Effective May 1, 2026, all OneDrive files from university accounts with the domain “@alumni.uidaho.edu” will be removed. Any data remaining on the OneDrive site after May 1, 2026, will be deleted and may only be recovered for up to 30 days after deletion. Recovery requires contacting the Office of Information Technology (OIT) for assistance.
As part of this change, also effective May 1, 2026, all university accounts with the domain "@alumni.uidaho.edu" will be provisioned an Exchange-only license. The license includes an email address and Outlook inbox, but excludes OneDrive storage and Microsoft Office web applications. That updated license will apply to both existing and new accounts with the alumni domain.
Recommended action
Affected users with any files in OneDrive they wish to keep must review and download their files before May 1, 2026. Microsoft provides instructions on downloading files from OneDrive:
If using OneDrive file sync with the "@alumni.uidaho.edu" account on any device, OIT recommends disabling file sync and removing the account: How to cancel or stop sync in OneDrive
Assistance with University Data
If you are storing university data in the OneDrive of an "@alumni.uidaho.edu" account, please contact OIT at https://oit.uidaho.edu/ for assistance working with your department or supervisor to save a copy of the data.
Why Are We Doing This?
Microsoft has changed how it charges for cloud storage, which affects our use of institutional email, OneDrive, and SharePoint storage. This change could cost the university hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. By limiting access to OneDrive, we can better manage storage costs and remove obsolete data.
Find more details on the cloud storage cleanup initiative.
Alternatives
Storage Alternatives
OneDrive content you want to keep may be uploaded and stored on personal consumer storage services like Google Drive, iCloud, Dropbox, a non-university OneDrive account, etc. The University of Idaho does not provide technology support for these services.
File upload guidance for popular consumer storage services:
Microsoft Office Alternatives
Microsoft Office for non-university use can be obtained directly from Microsoft: Office Online for the web
Alternatives to Microsoft Office include:
The University of Idaho does not provide technology support for these services.