Here's what you need to know to make sure your important files and software come with you after you leave the University of Illinois.

What happens to my account when I graduate?

To protect our network, we remove the student status from the NetIDs of all undergraduates, graduate students, and professional students after they leave the university. All of your crucial services - email, software, library access, computer lab access - are tied to your NetID and your status as a student. You can continue to use all of your services until your student status is removed.

Your student affiliation will expire approximately 1 year after your last registered semester, regardless of your graduation date. For example, if you last registered for classes in the fall of 2019 but your graduation date was summer 2020, your affiliation will end in fall 2020. 

Services that continue beyond graduation

Graduating seniors, graduate students, and professional students can continue to use these services:

• Email forwarding from your @illinois.edu email address (emails will forward to an outside address, your actual inbox will be deleted)

  • Instructions: Email, How to set up email forwarding.

• Perpetual license software already downloaded and installed from the WebStore.

• Access to McKinley medical records. More information available here.

NOTE: If you are leaving the University without graduating, your email forwarding will end after 1 year.

Services that expire after graduation

Once your student affiliation has expired, you will not be able to use these services. 

• Direct access to your email inbox (Google or Exchange)

   

• Discounted software, software subscriptions, and purchasing history at WebStore

• Access to online courses (Canvas, Compass 2g, Moodle, etc.)

• LinkedIn Learning

• Library e-resource access 

  • More information here: Library, Borrowing Policy and Access to Online Resources 

• VPN

• Handshake (to create an alumni account, visit here)

• U of I Box
  

• Web Hosting Services (publish.illinois.edu websites, cPanel-hosted websites)

Planning ahead

Important steps to take soon after you graduate:

• Make sure your password recovery options are up-to-date in the NetID Center.

• Set up email forwarding if desired

  • Once your student status is removed, you will no longer be able to log into your university email account. However, you can still be reached at your NetID@illinois.edu address if you set up forwarding to an outside address. Download or forward any important emails that you may need before you lose your student status. Thirty days after student status is removed from your account, your Exchange mailbox will be destroyed and any mail within it will be permanently lost.

• Download any programs and save keys from your Webstore purchases

  • Before your student affiliation expires, buy, download, and migrate what you can right now. Perpetual license software will continue to work, but you should make a copy of your software and record access keys/codes now.

• Backup any website content you wish to keep or migrate it to a commercial hosting provider
• Make sure to migrate any data you want to keep. See Identity Management, Leaving the University, Migrating your Data.

What happens if I leave without graduating?

For more information, please see Identity Management, Leaving Campus Without Graduating.