Changes to Your Alumni Email Account

Audience: This page was intended for existing Pepperdine Alumni Email account holders who had previously stored or transferred content to their Alumni account Google Drive or Google Photos. Original notifications were sent on March 15, April 16, May 14, and June 11, 2022 to the email address that each alumni member last indicated as their best contact information. In early 2023, a final notice was sent to all available email addresses on file to alumni who did not receive or open the prior notices.

Final Deadline Was April 7, 2023

All Alumni Google Drive Data Permanently Deleted

As of May 25, 2023, all Google Drive data for "@alumnimail.pepperdine.edu" alumni email accounts has been permanently deleted. Although Google Drive and Photos are no longer available, Pepperdine alumni may continue to use their Alumni Gmail-only account to remain connected with peers and the University.

Prior Extension Details

In early 2023, we reached out to alumni members who never opened our original email notices in spring/summer 2022. We attempted to reach them at all available email addresses on file. We communicated the following final courtesy extension deadlines and recommendations:

Requests: We strongly recommended that they submit requests by Friday, March 31, 2023, to allow enough time to start the transfer and download process.
Download or Transfer: Alumni were invited to complete the Google Takeout process no later than Friday, April 7, 2023, to download or transfer their data.
Permanent Deletion: We warned alumni that all Pepperdine Alumni Google Drive and Photos data would be permanently purged starting on Friday, April 14, 2023. We reminded them that there would be no extensions or recovery possible after this date.

Again, all data has now been permanently deleted.

(Original Deadline) Download Your Alumni Google Data by June 15, 2022

Google has changed its storage policy for education. After careful review and consideration, the University had to amend the Alumni Email program accordingly. On July 1, 2022, Pepperdine Alumni accounts are now "Gmail-only" and no longer have access to Google Drive and Photos. The deadline to download any existing alumni data was June 15, 2022. Pepperdine alumni will still be able to continue using their Alumni Gmail service to stay engaged with fellow alumni, friends, colleagues, and the University.

The following information was provided prior to the deadline to help alumni download any data.

Before You Begin

Act before your Google Drive and Photos data disappears! Again, we recommend that you download your data by June 15, 2022 so that you have plenty of time to retrieve any documents, photos, or other data you wish to retain. The Google Drive and Photos data will be permanently deleted after July 1, 2022, so please don't delay!
Make sure that you have enough storage space! Log into your Pepperdine Alumni Google account and then visit https://www.google.com/settings/storage to see how much storage space you are using in Gmail, Google Drive, or Google Photos. Compare this storage amount to the available hard drive space on your computer. Refer to Windows 10 Storage and macOS Storage articles to learn how. If necessary, free up space on your computer's hard drive or download the alumni data to a third-party cloud storage solution of your choice.

Forgot Your Password?

When you signed up, you provided Google with a contact phone number and an alternate email address for account recovery. Visit Google Account Recovery and enter your Pepperdine Alumni Email address (e.g. first.last@alumnimail.pepperdine.edu). Follow the prompts and use your recovery method (phone, email, and/or security questions) to complete any verification steps. If you need more help, please visit Google's support documentation: "How to recover your Google Account or Gmail."

What You Need to Do and Other Considerations

Step 1: Delete Unwanted Content

Before you download your content, you may wish to do some spring cleaning first. There is no reason to download content that you no longer need!

Visit gmail.com to log into your @alumnimail.pepperdine.edu Google account.
Go to Google Drive (drive.google.com).
Review your content.
Select an unwanted file, right-click, and choose "Move to trash."
Repeat for any additional files you no longer need.

Please refer to Google's documentation for full instructions: "Delete and restore files in Google Drive".

Step 2: Transfer Ownership to Others

If you collaborated with others on research, class, or work projects, and you are no longer interested or affiliated but those projects are ongoing or important to others, be sure to transfer the ownership of any Google documents to the relevant colleagues that need to continue to access that information.

Visit gmail.com to log into your @alumnimail.pepperdine.edu Google account.
Go to Google Drive (drive.google.com).
Locate and open the file.
Click "Share."
Review the list.
- If an existing individual is the best person to own the document (and their contact information is still current!), select the person's current access role (e.g. Editor) and choose "Transfer ownership". Select "Yes" when prompted to confirm the action.
- If no one on the list is an ideal contact, then add the relevant email address in the "Add people and groups" box, enter a message (optional), and click "Send". Once added, then change the role from "Editor" to "Transfer ownership." Select "Yes" when prompted to confirm the action.
Click "Done" when finished.
Repeat for any additional files/folders.
Once you have finished your spring cleaning, you may keep items in the trash for auto-deletion after 30 days or empty the trash to

Please refer to Google's documentation for full instructions: "Make someone else the owner of your file".

Step 3: Download Google Data to your Computer

The "Google Takeout" tool allows you to download much of your Pepperdine Alumni Google account data as an export file to your own computer. You can select all of the options you desire and then choose the file format and method for retrieval. The Google Takeout process can take up to a week depending on the amount of content involved.

Remember, be sure that you have adequate storage space on your local computer hard drive. See the "Before You Begin" steps above. Also, deleting or transferring ownership of files will reduce your download, too.

Quick Instructions

Visit gmail.com to log into your @alumnimail.pepperdine.edu Google account.
Visit "Google Takeout" and the "Download or delete your data" option at https://takeout.google.com/settings/takeout
On the "Create a New Export" form, select all of the data to include in your download (e.g. Drive and Google Photos).
Click "Next Step" to continue.
Select: “Send download link via email” and “Export once.”
Select the file format (e.g. .zip) and size (e.g. 2 GB increments).
Click “Create export.”
Follow the remaining onscreen or email instructions to complete the process and download the appropriate file(s) once they are ready.

