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Information Technology

Retiring Google Accounts for Recognized Student Organizations

Summary

While Google Workspace apps are here to stay for individual student accounts, Recognized Student Organizations will no longer have access to their Google accounts (@email.wm.edu), including Gmail and Google Calendar, as of June 5, 2023. RSOs can decide if they would like to opt-in to a university-offered O365 account, which will include email, storage options and more.

Full Description

In the fall of 2021, William & Mary Information Technology announced a project to migrate all individual student email accounts from Google to Microsoft Office 365 (O365). Now that this phase of the project has successfully been completed, we are turning our attention to Recognized Student Organizations (RSO) who are still using Google accounts.  

On June 5, 2023, RSOs will no longer have access to Google accounts, including Gmail, Google Drive (Sheets, Forms, Docs, etc.) and Google Calendar. These RSO accounts will be deleted. This change only applies to RSO Google accounts. Students will retain access to their personal Google Workspace apps, like Google Drive and Google Sheets, for the remainder of their time as a student at the university. 

What you need to do

Indicate your organization’s decision to either Opt-in for an O365 account and/or migration for your Recognized Student Organization or Opt-out of an O365 account by filling out the organization registration form in TribeLink. All Recognized Student Organizations are required to submit this registration info by February 2, 2023. Click the “Register an Organization” button (left side menu), then select your organization.

  • If your organization would like a university-offered O365 account, which includes W&M credentials, email (Outlook) and file storage and/or you want to migrate your organization’s email and files to a university-offered O365 account, you will need select "Opt-in" on the form.
  • If you would NOT like an O365 account or to migrate your data, that is fine. Just be advised that you WILL lose access to your current student organization Gmail account and Google Drive and all its contents on June 5, 2023. You will indicate this choice by selecting "Opt-out" on the form. 
Important Dates
  • Please fill out the form by February 2, 2023.  
  • Recognized Student Organization Google accounts will be deleted on June 5, 2023.  

If you have any questions, please reach out to Student Leadership Development at [[leadership]]. 

Frequently asked questions
What will happen to all of the files we have saved in our Google Drive?  

If you opt-in to have an O365 account, your Google Drive files will be migrated to OneDrive/SharePoint. If you choose not to have an O365 account, you can save your data using Google Takeout.

If your organization is using a Google Shared Drive, you have three options for migrating your content.  
  • Option One: Copy or move the contents of your shared drive to your student organization’s Google drive. 
  • Option Two: If you have a large amount of content in the shared drive that you wish to migrate, you may fill out this form and IT will reach out and assist you with the move. 
  • Option Three: Transfer ownership of a shared drive from the organization's Google account to the Google account of a student leader in the organization. You can add other members to the drive, remove the organization account and keep the data in Google. 
How do I transfer ownership of my organization's listserv?

Information for creating listservs, accessing existing listservs and transferring ownership is available on the Listservs of Recognized Student Organizations page. 

What will our file storage options be moving forward?

Visit the IT website for file storage options.

Can all our emails be transferred to Outlook? 

Yes, if you opt-in to migrating your Gmail to Outlook, your emails will be transferred. 

Will we lose access to our Google Forms?

Yes, Google Forms and Shortcut files will not transfer. If you opt-in to having an O365 account, you will be able to use Microsoft Forms moving forward. In addition, your RSO TribeLink page also offers a robust forms option.  

What will happen to my Google Site?

Unfortunately, we are unable to preserve Google sites. Student Leadership Development and IT recommend using the profile page in TribeLink for a simple web presence for your student organization. If you need increased functionality in a website, we recommend using W&M's installation of WordPress (pages.wm.edu).