How long will my account remain active after I've left UMBC?
After a person becomes unaffiliated with the university, their account is deactivated based on the affiliation they had. A deactivated account has all access removed and cannot be used to log in, it also cannot receive email. Nothing else about the account is changed. After the account has been deactivated for some time, the data stored in the account (files, email, web pages, etc.) becomes eligible for deletion. Although the data is deleted, the username is never deleted and will never be reused by a different owner.
Update Sept 2026 Affecting Alumni. After careful evaluation and in alignment with practices at universities across the country, UMBC will be retiring Google email and storage accounts for alumni. Google has discontinued unlimited storage and free alumni accounts for higher education customers, and to ensure adequate support for active students, faculty, and staff, UMBC is beginning the process of retiring all alumni Google accounts in phases between July 2026 and July 2028, starting with inactive accounts and moving toward accounts currently in active use starting in July 2027.
We are actively collaborating with the Alumni Association to support our alumni community through this change. We will be reaching out with detailed timelines, and instructions on how to back up or migrate your data can be found here: http://doit.umbc.edu/cloud-storage-changes . We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate these changes.
Affiliation to University | Time Until Deactivation | Time Until Deletion |
|---|---|---|
Faculty | 1 Year | Never |
Staff | 2 Weeks | 1 Year after Deactivation |
Emeritus Faculty/Staff | After 1 Year of Inactivity* | Never |
Retirees | After 1 Year of Inactivity* | Never |
Alumni | After 1 Year of Inactivity* | 2 days |
Former Students (non-Alumni) | 4 Months | 1 Year after Deactivation |
Others (special programs, etc.) | 2 Weeks | 3 Months after Deactivation |
*Inactivity is considered not logging into your account. Changes to the alumni deactivation and deletion are pending updates starting July 2026.
If you believe there has been an error or you have important information stored in your account, please submit an RT ticket or contact the Technology Support Center.