News & Updates • November 2, 2026
November 2026 Google
Migration Project Updates
Early November updates to the Google Migration Project, and next steps for the university.
Earlier this year, we announced that NAU made the strategic decision to retire the Google Workspace platform for university use. This change was made to support cost reduction initiatives while also bringing users across affiliations into a single communication and collaboration platform.
As we approach the end of the calendar year, teams from across ITS are preparing to begin the migration process for students and NAU employees. While a final cut-over date has not yet been determined, we’re expecting it to occur during the summer of 2027. By the beginning of next year’s fall semester, all NAU users will access their university email and files through Microsoft 365.
How migrations will work for students
For students, the data stored in your NAU Google Account will automatically be migrated into Microsoft 365 during the course of the Spring semester. The migration of your content occurs behind the scenes, and there’s no action you’ll need to take until the final cutover date.
In the meantime, we recommend that you look through your NAU Gmail and Google Drive and clean up any old files that you don’t want transferred over into Microsoft.
We’ll be reaching out again in early December with more information about the migration and Microsoft 365. In the meantime, you can learn more and view our resources for students on our Google Migration Webpage.
How migrations will work for NAU employees
For employees, you won’t be migrated to Microsoft by default. Instead, we’ll be providing you with a portal to opt in for the content in your NAU Google account to be migrated into your existing first.last@nau.edu Microsoft Account.
Whether you request that your data be migrated or not, your uid@nau.edu will remain active as an Exchange Alias, so you can continue to receive email to this address. After the cutover date, all emails sent to either your first.last@nau.edu or your uid@nau.edu will be delivered to a single inbox, under your first.last.
We’ll be reaching out to employees with an NAU Google account in early December with more information about opting in for migrations, training materials, and other resources for the migration.
Resources for NAU users
Google Migration Webpage
Our primary resource hub for information related to this change is our Google Migration Webpage. We regularly update this page with new FAQs, resources, and announcements.
Feature Transfer Chart
Information on how services in Google Workspace will transfer or have feature parity in a Microsoft 365 application.
Microsoft 365 in the ITS Service Catalog
Open Microsoft 365 apps in your web browser and find information on how to download M365 desktop applications.
Contacts