Alumni Google Accounts to Be Removed
This is going to be a long post, and regrettably, not a popular one. I am here to inform you Clemson has made the tough decision to eliminate alumni (and former employee) Google accounts. There are several reasons we made this decision, but the two biggest are:
1. **The new costs for Google**. As some of you may have seen or heard from other schools, Google has changed their pricing structure and done away with unlimited storage. Google is now charging for user licenses and storage space is primarily based on the number of licenses purchased. Clemson is currently using over 1.7 petabytes of storage in Google Workspace and based on the licenses we purchased, we will be limited to ~800 terabytes in July of next year.
2. **Email security and Clemson’s new email policy**. Over the past year we have seen a drastic increase in the number of phishing attempts and scams targeted at our students which is an even bigger concern than the new Google fees. We are taking several steps to improve our email security posture and proactively address these threats. One of those steps was to implement a new [email policy](https://clemsonpub.cfmnetwork.com/B.aspx?BookId=11100&PageId=456767) which also outlines the expiration of email privileges.
A. All employees will automatically have all email privileges revoked upon separation, and
B. Students who leave the University in good standing will have their email extended for a maximum of one year.
We realize this is a big change, especially for those of you who graduated years ago and have been using your g.clemson.edu account for many years. Therefore, we are trying to give you as much warning as possible to start transitioning your data and logins to other accounts.
**Timeline**
Starting tomorrow, June 14, 2023, we will send the first of many monthly warnings to ensure people are aware of the impending changes, ultimately resulting in the deletion of your account. Please see the ‘Actions to Take’ section below to start preparing as soon as possible.
On February 5th, 2024, we will implement a quota of 0GB on your account as a means of forcing action from anyone who has disregarded our warnings until that point. This means you will still be able to log into your account to export data via Google Takeout, but you will not receive email or be able to make changes to any of your files due to being over your storage quota. Recent graduates will be exempt from this preliminary step as they will still be within their one-year window, but your accounts will be deleted May 2024.
In May 2024, your account will be permanently suspended and deleted. Once this is done, CCIT will not be able to recover your email or data.
**Actions to Take**
To prepare for the removal of your account, these are the steps you should start taking:
* **Start Immediately**: Update any web logins to use a different email address. If this is not completed by the February quota implementation, you will not be able to complete it. Your logins may continue to work using your @g.clemson.edu address as the username, but should you need to reset your password or recover the account in the future, you will not be able to do so. Starting this process early will give you more time to identify remaining accounts and services that are still tied to your Clemson email address. Things to consider include accounts for online banking, loans, utilities, social media, online shopping, streaming services, smart devices, software/gaming platforms, and mobile app logins.
* Export any data you wish to keep.
* Start by deleting anything you don’t wish to keep, as that will reduce the time and size of your export(s).
* Utilize Google Takeout to download your Google data to be stored locally or uploaded to a different account. Google provides directions on how to download your data here: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190?hl=en
* Let the Clemson Alumni Association know your preferred email address, so you can stay connected to all things Clemson. https://iamatiger.clemson.edu/contact-update
**What about current students, faculty, and staff?**
Nothing will be changing for current students, faculty, and staff in 2023. However, the following changes will be coming starting in 2024:
* Starting with new enrollees in Jan 2024, new students will be provisioned email accounts on the same platform as employees, Exchange Online. They will still receive Google accounts, but Gmail will be disabled.
* Existing students with Gmail accounts will be allowed to keep their Gmail accounts or given the option to move to Exchange Online if they wish. Over the next 4-5 years as students graduate, we will slowly transition all student email to Exchange
* Employees using Gmail will be prompted to decide how they want to handle the transition of their Gmail to Exchange Online.
* The end goal is to have everyone unified on a single email platform to simplify our email infrastructure and strengthen our email security stance.
* Storage quotas will be implemented on Google accounts. As previously mentioned, storage is no longer unlimited, and we want to avoid incurring additional costs.
* We plan to switch from using @g.clemson.edu to @clemson.edu for our Google Workspace domain to eliminate the endless confusion this causes.
* We plan to implement single sign-on (the standard orange and gray login screen) so there is no more need to maintain separate passwords.
