Retiree Eligibility - FAQ

Retirees will lose access to Microsoft desktop apps approximately 30 days after their retirement date, but will retain access to Google and Microsoft web services for approximately 90 days.

After 90 days, retirees should expect to lose all access to CU Boulder-provided Microsoft and Google services except Outlook on the web, which they can use to access their CU Boulder email account.

All files stored in the Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive accounts that are tied to your CU Boulder IdentiKey will be permanently deleted approximately 90 days after your retirement date.

To learn how to transfer or download files from your CU Boulder-provided cloud storage, please refer to the FAQs below.

Yes, OIT's Buff Techs can assist retirees with saving personal files. We encourage you to schedule an appointment with Buff Techs as soon as possible.

Yes. While personal, non-business information can and should be moved to a personally owned storage location, certain information must not leave CU Boulder. In particular:

• University records, as defined by APS 2006 - Retention of University Records, must be retained in accordance with the applicable retention schedule. If you have questions about whether a particular file or email must be retained, contact your supervisor.
• Files containing information classified as highly confidential or high impact must not be copied or removed from an approved storage location.

Rights and ownership of intellectual property and educational materials are governed by the following policies:

• APS 1013 - Intellectual Property Policy on Discoveries and Patents for Their Protection and Commercialization
• APS 1014 - Intellectual Property That Is Educational Materials

It depends on the number of files you will be downloading. The download and transfer processes, especially when done over a residential internet connection, can take a considerable amount of time depending on the size of the files. We encourage you to not wait until the last minute to complete this process.

Yes. As a retiree, you will be able to use your colorado.edu email account through Outlook on the web.

CU's contract with Microsoft does not allow retirees to use CU Boulder-provided Microsoft 365 desktop apps. Retirees may only log in to their colorado.edu email using Outlook on the web. Learn more about Outlook on the web.

Yes. Learn more about multi-factor authentication (MFA) across Microsoft services.

In 2021, Google announced that it would end free storage for universities, which significantly reduced the amount of storage CU Boulder could provide to campus users. The remaining storage was allocated to active students, faculty (including emeritus faculty), staff (including working retirees) and those who need access to these tools to perform volunteer duties for the university.

No. Once your Google account is deactivated, you'll no longer be able to use "Sign in with Google." Before that happens, log in to your Google account and check which apps and services are linked to your account.

Please note: If your browser is signed in to a personal Google account, you will need to switch to your CU Boulder Google account for the correct list of linked apps and services.

Google's transfer service allows to you to move Gmail emails, documents you own and, in some circumstances, documents in your Shared with me folder to a personal Google account. Please follow Google's file transfer instructions carefully.

Yes. When your Google Drive files are deleted, everyone will lose access unless you've either moved the files to a department-owned location (e.g., Google Shared Drive) or transferred ownership to a current employee (see Google's instructions to transfer ownership).

To transfer ownership to someone with whom you've already shared the file or folder, refer to Google's Make Someone Else the Owner of Your File tutorial.

Per the terms of the university's contract with Microsoft, we are only permitted to provide the full suite of Microsoft services to actively affiliated students, faculty and staff. We are not permitted to provide Microsoft services beyond Outlook on the web to non-working, non-volunteer faculty and staff retirees.

Yes. When your Microsoft OneDrive files are deleted, everyone will lose access to them unless you've either moved the files to a department-owned location (e.g., SharePoint site, UCB Files file share) or transferred ownership to a current employee (see Microsoft OneDrive - Transfer Ownership of Shared Files).

To transfer ownership to someone with whom you've already shared the file or folder, refer to our Microsoft OneDrive - Transfer Ownership of Shared Files tutorial.