News & Updates • June 4th, 2026
Inactive former student Google Accounts to close in August of 2026
These closures of inactive accounts are part of efforts to migrate the university away from Google Workspace for Education.
What’s happening
NAU is currently working to migrate student email and file storage out of Google’s Workspace for Education Platform and to retire Google services for the university. Read the full news release regarding this change.
This retirement means that all inactive NAU Google Accounts belonging to former students will be closed on August 4, 2026. All email messages in Gmail, personal and shared documents in Google Drive, and all other data stored in these inactive NAU Google Accounts will be deleted, and the account will be closed.
We recommend downloading any emails, documents, and other data that you’d like to keep before August 4th. Google Takeout can be used to download copies of the data stored in your account.
We also recommend that former students log into LOUIE to download copies of transcripts, and ensure contact information is up to date with a personal email address. You can find more resources and frequently asked questions on our Google Migration Webpage.
If a user’s NAU affiliation becomes active before August 4, 2026 by registering for a class or being hired by the university, their NAU Google account will not be closed on that date.
Why NAU is making these changes
Recently, Google changed its storage offering model, no longer providing free and unlimited storage to universities. Since NAU also licenses storage and email through Microsoft, maintaining both platforms results in duplicate and unsustainable storage costs.
With Microsoft 365 already serving as NAU’s primary platform for faculty and staff, migrating student email and storage to a single university platform also strengthens NAU’s information security, data governance, and compliance across affiliations.
Resources and FAQs
For up-to-date information about this project, frequently asked questions, information about Microsoft 365, making personal backups, and other resources related to these updates, visit the Google Migration Project Webpage.
Contacts