This is going to be a long post, and regrettably, not a popular one. I am here to inform you Clemson has made the tough decision to eliminate alumni (and former employee) Google accounts. There are several reasons we made this decision, but the two biggest are:
1. **The new costs for Google**. As some of you may have seen or heard from other schools, Google has changed their pricing structure and done away with unlimited storage. Google is now charging for user licenses and storage space is primarily based on the number of licenses purchased. Clemson is currently using over 1.7 petabytes of storage in Google Workspace and based on the licenses we purchased, we will be limited to ~800 terabytes in July of next year.
2. **Email security and Clemson’s new email policy**. Over the past year we have seen a drastic increase in the number of phishing attempts and scams targeted at our students which is an even bigger concern than the new Google fees. We are taking several steps to improve our email security posture and proactively address these threats. One of those steps was to implement a new [email policy](https://clemsonpub.cfmnetwork.com/B.aspx?BookId=11100&PageId=456767) which also outlines the expiration of email privileges.
A. All employees will automatically have all email privileges revoked upon separation, and
B. Students who leave the University in good standing will have their email extended for a maximum of one year.
We realize this is a big change, especially for those of you who graduated years ago and have been using your g.clemson.edu account for many years. Therefore, we are trying to give you as much warning as possible to start transitioning your data and logins to other accounts.
**Timeline**
Starting tomorrow, June 14, 2023, we will send the first of many monthly warnings to ensure people are aware of the impending changes, ultimately resulting in the deletion of your account. Please see the ‘Actions to Take’ section below to start preparing as soon as possible.
On February 5th, 2024, we will implement a quota of 0GB on your account as a means of forcing action from anyone who has disregarded our warnings until that point. This means you will still be able to log into your account to export data via Google Takeout, but you will not receive email or be able to make changes to any of your files due to being over your storage quota. Recent graduates will be exempt from this preliminary step as they will still be within their one-year window, but your accounts will be deleted May 2024.
In May 2024, your account will be permanently suspended and deleted. Once this is done, CCIT will not be able to recover your email or data.
**Actions to Take**
To prepare for the removal of your account, these are the steps you should start taking:
* **Start Immediately**: Update any web logins to use a different email address. If this is not completed by the February quota implementation, you will not be able to complete it. Your logins may continue to work using your @g.clemson.edu address as the username, but should you need to reset your password or recover the account in the future, you will not be able to do so. Starting this process early will give you more time to identify remaining accounts and services that are still tied to your Clemson email address. Things to consider include accounts for online banking, loans, utilities, social media, online shopping, streaming services, smart devices, software/gaming platforms, and mobile app logins.
* Export any data you wish to keep.
* Start by deleting anything you don’t wish to keep, as that will reduce the time and size of your export(s).
* Utilize Google Takeout to download your Google data to be stored locally or uploaded to a different account. Google provides directions on how to download your data here: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190?hl=en
* Let the Clemson Alumni Association know your preferred email address, so you can stay connected to all things Clemson. https://iamatiger.clemson.edu/contact-update
**What about current students, faculty, and staff?**
Nothing will be changing for current students, faculty, and staff in 2023. However, the following changes will be coming starting in 2024:
* Starting with new enrollees in Jan 2024, new students will be provisioned email accounts on the same platform as employees, Exchange Online. They will still receive Google accounts, but Gmail will be disabled.
* Existing students with Gmail accounts will be allowed to keep their Gmail accounts or given the option to move to Exchange Online if they wish. Over the next 4-5 years as students graduate, we will slowly transition all student email to Exchange
* Employees using Gmail will be prompted to decide how they want to handle the transition of their Gmail to Exchange Online.
* The end goal is to have everyone unified on a single email platform to simplify our email infrastructure and strengthen our email security stance.
* Storage quotas will be implemented on Google accounts. As previously mentioned, storage is no longer unlimited, and we want to avoid incurring additional costs.
* We plan to switch from using @g.clemson.edu to @clemson.edu for our Google Workspace domain to eliminate the endless confusion this causes.
* We plan to implement single sign-on (the standard orange and gray login screen) so there is no more need to maintain separate passwords.
