Learn how your access to MHC systems and services will change when you become an alum - and how to prepare!
Overview
Alums have access to different services than current MHC students do. If you are a student approaching graduation, review this article to prepare for your transition to life as an alum.
In this article
Can I continue to use my MHC email and other Google services after graduation?
Yes, as of May 2026, MHC Google accounts remain accessible to graduating students for one year after their degree conferral date so long as they abide by the College's Acceptable use of Information Technology policies.
During the one year of post-degree conferral date access your MHC Google account will have access to Google Mail, Drive/Docs, Calendar, Chat, Meet, and Tasks. Alum Google accounts do not have access to Google Gemini.
Degree conferral date details
In general for May graduates, your degree conferral date is Commencement. Students who graduate at other times of year may have a degree conferral date in October or March. Degree conferral dates are listed in the Academic Calendar. Questions about degree conferral dates should be directed to the Registrar’s Office.
What to expect
One year after your degree conferral date:
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You will no longer be able to log in to Google Mail, Drive, Calendar, and all other MHC Google apps
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Your email address will stop receiving messages
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Autoresponders will be discontinued
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Collaborators will lose access to files you shared from your Google “MyDrive”
Six months later (18 months after your degree conferral date), the Google account and all its data will be deleted.
How do I prepare for this change?
Please review the instructions later on in this article for guidance on saving your Google account data and other recommended actions prior to your Google account closure.
What will happen with my access to other MHC services and systems?
Alums lose access to all services not listed in the "What's included?" section of the MHC Accounts for alums article.
List of services not available to alums
- MHC Google apps (beyond more than one year after your degree conferral date)
- Adobe apps and associated online storage
- Commons Wordpress websites
- Eduroam
- Kaltura
- Library e-resources
- Microsoft 365 for Education
- Moodle
- my.mtholyoke campus portal student pages
- OneCard web
- Printing
- Workday
- VPN
- Zoom
- Logging into the AskLITS portal (this website)
Without being able to log into Workday, how will I get my tax documents? Tax documents are provided separately to alums and other students who have left the College. Contact HR with questions.
What do I need to do?
Before your degree conferral date
In general for May graduates, their degree conferral date is Commencement. Students who graduate at other times of year may have a degree conferral date in October or March. Degree conferral dates are listed in the Academic Calendar. Questions about degree conferral dates should be directed to the Registrar’s Office.
Return LITS materials and equipment
Any items you've borrowed from LITS should be returned. This could include:
- Physical library books and materials
- Media AV equipment (e.g. cameras, cables, projectors, microphones)
- Technology equipment (e.g. laptops, headphones, chargers, calculators)
- Duo hardware token
Save Moodle course files from your last semester
At your earliest convenience, save any files from your most recent* Moodle courses that you want to keep.
*Moodle courses and associated files are only available during the semester when the course is running and shortly thereafter. Additional information about the timing of Moodle course access restrictions on the Moodle Help Guide.
Save Microsoft 365 files
At your earliest convenience, save any files stored in your MHC student Microsoft 365 for Education account that you want to keep.
Review Microsoft's instructions for transitioning files.
Save Adobe Creative Cloud files
At your earliest convenience, make sure to save any files stored in your MHC student Adobe account that you want to keep.
Review Adobe's instructions for migrating student assets.
Export your Commons Wordpress website
Follow Wordpress's instructions for exporting site files.
If you need support with this, you are welcome to contact the Educational Technology team at edtech@mtholyoke.edu.
Save files stored on the College's network
Do you have files stored somewhere on the College's network?
As an alum you won't have access to the College's network via eduroam or VPN. Make sure to download and store anything you want to keep early!
Within a year of your degree conferral date
These steps will help you prepare for your MHC Google account access to be removed one year after your degree conferral date.
Save/move your Google data
To save your Google account data, you can use Google Takeout and/or Google Transfer.
If your MHC Google account is the owner of faculty research content, registered student organization (RSO) content, or other content that needs to continue to be used by current students, faculty, or staff, be sure to move those files into an MHC Google Shared Drive with the appropriate permissions so that your collaborators will maintain ongoing access to that content.
Share an alternate email address with your network
Let your community know that you won’t have ongoing access to your MHC email address and provide another contact email address to them to enable ongoing communication. It may be a good idea to set up an auto-reply in the weeks or months before your account closure to pass that message along.
Ensure your important online accounts are associated with a different email address
If you’ve used your MHC email address as your login username or recovery email address for any important online accounts remember to replace it with a different email address that you will have ongoing access to.
- Make a list of accounts (Banking, Social Media, Utilities, Streaming, other subscriptions or "Apple ID" accounts) tied to your Mount Holyoke address.
- Update the contact email address for each account to be a personal, non-college email address (like Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud).
What if I still have money in my MHCXpress account?
Any money left in your MHCXpress account on your OneCard will be returned to you. Learn more in What happens to my OneCard balance at the end of the year/when I graduate?
When will my access change?
Most system access changes will occur on your degree conferral date. Google account access is retained for one year after your degree conferral date.
What is your degree conferral date? In general for May graduates, your degree conferral date is Commencement. Students who graduate at other times of year may have a degree conferral date in October or March. Degree conferral dates are listed in the Academic Calendar. Questions about degree conferral dates should be directed to the Registrar’s Office.
Need support?
Reach out to the LITS Technology Help Desk via our General Support / Get Help form with any questions you have. We're here to help!