Google Workspace FAQ for New Alumni

• Beginning with the class of 2026, Google Workspace accounts will be deleted approximately 300 days after graduation. All contents stored in Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos will be removed and no longer available. Class of 2026 accounts will be removed on Wednesday, March 31, 2027. 
• Students graduating in 2024 and 2025 will soon lose access to Google Drive and Google Photos but may keep their Gmail account. Transition to an alumni email account is encouraged.  
• Students graduating in 2023 and earlier will retain access to their Gmail accounts, but transition to an alumni email account is encouraged. Google Drive and Google Photos have already been removed from these accounts.  

Graduating students may establish a new email account which accurately reflects their graduate status. Student email accounts are intended for use by active students only.  

Accounts will remain in place as long as they are being used. Accounts which are not being accessed/opened and which have no email forwarding rules enabled will be removed after two years of inactivity. Attempts will be made to notify owners prior to account removal.  

Contact naainfo@northwestern.edu immediately to retain access. 

Instructions may be found here.

Students with large amounts of data may need to purchase a Google One subscription if they choose to transfer their data to another Google account using Google Takeout. Please note that it will take longer to export data based on the amount of data you have (ranging from hours to days). In some cases, it may take multiple attempts, so please allow plenty of time to export. 

This error occurs when you are logged into your personal Gmail account instead of your Northwestern student account. To remedy this, open an incognito/private browser and log in using your @u.northwestern.edu credentials, then try to use the Takeout tool again. 

To move "Shared with Me" files in Google Drive, you can't directly move them from the "Shared with Me" area to "My Drive" or any folder within "My Drive" directly. However, you can make a copy of the files and then move the copies to your desired location. Here's the steps to do so: 

1. Navigate to the "Shared with Me" section in Google Drive. 

2. Right-click on the file you want to move and select "Make a copy." This will create a copy of the file in your "My Drive" that you now own. 

3. You can then organize the copy by moving it to any folder within your "My Drive." 

This method ensures that you keep a copy of the shared files in your own drive space, which can then be included in Google Takeout exports or moved to another service if needed. 

Note: For files you own in shared folders, use caution during Google Takeout migrations: while your owned files will be exported, the original folder structure will not be preserved.

Log in with your username and your Google Workspace account password at http://www.gmail.com. Your username is your full email address (e.g., WillieWildcat2020@u.northwestern.edu), not an account nickname. 

If you forgot the password for your @u.northwestern.edu account, please call the Northwestern Service Desk at 847-491-4357 (1-HELP).