumni email address and username will change to NetID@alum.utk.edu. You will continue to receive emails sent to your vols.utk.edu address for one year after leaving the university.

Next Steps:

1. Decide if you want to have a UT alumni email account.  If not, skip to step 3 below.
2. Sign up for alum email. Visit the Alum Email Account Opt-in page and follow the steps on the screen.
   • When you sign up, we will make a few changes to your account, including:
     • Your email username will change to NetID@alum.utk.edu. You will need to update your mobile devices and clients with the new username. 
     • Notify anyone who communicates with you through your UT email account about your new email address. You can do this automatically through an Out of Office/Auto-reply message.
     • Change any private accounts that utilize your UT email address/account to log in or as a username to use the new email address (e.g., social media, banking, service providers).
   • Your NetID@alum.utk.edu email address will become your new reply-to address. When you send an email, this will be the new email address that recipients will see.   
3. Don’t Forget: Access to Additional Services Ends 1 Year After Leaving UT
   • You will no longer have access to UT Google services, such as Drive, YouTube, or Meet, one year after leaving UT. OIT recommends transitioning to a personal Google account if you used these services as a student. Check out the How-to Guides below for transferring your files. You will continue to sign in to your UT Google account with your NetID@vols.utk.edu as you transition to a personal account.

One year after leaving UT:

• All Alumni: Your UT Google account will be deleted.
• Alumni signed up for the new alum email service: Your NetID@vols.utk.edu UT email address will no longer be available. Email sent to these addresses will be returned to the sender.
• Alumni who have not signed up for the new alum email service: UT account will be disabled, and, soon after, deleted.

Alumni email will be a Microsoft-only offering. Alumni using Gmail who sign up for the new service will have an account created in Microsoft 365.

If you choose to sign up for the alumni service, you will receive a Microsoft account, and your new email address and username will be NetID@alum.utk.edu. You will continue to receive emails sent to your vols.utk.edu address for one year after leaving UT, and you will retain access to your UT Google account until then. 

Next Steps:

1. Decide if you want to have a UT alumni email account.  If not, skip to step 3 below.
2. Sign up for alum email. Visit the Alum Email Account Opt-in page and follow the steps on the screen. When you sign up, we will make a few changes to your account, including:
   • Email in your UT Gmail account will not be automatically moved to your Microsoft account. Moving data between Gmail and Outlook is not supported by the OIT HelpDesk or the Alumni-Retiree Hotline. We have a KB available online with instructions on moving data via the Thunderbird email client. Email: Setup UTK Microsoft 365 or Gmail Account in Thunderbird. The process for migrating data is not clean; therefore, proceed at your own risk.
   • New email will be delivered to your Microsoft account, and your Microsoft email username will be NetID@alum.utk.edu. Use this email address to check your email and set up the Outlook app.
   • Check your account online and add your Microsoft account to your mobile device using the Outlook app.
   • You can continue to access your UT Google account for 1 year after leaving UT.
     • Go to google.com and sign in with your NetID@vols.utk.edu email address.
     • You’ll be redirected to a Microsoft sign-in screen, use your NetID@alum.utk.edu email address at this prompt.
   • Notify anyone who communicates with you through your UT email account about your new email address.
   • Change any private accounts that utilize your UT email address/account to log in or as a username to use the new email address (e.g., social media, banking, service providers).
3. Don’t Forget: Access to Additional Services Ends One Year after Leaving UT
   • You will no longer have access to UT Google services, such as Drive, YouTube, or Meet. OIT recommends transitioning to a personal Google account if you used these services as a student. Check out the How-to Guides below for transferring your email, files, and contacts. You will continue to sign in to your UT Google account with your NetID@vols.utk.edu as you transition to a personal account.

One year after leaving UT, alumni accounts will be moved to the email-only option. On this day:

• All Alumni: Your UT Google account will be deleted.
• Alumni signed up for the new alum email service: Your NetID@vols.utk.edu UT email address will no longer be available. Email sent to these addresses will be returned to the sender.
• Alumni who have not signed up for the new alum email service: UT email account will be deleted.

If you do not sign up for the new alum email service, you will have access to your account for one year after leaving UT. On this day, your account will be disabled and, soon after, deleted. OIT recommends the following to help you transition to a personal account:

• Obtain a non-UT email account if you do not already have one. You can utilize one of several widely available email services, such as Outlook.com, Gmail, or iCloud.
• Notify anyone who communicates with you through your UT email account about your new email address. You can do this automatically through an Out of Office/Auto-reply message.
• Change any private accounts that utilize your UT email address/account to log in or as a username to use the new email address (e.g., social media, banking, service providers).
• Move or forward any emails you wish to keep from your UT email account to your personal email account. Check out the How-To Guides below. 
• Move personal files stored in your UT Google account elsewhere (e.g., on your local computer, an external hard drive, or personal non-UT cloud storage). Check out the How-To Guides below.
• If you are using your UT Google account for any other services, such as YouTube or Meet, we recommend that you start transitioning to a personal Google account. 

If you are no longer using your alumni account and wish to delete it, follow these steps:

1. Send a message to help@utk.edu from your UT Email account stating that you want to have the account deleted.
2. If you cannot access your UT Email account to send the request, reset the password (instructions below) and then send the email. Don’t forget that password resets take ~15 minutes to sync.