Summer Graduates - Action Needed to Maintain Microsoft 365 Access & OneDrive Files

By Lisa Efing-Guida, August 1, 2023

Summer Graduates - Action Needed to Maintain Microsoft 365 Access & OneDrive Files

If you are graduating this summer, there are changes to your Microsoft Office 365 account, including OneDrive, that you need to be aware of. You will no longer have access to the full Microsoft 365 subscription through Ithaca College after September 15, 2023.

  • You will be able to keep and use your IC email account
  • You will no longer have access to files in your Ithaca College OneDrive
  • You will lose access to your Microsoft 365 subscription through IC

For complete details please see the Information Technology Knowledge Base article, Microsoft 365 for Graduating Students, or review the information below.

How Does This Impact Me?

Outlook (Email) and Calendar: You can keep and use your IC email account for as long as you like. This means that you can send and receive emails from your @ithaca.edu address.

OneDrive: If you are storing files in OneDrive, you will no longer have access to these files after September 15, 2023. Prior to this date, you should transfer all relevant files from your Ithaca College OneDrive account to a free Microsoft account or to a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription. You may also use other media such as personal cloud storage (e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox), a physical hard drive, or a flash drive.

OneNote: If you are storing data in OneNote, you will no longer have access to this data after September 15, 2023. Prior to this date, you should transfer any data from your IC OneNote notebook(s) to a personal OneNote notebook through a free Microsoft account or a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription to prevent any loss of OneNote data. Refer to OneNote: How To Transfer Data.

To Do: You can keep and use Microsoft To Do, a personal task management application with automatic integration with Outlook Tasks. Learn more about Microsoft To Do. 

Microsoft 365 Applications & Services: Your Microsoft 365 subscription through Ithaca College will end after September 15, 2023, and you will lose access to the following Microsoft 365 applications and services: Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Shifts, Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote), OneDrive, Sway, and Whiteboard.

  • If you wish to continue using Microsoft 365 applications, you must sign up for a free Microsoft account.

If you wish to use the installed Windows or macOS desktop applications of Microsoft 365, you must purchase a Microsoft 365 Personal subscription.

How Do I Obtain a Free Microsoft Account?

If you wish to continue using Microsoft 365 applications (such as Word Online, Excel Online, PowerPoint Online, and OneNote), you must sign up for a free Microsoft account. This account comes with 5 GB of free storage in OneDrive. You can also access Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Shifts, Sway, and Whiteboard with a personal account.

To create a free Microsoft account, visit https://account.microsoft.com/account and click Sign in, then click Create one! to get started.

After transferring relevant data, you will need to uninstall the desktop applications of Microsoft Office 365 (your IC subscription), from your Windows or macOS device(s).

How Do I Purchase a Microsoft 365 Personal Subscription?

If you wish to use the installed Windows or macOS desktop applications of Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote) you must purchase a new Microsoft 365 Personal subscription. A personal subscription comes with 1 TB of storage in OneDrive.

To purchase a new Microsoft 365 Personal subscription, visit https://products.office.com/en-us/compare-all-microsoft-office-products. You will first be prompted to sign in with a free Microsoft account. You can then purchase your Microsoft 365 Personal subscription.

After transferring relevant data, you will then need to uninstall the desktop applications of Microsoft Office 365 (your IC subscription) from your  Windows or macOS device(s). You will then need to install a new copy of Office using your Microsoft 365 Personal subscription (instructions for both Windows and macOS).

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