Alumni Account FAQs

Account Renewal

How do I keep my SUNY Oswego email address?

Alumni may keep their SUNY Oswego email address provided they submit an account renewal form annually in November/December. Multiple reminder emails are sent out by the Alumni Office. The submission deadline is December 31 each calendar year. You must submit the renewal form to avoid account suspension or data loss/deletion.

Alumni Renewal Form and Information

What happens if I miss the renewal deadline?

Your account will be suspended after the December 31 deadline. However, you can reactivate it. If the account is not reactivated by June 1 of the following year, it will be permanently deleted, along with all associated Google Workspace data (Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Photos, YouTube, etc.).

Account Reactivation

How do I reactivate my account between January and June?

You may use our Alumni Account Reactivation Tool. A temporary password will be given, which will allow you to log into Account Tools to set a security question and then change the password.

How do I reactivate my account after July 1?

You may contact the Alumni Office to reactivate the account; however, previous data will not be recoverable.

Storage Quotas

Why is there a storage limit on my account?

Due to Google's policy change on unlimited storage, SUNY Oswego imposed a 15GB storage quota on all alumni accounts, and access to certain Google services and data will end. Google changed its offering to promote a fair distribution of storage resources across institutions. Likewise, while SUNY Oswego’s current domain usage is under our allocated amount, we need to plan for future growth and ensure space is used equitably. 

What do I need to do?

You must delete unnecessary files and move important ones to another location.

1. Transfer or Download files:

   1. Use Google Takeout on a computer to transfer files to a personal Gmail account (@gmail.com). Note: Smartphones are not guaranteed to work for Google Takeout. See our detailed articles for more instructions and tips:

      1. Alumni Transfer of Google Data 

      2. Alumni Google Email and/or Photos Transfer

      3. Migrate a YouTube Channel to a Personal Channel Account

   2. ​​Download individual files, folders, or albums to your computer or an external hard drive. Use Ctrl + A to select all.

2. Delete files:

   1. Remove all unneeded files and web pages in Google Drive, Gmail, Google Photos/Videos, and Google Sites.
   2. Delete the Trash folders once successfully transferred or deleted.
   3. Important: Empty your trash, as deleted files remain there for 30/60 days and count toward your quota.

3. Check your storage:

   1. Verify your Gmail storage is under 15GB, which should now be solely for Gmail.
   2. Verify your Google Photos data is 0 GB at drive.google.com/settings/storage.

My Gmail is still over the 15 GB quota. What do I do?

You can review step 3 of Google's "Free up storage space" document to determine which emails are taking up the most space.  Make sure to also empty your Trash folders, as Trash folder data counts against your quota. You may use Google Takeout to move your emails to a personal Gmail account. It may take 24-48 hours before your quota is updated on our end. If you are at risk of suspension/deletion, please update us with a screenshot/photo of your Google Storage showing under 15 GB for Gmail and 0 GB for Photos.

I don't have a computer and use a smartphone for Google Photos. How do I manage the photos to be in compliance?

1. Google Takeout, using a computer, is the best option to download original and edited copies. Other downloads will only keep edited copies.
   1. Note: Google Takeout may not work on a smartphone. 
2. When you open the Google Photos app, make sure you're backing up to a personal Gmail account. 
3. Photo Sharing will not work if you need to keep photos, as shared photos will be lost once Google Photos access is removed.
4. If you need to use a computer, you may come to campus or use a public computer to download to an external drive.

What happens if I exceed the 15GB quota on my Gmail or still have Photos data by the deadline?

Your Gmail will only continue to be available, and other Google Workspace services and files will be removed and then deleted if:

• You are under quota for Gmail, have 0 GB in Google Photos, but still have or don't have files in Drive.

Your entire SUNY Oswego account will end up being removed by the system, including all data (email and files), if one of the following is true:

• If your account is over quota for Gmail after the deadline
• If you are under quota for Gmail but still have Photos data
  • ​​​​​​​Note: We cannot remove Google Photos data for you to maintain access to your SUNY Oswego email. This has to be done at photos.google.com by the alum.

Where can I get more information?

The following resources are available for more information:

• Google Storage Limits Policy
• Oswego Email Account FAQs.

Need additional information or assistance? Contact CTS.