Saint Mary's College Alumnae and Google Workspace for Education

The following Frequently Asked Questions are applicable to all Saint Mary's graduates:

1. What is the TL;DR?

   Due to changes announced by Google, Saint Mary's graduates will no longer be able to retain access to Google Drive and Google Photos.

   Saint Mary’s will move all alumnae accounts to "Gmail Only User" accounts, which will provide access to saintmarys.edu e-mail, calendar, contacts, and be able to join Google Meet sessions.

   • If you graduated before May 2025, this change occurred on May 5, 2025.
   • If you graduate in May 2025 or later, this change will always occur on the December 1 immediately following your graduation date. Access to Google Photos will end immediately after graduation.

   Extensions for access to Google Drive and Google Photos will not be granted. All information saved in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Sites, Drawings, and Forms, will be deleted when the account type is changed and cannot be recovered.

   Effective Monday, May 5, 2025, any alumnae accounts, regardless of graduation date, that have not been enrolled in Google 2-Step Verification will be deleted. Extensions for enabling Google 2-Step Verification will not be granted.

2. When will I lose all access to my files in Google Drive and Google Photos?

   If you graduated prior to May 2025, access to your Saint Mary's Google Workspace for Education Google Drive and Google Photos ended on May 5, 2025.

   If you graduate in May 2025 or later, you will lose all access to your Saint Mary's Google Workspace for Education Google Drive on the December 1 immediately following your graduation date. Access to Google Photos will end immediately after graduation.

   The ability to create or save files to Google Drive will expire immediately after graduation. This change will automatically occur after the Registrar's Office updates your academic record from current student to graduate.

   The ability to access Google Photos will expire immediately after graduation. This change will automatically occur after the Registrar's Office updates your academic record from current student to graduate.

3. What do you mean when you say I will lose the "ability to create or save files to Google Drive and the ability to access Google Photos?"

   If you graduate in May 2025 or later, immediately after graduation, a quota will be placed on your account to limit the addition of files in your account.

   • You cannot upload new files or images to Google Drive.
   • You cannot create new files in collaborative content creation apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, and Forms.
   • Nobody can edit or copy your files or submit forms owned by you.
   • You cannot back up any photos and videos to Google Photos.
   • You cannot view or export any contents stored in Google Photos.
   • You can still sign into and access your Google Workspace for Education account, view and download your files, and send and receive emails.

4. I am graduating at the end of the summer session. When will my account be impacted?

   If you graduate at the end of the traditional academic year or at the end of the summer session, you will lose all access to your Saint Mary's Google Workspace for Education Google Drive on the December 1 immediately following your graduation date. Access to Google Photos will end immediately after graduation, automatically occurring after the Registrar's Office updates your academic record from current student to graduate.

   The ability to create or save files to Google Drive will expire immediately after graduation. This change will automatically occur after the Registrar's Office updates your academic record from current student to graduate.

5. I am graduating at the end of the fall semester. When will my account be impacted?

   If you graduate at the end of the fall semester, you will lose all access to your Saint Mary's Google Workspace for Education Google Drive on the December 1 immediately following your graduation date (meaning you will retain access to your files for almost a full year). Access to Google Photos will end immediately after graduation, automatically occurring after the Registrar's Office updates your academic record from current student to graduate.

   The ability to create or save files to Google Drive will expire immediately after graduation. This change will automatically occur after the Registrar's Office updates your academic record from current student to graduate.

6. What Google resources will I have access to after my alumnae account is transitioned to a Gmail Only User account?

   Gmail Only User accounts will provide alumnae with access to their saintmarys.edu e-mail, calendar, contacts, and be able to join Google Meet sessions.

7. I am graduating in May and starting a graduate program in the fall, how will my account be impacted?

   Students who graduate in May and return to campus in August as graduate students will have their full Google Workspace for Education access restored after their status from alumnae to active students is updated by Graduate Studies.

8. How can I check how much storage I am using in Google Drive and Google Photos?

   You can check how much storage you are using in Google Drive, Google Photos, and your Saint Mary's e-mail account by visiting drive.google.com/settings/storage (you will need to be signed into your Saint Mary's account to view the information). If the destination account for your files does not have enough storage available, you can delete unnecessary files or photos from your Saint Mary's account or purchase additional storage for the destination account.

9. I need more time to review/download/transfer what I have in Google Drive and Google Photos, can I request an extension on the date my account will be transitioned?

   Extensions for having alumnae accounts transitioned from full Google Workspace accounts to Gmail Only User accounts will not be granted. All information saved in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Sites, Drawings, and Forms will be deleted when the account type is changed and cannot be recovered. All information saved in Google Photos will be deleted immediately after graduation and cannot be recovered.

10. I need more time to enable Google 2-Step Verification, can I request an extension or request that my account not be deleted?

    Google 2-Step Verification has been required on all Saint Mary’s Google accounts since Monday, April 11, 2022 at 11:59pm. Any alumnae accounts without Google 2-Step Verification will be deleted. Prior to your graduation, you can verify that you have successfully enabled Google 2-Step Verification on your account by taking the following steps after signing in to your account:

    1. Visit myaccount.google.com
    2. In the left column, click on "Security & sign-in.""
    3. Scroll down to the "How you sign in to Google” section.
    4. Next to "2-Step Verification” it will tell you if 2-Step Verification has been turned on.
    5. If it is not turned on, click on "2-Step Verification” and follow the prompts to turn it on. Google 2-Step Verification is required to be enabled on all saintmarys.edu accounts for security.

    Using recovery information or passkeys to access your account is not the same as having Google 2-Step Verification enabled. Extensions for enabling Google 2-Step Verification will not be granted.

11. It sounds like using the Google Takeout Transfer Tool (takeout.google.com/transfer) to copy and transfer my Google Drive files to another Google Account (such as a personal Google account) would be easy. How do I set up a personal Google account?

    Instructions for creating a personal Google account are available at here. Google accounts include 15GB of free cloud storage, shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. You can increase this storage by subscribing to a paid Google One plan.

12. I want a copy of everything I saved in Google Drive and Google Photos, which tool should I use?

    To keep all of your files in Google Drive, Google Photos, and other resources included in Google Workspace, please use Google Takeout to export a copy of your files. You can then move those files to your preferred location for storage.

    To use Google Takeout, visit takeout.google.com.

13. I worked on campus and/or contributed to research on campus and/or participated in campus groups and shared files with others using Google Drive and Google Photos. Will people I shared files with still have access to them after my account transitions to a Gmail Only User account?

    Sharing files is not enough for access to continue after your account has been transitioned to a Gmail Only User account, you must transfer the ownership of those files. Ownership of shared files must be transferred before your graduation. If ownership has not been transferred, the files will be deleted and cannot be recovered. Instructions for transferring the ownership of files in Google Drive are available here.

    Please note that you can only transfer ownership of files to another Saint Mary's Google account.

    Instructions on setting up partner sharing to copy Google Photos to another account are available here. Once you set up partner sharing, the account you shared the photos with must save the photos or they will disappear when your account loses Google Photos access.

14. I am having problems accessing my Saint Mary's e-mail account using the Gmail app on my iPhone/iPad. Can you help me?

    We can confirm there are issues with the Gmail app for iOS accessing Saint Mary’s alumnae e-mail accounts, and we have reported the issue to Google. The issue is not occurring on the Android version of the Gmail app. You can still access your Saint Mary’s e-mail using the web interface at www.google.com or by adding your Saint Mary’s e-mail account to Apple’s Mail app on your iPhone/iPad.

15. I am trying to sign in to my Saint Mary's account and I get the error “Your sign-in settings don’t meet your organization 2 step verification policy,” what does this mean?

    Google 2-Step Verification has been required on all Saint Mary’s Google accounts since Monday, April 11, 2022 at 11:59pm. If you are receiving this error as an alumna, you did not set up Google 2-Step Verification on your account.

    Your Saint Mary's account is scheduled for permanent deletion.

    Using recovery information or passkeys to access your account is not the same as having Google 2-Step Verification enabled. Extensions for enabling Google 2-Step Verification will not be granted.

16. Does it matter if I graduated as an undergraduate student or a graduate student?

    The change from full Google Workspace for Education accounts to Gmail Only Users will affect all individuals who graduate from Saint Mary's College, regardless of the degree earned.

17. Will there be future changes to my Saint Mary's e-mail account?

    Information Technology has been allowing alumnae to retain their saintmarys.edu student e-mail accounts following graduation since 2013. This is an offering Saint Mary’s is currently able to provide to our graduates, but it could change at any time if Google alters their licensing agreement. We will notify alumnae if changes become necessary.

18. You shared that these changes made by Google in February 2021 (storage) and November 2024 (license limits) impacted Google Workspace for Education. Are there other colleges and universities making changes to alumni accounts?

    In February 2021, Google announced that their Google Workspace for Education offering would no longer include unlimited storage space. There is a variety of how colleges and universities have approached the changes from Google. The University of Notre Dame removed Google Drive and Google Photos access for alumni accounts in December 2022, and then implemented alumni storage quotas of 2GB in March 2026. Northwestern University removed Google Drive and Google Photos access for alumni accounts in March 2025. Yale University removed Google Drive in March 2024 and only allows 5GB of storage total for alumni accounts. The University of Southern California removed Google Drive and Google Photos in March 2023 and only allows 2GB of storage total for alumni accounts. Some institutions ended alumni e-mail access entirely, including Elon University, Kettering University, University of Minnesota, and William & Mary.

19. How do I request a saintmarys.edu e-mail account if I graduated before 2013?

    We're sorry, but we are not offering saintmarys.edu e-mail accounts to alumnae who do not already have them.

Last Modified: February 12, 2026