Leaving KU?
Learn what happens to your email and other accounts after you leave the university, and the steps you should take before you go.
Before You Leave KU
Before you leave KU, it is important that you prepare and take steps to protect and save any data you may want in the future. Information on this page explains how long students, faculty, staff and retirees retain access to email and other campus systems.
KU Email
With the exception of official KU retirees, faculty, staff and students will lose access to their KU email accounts and the data will be deleted. We encourage all staff and faculty to begin “detangling” their personal and work/school data and accounts now, and keep them separate in the future. Start by moving personal emails and stored files from KU systems to personal accounts with external providers. If you use your KU email address to log into personal online services, we recommend transitioning those subscriptions or services to your personal email address.
OneDrive for Business and Personal File Storage
You will need to transfer any personal files stored in OneDrive for Business or personal file storage (generally, your V: drive) before you lose access to those campus systems. You will lose access to OneDrive for Business immediately following your last day at KU.
Microsoft Office
Our Microsoft Office licensing agreement supports the academic and research mission of the university by providing access to Office 365 for active students, faculty and staff.
You will lose access to Microsoft Office 365 and OneDrive immediately following your last day at KU. We recommend that you download or move personal files on OneDrive to another storage option at least 30 days before you leave the university.
KU's Microsoft licensing agreement does not give us the ability to continue free or discounted access to Microsoft Office for students, faculty or staff — including for retirees — after they leave the university. To continue using Microsoft Office, you can purchase Office 365 or Office Suite directly from Microsoft.
Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Express
Eligible faculty and staff and some students have access to Adobe Creative Cloud. Eligible students have access to Adobe Express by request.
You will lose access to Microsoft Office 365 and OneDrive immediately following your last day at KU. We recommend that you download or move personal files on OneDrive to another storage option at least 30 days before you leave the university.
Saving Your KU Email and Data
KU IT Knowledge Base articles and support information from Microsoft provide helpful instructions for saving and transferring your data.
Students
Students lose access to email and most other technology systems and services 210 days after they leave the university. However, accounts may be disabled immediately at the discretion of the university. In most cases, email notices are sent 60 days, 30 days and 7 days before accounts are deleted.
You are responsible for transferring email and data to your own permanent storage prior to deletion. All emails and stored data from your KU email account and KU online services will be disposed of in accordance with KU's Record Retention Schedule.
| System | Access Period |
|---|---|
| 210 days | |
| OneDrive for Business file storage | 0 days |
| Microsoft Office 365 | 0 days |
| Enroll & Pay | Never lose access |
| Canvas | 210 days (data retained five years) |
| Adobe Express/Adobe Creative Cloud | 0 days |
Faculty
Faculty lose access to email and most other technology systems and services 210 days after they leave the university (exception: see Retiree info below). However, accounts may be disabled immediately at the discretion of the university. In most cases, email notices are sent 60 days, 30 days and 7 days before accounts are deleted.
All data associated with your email account and data stored in your individual KU OneDrive for Business account and on your personal file storage (typically V: drive) will be deleted 30 days after your KU account is deactivated. Data you have stored in shared storage accounts, such as group file storage (typically G: drive), Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, will not be deleted.
You are responsible for transferring email and data to your own permanent storage prior to deletion. All emails and stored data from your KU email account and KU online services will be disposed of in accordance with KU's Record Retention Schedule.
| System | Access Period |
|---|---|
| 210 days | |
| OneDrive for Business file storage | 0 days |
| Microsoft Office 365 | 0 days |
| Canvas | 210 days (data retained five years) |
| HR/Pay | Never lose access |
| Enroll & Pay | Never lose access |
| Adobe Creative Cloud | 0 days |
Faculty Adjunct and Other Renewable Appointments
Automatic notices are triggered 14 days after an employee’s status changes in KU systems. The purpose is to provide more advance notice so people who are truly leaving the university can transition their email and other data. The downside is that employees who have renewable appointments may receive the automatic emails because of gaps longer than 14 days between the official end date of the previous appointment and the start date of the new appointment (usually by semester).
If you have a renewable appointment, you may receive one or more automated messages that your accounts are set to expire. When your new employment offer is confirmed in the system, it will “reset the clock” on your accounts. In the meantime, you will still have access until the date indicated on the automated emails.
If you receive a 30-day notice regarding your accounts but your KU employment is continuing, contact the IT Customer Service Center at itcsc@ku.edu or 785-864-8080 and we’ll confirm your status is correct.
Staff
Staff lose access to email and most other technology systems and services on their last day of employment with the university (exception: see Retiree info below). If requested and approved, an extension of access to KU e-mail will be granted one time for 72 hours from the date and time the request is made.
All data associated with your email account and data stored in your individual KU OneDrive for Business account and on your personal file storage (typically V: drive) will be deleted 30 days after your KU account is deactivated. Data you have stored in shared storage accounts, such as group file storage (typically G: drive), Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, will not be deleted.
You are responsible for transferring email and data to your own permanent storage prior to deletion. All emails and stored data from your KU email account and KU online services will be disposed of in accordance with KU's Record Retention Schedule.
| System | Access Period |
|---|---|
| 0 days | |
| OneDrive for Business file storage | 0 days |
| Microsoft Office 365 | 0 days |
| Canvas | 0 days (data retained five years) |
| HR/Pay | Never lose access |
| Enroll & Pay | Never lose access |
| Adobe Creative Cloud | 0 days |
Staff Renewable Appointments
Automatic notices are triggered 14 days after an employee’s status changes in KU systems. The purpose is to provide more advance notice so people who are truly leaving the university can transition their email and other data. The downside is that employees who have renewable appointments may receive the automatic emails because of gaps longer than 14 days between the official end date of the previous appointment and the start date of the new appointment (usually by semester).
If you have a renewable appointment, you may receive one or more automated messages that your accounts are set to expire. When your new employment offer is confirmed in the system, it will “reset the clock” on your accounts. In the meantime, you will still have access until the date indicated on the automated emails.
If you receive a 30-day notice regarding your accounts but your KU employment is continuing, contact the IT Customer Service Center at itcsc@ku.edu or 785-864-8080 and we’ll confirm your status is correct.
KU Retirees
KU faculty and staff members who retire from KU by following the appropriate unit and university processes will continue to keep their KU email address. KU Retirees will lose access to other systems on the schedule noted below for their appropriate appointment category (generally, 210 days for faculty and immediately for staff). Faculty and staff who leave the university without completing the formal retirement process and paperwork will lose access to their email account and most technology services after they leave the university.
All data stored in your individual KU OneDrive for Business account and on your personal file storage (typically V: drive) will be deleted 30 days after your KU account is deactivated. Data you have stored in shared storage accounts, such as group file storage (typically G: drive), Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, will not be deleted.
You are responsible for transferring email and data to your own permanent storage prior to deletion. All emails and stored data from your KU email account and KU online services will be disposed of in accordance with KU's Record Retention Schedule.
| System | Access Period |
|---|---|
| Never lose access | |
| OneDrive for Business file storage | 0 days |
| Microsoft Office 365 | 0 days |
| Canvas | Faculty retirees: 210 days Staff retirees: 0 days (data retained five years) |
| HR/Pay | Never lose access |
| Enroll & Pay | Never lose access |
| Adobe Creative Cloud | 0 days |