University Technology

Electronic Mail (Email) Policy Information for Retirees and Alumni

The Electronic Mail (Email) Policy states that when an individual’s affiliation with the university ceases, whether as a result of graduation, retirement, resignation, or any other cause, the individual’s email access will be subject to the following conditions:

  • Employees who retired prior to June 25, 2024  may retain access to their WIU email account provided that their account remains active. Active is defined as logging into the email account via the official Gmail website at least once every 90 days. Such retirees must also complete required annual security training when provided by the university.
  • Employees who retire on June 25, 2024 or after  will have their WIU email account disabled on the day of their retirement, except as provided in the “Email Sponsorship” section below.
  • Employees who separate from the university for any reason other than retirement (e.g., termination, resignation, death) will have their WIU email account disabled on their effective day of separation.
  • WIU Alumni  will no longer have access to their WIU email account beyond the one-year period following their graduation from the university, except as provided in the “Email Sponsorship” section below.
  • Students on leave from the university  but who have not yet graduated will have their email access discontinued after two consecutive semesters of complete non-attendance.  Students graduating from the university  will have continued access to their WIU email account for one year following their graduation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can I transfer my emails to a personally owned Google account?
    • Please view our Offboarding instructions for steps you can take to assist with transfering personal information out of your WIU account.  Note that per the  Electronic Mail (Email) Policy, employees are prohibited from forwarding of university emails to personal email accounts or downloading of university emails to devices not owned by the university where such emails contain data that is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), or any other security or privacy-based law or regulation.
  • Will this change affect my ability as a retiree to access privileges such as the library catalog and subscription databases?
    • No, you will continue to be able to access such privileges using your ECom username and password. The email policy will not affect access to services such as these.
  • I am a past student but I did not graduate; can I keep my email access?
    • Students on leave from the university but who have not yet graduated will have their email access discontinued after two consecutive semesters of complete non-attendance.

If you have further questions, please contact us at support@wiu.edu and we will do our best to assist you.