Alumni OneDrive Accounts – Research Data Deletion
September 19, 2024
ORI was recently notified by Drexel IT that some researchers have reported being unable to access files in alumni OneDrives. While alumni have Drexel-affiliated email after graduation, OneDrive and other services are intended to end soon after graduation, in compliance with the Microsoft 365 services agreement. Until recently, alumni OneDrives were not being regularly deleted, however with recent changes from Microsoft, previous Drexel alumni OneDrives were deleted.
Although OneDrive is a University-approved and supported platform for sharing data, student accounts should not be used for long-term storage, especially for institutional information. This includes research data, which often has additional requirements for retention and access due to funders and regulatory requirements.
Research data should not solely be on a student’s OneDrive since such files are subject to deletion upon graduation or change to alumni status.
Researchers who have or may have data in alumni OneDrive accounts should attempt to access the data before September 27, 2024 to validate that it is accessible. If you need assistance with how to access such research data in an alumni OneDrive, contact your IT department or the Drexel IT Help Desk.
If you cannot access your research data from an alumni OneDrive, submit this form before September 27, 2024:
Drexel Alumni Account Retention Form
Alumni OneDrives containing inaccessible files reported by September 27, 2024 will be temporarily restored so that you can move your research files to a Drexel faculty or staff OneDrive before the alumni OneDrive is permanently deleted.
In addition, as you consider storage of future research data, we wanted to remind you of the following resources and options: