Following feedback from current students, alumni and an all-student vote in May, we want to let you know some important changes to the Alumni Email service, which was originally planned to end on 30 September 2025.

Image by Brett Jordan?on Unsplash

The decision to close the service was based on low usage, concerns about data protection and the University’s cyber security. This proposal caused understandable concern among both students and alumni.

Over the summer, we have worked with your Students’ Union (SUSU), the Office of Development and Alumni Relations (ODAR), and the Doctoral College to run student consultations.

Based on your feedback, the following decisions were made:

• No alumni email accounts will be closed in September 2025.
• Instead, we’re launching a?two-year pilot scheme:
  • All this summer’s new alumni and our current students (when they graduate or leave the University) will keep their University email address (as an alumni account) for?one year, with the option to extend for another year in?September 2026.
  • Alumni who already have an account will be invited to?opt in?and keep their email until?September 2026, with the possibility of extending the account for a further year after that.
  • Students will receive more information on the Alumni Email service before graduating or leaving the University.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get an alumni email?
When you graduate or leave the University, you keep your full student computing account for around?five months. After that, it switches to an?alumni email account,?which is email only.

Why is this a cyber security issue?
Out of 70,000 alumni accounts, fewer than 1% are actively used, and many don’t have Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). This puts University systems at risk. We want to make sure alumni accounts are secure and actively used.

What happens after the pilot?
We’re aiming to introduce a yearly opt-in process, but this depends on the pilot scheme. Data protection and the University’s cyber security will stay our top priority.

We’ll share further updates on the scheme before the pilot ends.

There are further FAQs about the email service and pilot scheme on the ODAR webpages.

Please contact Joshie Christian, your VP Education at SUSU, if you have any further questions about Alumni Emails, or would like to voice feedback about anything contained in this update.