Please refer to Google's support article for complete details and instructions, "Copy content from your school account to another account".

Once you have downloaded the relevant data to your computer, you may keep the files on your personal computer or upload the files to your personal third-party cloud storage service.

To learn how to extract data from a .zip file, refer to the following resources:

Microsoft Windows: "Zip and Unzip files"
Apple macOS: "Zip and unzip files and folders on Mac"

Step 4: Search for Google Drive Files Shared with You

When you download your Google Data, it can only include the documents, files, and photos that you own. It will not include files that other people have shared with you. Please check for any of these shared files that are important. You may wish to add a personal Google email account as an editor or communicate with the file owners to add an alternate email account for your continued collaboration or access. Depending on the permissions, you may be able to download or print the file(s).

Visit gmail.com to log into your @alumnimail.pepperdine.edu Google account.
Go to Google Drive (drive.google.com).
In the left navigation, select "Shared with me".
Review the file list for important documents to which you wish to retain access. Some options to consider:
- Add An Alternate Email: If you are an editor, click Share and add a personal Google account for future access. Learn more about how to "Share files from Google Drive".
- Download a Copy: If available, go to the File menu, select Download, and choose a format (e.g. Microsoft Word or PDF). Save the file on your computer. Learn more about how to "Download a file" on Google Drive.

We hope these steps help you identify other content you may need to review. Please refer to Google's documentation for full instructions: "Find files shared with you in Drive".

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Pepperdine Alumni Email program changing?

Yes. New and current Alumni will continue to enjoy an @alumnimail.pepperdine.edu Gmail account to stay connected with student colleagues, potential employers, and the University. However, Google has announced that it will eliminate unlimited storage for education. This change impacts all educational institutions, from K-12 to higher education, including Pepperdine. Due to this change in Google storage policy, the Alumni Email program will be Gmail-only. Effective July 1, 2022, additional Google Workspace tools like Google Drive or Photos will no longer be available to alumni accounts. Also, dormant alumni email accounts will be deleted after one year of inactivity.

How will existing Pepperdine Alumni Email account holders be notified?

(Original Sends) Pepperdine University will do its best to contact alumni with an existing Pepperdine University Alumni Email account. We will send a series of notices to the contact email address last indicated as the best/preferred contact information. The notices will include a link to this web page and emphasize the June 15, 2022 deadline. June 15 is when alumni should review and download any Google Drive or Google Photos content; July 1 is when all Drive/Photos data will be deleted from the alumni email domain.

(Additional Sends) We reviewed our multiple earlier campaigns and detected that some alumni never opened any of those earlier messages. To be sure that they received the notice, we contacted them in March 2023 about the final deadline to download or transfer their data before it will be permanently purged on April 14, 2023.

Will I be required to keep my Pepperdine Alumni Email account active?

Yes. Alumni can enjoy their @alumnimail.pepperdine.edu account if the account remains active. Dormant accounts may become targets to hackers and place alumni information and University resources at risk. For this reason, Alumni Email accounts will be suspended and then deleted after one year of inactivity. Once an account has been deleted, it will be irrecoverable. So, we encourage our Alumni to check and use their accounts on a regular basis.

What do I need to do before June 15, 2022 (or April 7, 2023)?

Please see the What You Need to Do and Other Considerations section above.

(Original Send) We set the deadline of June 15, 2022 to allow everyone enough time to evaluate their content and initiate the download process before access to Google Drive and Photos was removed. Please be aware that Google Takeout can take up to a week to process large download requests, so please plan ahead if there is content you wish to keep. After July 1, 2022, you will no longer have an opportunity to access or download any Google Drive or Google Photos content.

(Final Notice) By April 7, 2023, you need to download or transfer any Google Drive or Photos data from your Pepperdine alumni account. Contact Tech Central at 310.506.4357 to request access to your alumni Google Drive data. Once access has been provided, you will have a limited amount of time to use Google Takeout to download or transfer your data. Refer to the instructions above.

How can I see how much content I have stored in my Pepperdine Alumni Email account?

(Original Send) Log into your Pepperdine Alumni Email account at gmail.com. Once you are logged into your Pepperdine Alumni email account, visit https://www.google.com/settings/storage. You will be presented with an overview of the amount of Email, Google Drive, and Google Photos storage you are using.

(Final Send) Contact Tech Central at 310.506.4357 and request access to your Pepperdine Alumni Google Drive and Photos data. After permissions have been sent, follow the instructions listed above.

What happens if I take no action?

If you decide that the content is no longer relevant or needed, you do not need to take action. On July 1, 2022, your access to Google Drive and Google Photos content will be removed, and then the content will be deleted permanently.

If you continue to use your Pepperdine Alumni Email account, you will retain access to your @alumnimail.pepperdine.edu email address. After one year of inactivity, however, dormant Alumni Email accounts will be deleted. See "Will I be required to keep my Pepperdine Alumni Email account active?" above for more information.

Can I get an extension?

We're very sorry, but all Pepperdine Alumni email Google Drive and Photos data will be permanently deleted starting Friday, April 14, 2023. Google's policy changes require this action so that Pepperdine Alumni Email users can continue to use their email service.

I forgot my Pepperdine Alumni Email password. Can I reset it?

Password resets are through the Google Account Recovery process. When you signed up for your Pepperdine Alumni Email account, you provided a recovery phone number and email address. Please follow Google's instructions: "How to recover your Google Account or Gmail."

Need Help?

Contact Tech Central at 310.506.4357.