Undergraduate Google Workspace Migration FAQs

Microsoft 365 is already the email provider for Vanderbilt graduate students, faculty and staff. This migration will unify all Vanderbilt community members in one email system, enhancing collaboration, streamlining onboarding, and improving the experience for undergraduates who continue as graduate students, faculty or staff. 

The migration includes VU Gmail and Google Drive content for all active and enrolled students. After the migration date, you will check your email through Microsoft Outlook.

Yes, after the migration you will check your email using Microsoft Outlook. You can access Outlook on the Web at https://outlook.office.com/ or you can use the desktop version of Outlook. Instructions for installing Microsoft Office are available here.

VUIT will migrate students in several batches beginning shortly after commencement in early May and continuing through the summer. You will be notified of the date your migration will occur 1-2 weeks before the change. During the migration, you should not expect any break in access to your data or loss of email.

The following data will be migrated: Emails, Calendar items, Contacts (maximum of 3 email addresses per contact), Labels, Rules, Cloud attachments, Internal delegates, Tasks.

Data that will not be migrated includes, but is not limited to: Email signatures, Emails that are larger than 35 MB, Corrupted items, Google hangouts data, Automatic replies, Data that integrates into other Google services (e.g.: Google Maps data, Google Drive Actions, Third-party logins, Google Play Store data), Google Photos data.

No, access to VU Google Workspace accounts will be discontinued after the migration. All data will be accessible through the Microsoft 365 environment.

Externally shared data will be migrated, but sharing permissions will not be retained. You will need to re-share your documents and files with external parties after migration. This includes alumni who are not migrating to Microsoft Office.

Important files should be transferred to a user account that is included in the migration or shared with an account that will be migrated. It is crucial to coordinate with those users to ensure no loss of access. Special care should be taken to review files for student organizations that may have been created and owned by alumni.

Exact timing is still being determined. The longest you could expect to retain access is August 31, 2025.

Yes, there are a few important changes you should be aware of. You will be able to review and release any messages quarantined by Microsoft without VUIT assistance. With Gmail, you have not been able to see the details of these quarantined messages. Quarantined messages can be reviewed here. Additionally, there are email retention policies in place with Microsoft 365. All emails in the deleted items folder older than 90 days are automatically purged. Similarly, all emails in the mailbox older than 7 years are automatically purged.

No, emails directed to VU Gmail are currently processed through the same email filtering system provided by Microsoft for the entire Vanderbilt community.

Google does not provide administrative tools that allow VUIT to migrate your photos. Instructions on how you can manually migrate your photos to a personal Google account are available here.

Calendar items will be migrated to Microsoft Outlook. It is advisable to verify that all important events and appointments have been successfully migrated.

Messages with multiple labels in Google may appear as duplicates in Microsoft Outlook. You can use the "view" feature in Outlook to identify and manage duplicate emails.