Google Workspace: Transition from UMN Gmail to a Personal Google Email Account

Faculty, staff, and students who leave the University without degree, retiree, or emeritus status lose access to University Google Workspace accounts. This article outlines options for transferring or exporting your Google data and other steps you can take to make a smooth transition away from your University Google account. 

The University's Google Workspace includes University Gmail accounts (@umn.edu emails) and a set of other Google services including Drive, Calendar, and Meet. 

To learn more about how your access changes when you leave the University, refer to our Account Termination Reference Guide.

For best results, it's important that you begin the processes outlined in this article as soon as possible and complete it before your account is deactivated.

When transferring data, you are responsible for complying with HIPAA, FERPA, and any other regulations or policies regarding Protected Health Information and Protected Student Information. You can learn more from the Health Information Privacy and Compliance Office and the FERPA Resources page. 

In this article:

Healthcare Component Account Restrictions

If you are part of a Healthcare Component at the University, your account is likely included as a member of the Business Associate Agreement (BAA). In this case, you will not be able to transfer or download your data using the steps outlined in this article. 

Creating a Personal Google Account

If you don't already have a personal Google Account, it's a good idea to make one. Google offers Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Meet, and other Google apps for free. 

Visit the Google Support article Create a Gmail Account to get started. This process takes only a few minutes. 

You can learn more about Google accounts at Google's Account Overview page. 

You can also create a free personal email account with other email providers, such as Outlook, iCloud mail, Yahoo mail, Protonmail, AOL, and others. However, the Google Takeout Transfer (on this page) process will only work to transfer data from your UMN account directly to another Google account. If you'd like to transition to a different email service than Google or download data other than emails and documents, follow the instructions for Downloading Google Data with Google Takeout (on this page) instead. 

Updating Your Contact Email in MyU

Before leaving the University, it's a good idea to update your personal email address in the My Info tab in MyU. You can find instructions for updating this information on OneStop's Update Personal Information page. Set your primary personal email address as your Home address. 

Google Takeout Transfer (Emails and Drive)

You can use Google Takeout Transfer to move your emails and any Google Drive files that you own directly from your University Google Workspace account to your personal Google account. 

Visit Google's support article Copy content from your school account to another account for updated and complete instructions on how to transfer your data. 

If you'd like to transition to a different email service than Google or download data other than emails and documents, follow the instructions to Download Google Data with Google Takeout (on this page) instead. 

Note that these steps will not work for BAA accounts. Refer to Healthcare Component Account Restrictions (on this page).

While OIT does not directly support this process, we have a few tips to help you successfully export your data:

  • You will need to start the transfer while logged into your UMN Google Account. To check which account you're logged in under, click the circle with your initials or picture in the upper right corner of this page.
  • If you have trouble making sure you're starting this process from your UMN Google account, sign into this account in a Private browser window.
  • If the process fails, try exporting just one type of content at a time. For example, you can first transfer your email data, then when this has completed start a second transfer of your Google Drive data. 

Transferring Other Types of Data 

Google Calendar

You can follow Google's instructions to Important Calendar Events from Another Google Calendar.

Contacts

You can follow Google's instructions to Import Contacts from Another Google Account.

Youtube Videos

Videos uploaded to the YouTube channel associated with your UMN account cannot be transferred directly to a different channel. To avoid losing your YouTube uploads, follow Google's instructions to download and reupload the videos manually.

Downloading Google Data with Google Takeout

In addition to transferring your Google data directly to another Google account, Google Takeout also allows you to download a copy of your Google data to back it up or use it with a service outside of Google. You can save information from:

  • Gmail
  • Drive
  • Contacts
  • Calendar
  • YouTube
  • Photos
  • Account activity data
  • And many other apps

Visit Google's Support article on How to Download Your Google Data for updated and complete instructions on downloading Google Takeout.

Note that these steps will not work for BAA accounts. Refer to Healthcare Component Account Restrictions (on this page).

Google Takeout will export a zip archive file or multiple files. These are compressed files containing all your data which can be unzipped for later use. It can take 12 or more hours to deliver your export depending on how much data you have. 

While OIT does not directly support this process, we have a few tips to help you successfully export your data:

  • You can deselect the apps you don't want to include, or you can click Deselect all and then select only the apps you do want to include.
  • If you don't need data from less common apps, you should deselect them in order to reduce the total size of the export.
  • In most cases, when customizing your export options, Destination should be Send download link via email, Frequency should be Once, and File type & size should be .zip and 2GB.
  • If the process fails, try reducing the file size specified or deselecting more apps to reduce the overall size of the archive. 

Other Steps to Take Before Leaving the University

If your UMN email account is currently active but you know it will be deactivated soon, there are a few steps you can take to facilitate a smooth transition. 

  • IMPORTANT: If you've signed up for other accounts or services (such as social media, online stores, banking portals, etc.) with your UMN email address, sign into those accounts and update their settings to associate them with a different email address.
  • Note: The University accepts no responsibility or liability for any personal or unauthorized use of its resources by users. That includes any losses resulting from loss of access to University email accounts that were being used for personal purposes. Read more about our Acceptable Use of IT Resources policy. 
  • If you are the owner (creator) of shared Google Docs or Google Groups that others will continue to need to access, make sure to transfer ownership of these files or groups before your account is deactivated.
  • While your account is still active, you can create an automatic vacation reply informing those who contact you that this is no longer your primary email and directing them to use your personal email address. 
    • Note: Once your account is deactivated, automatic responses will no longer be sent. Emails sent to your account at this point will receive a bounce message. 
  • While your account is still active, you can also automatically forward your emails to another email account.
    • Note: Deactivated accounts cannot continue to forward emails, so make sure you give any important contacts your new email address.

After Your Account Is Deactivated

The steps in this article cannot be followed after your account has been deactivated. If you've lost access to your account and did not transfer the data you need, you may have options available to you. 

  • If you were staff or faculty, contact your HR department. 
  • If you were a student, contact Technology Help or your academic advisor. 

The Office of Information Technology itself may not be able to authorize access to any data stored in your University of Minnesota account after deactivation, so we strongly encourage you to take the steps outlined in this article to prepare for deactivation in advance. 

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