Alumni Gmail

Activate your Alumni Gmail

Please note: As of August 2023 these accounts are Gmail only, without access to Drive, Photos, or additional Google services.

Step 1: Sign in to Wake Network

Use your student email account or personal Gmail

Step 2: Activate your Alumni Gmail in Wake Network

  1. Click the Settings tab
  2. Fill out required fields
  3. Click Activate. Done!

Note: It may take up to 15 minutes for your Alumni Account to activate.

Step 3: Sign in to your Alumni Gmail

Log in to Gmail using your full alumni email address (ex: TheDemonDeacon@alumni.wfu.edu

FAQ

Forget your username or password? 

No problem! Login to WakeNetwork (“settings” menu or your profile) for email account username. Forgot password? Easily recover your account.  Still not sure?  Contact alumni@wfu.edu for help.

What is an Alumni Gmail account and why do I need it?

The Alumni Office and Information Services offer WFU Alumni Gmail accounts to students and alumni.  This Gmail account will provide all of Gmail’s standard functionality with 25GB* of storage. See additional information below about how to transfer content from your existing student @wfu.edu address to your new @alumni.wfu.edu account (no, this does not happen automatically).

* Accounts created before August 2023 currently have access to Gmail (email), Drive, and Photos and with 50GB of cloud storage. Accounts created after August 2023 have access to Gmail (email) only with 25GB of cloud storage. Changes to Google terms of services made continuation of this suite of services and cloud storage unsustainable.

How do I move my existing @wfu.edu email messages to my new @alumni.wfu.edu account?

We recommend the use of Google Takeout Transfer to facilitate this.

  • It’s free
  • You can transfer labels
  • You can transfer all file types
  • May take up to a week to complete the transfer

How do I transfer my contacts from my @wfu.edu account?

Step One: Export your Gmail Contacts – When exporting contacts from your student Google account, be sure to use the Google CSV format. This makes it easy to import them into your Alumni account.

Step Two: Import your Gmail Contacts – Now you can use the CSV you have created to import your contacts into your Alumni Google account.

What should I do with my @wfu.edu Google Drive Files?

We know your files are important to you and you may want to access them after commencement. We recommend using Google Takeout to transfer your Drive files to a Google One account.  You can also manually share and copy the files by following these steps:

  1. Select the files you want to share in your student account
  2. Right-click or use the “More” menu and select “Share”
  3. Share the files with your Google One account
  4. Log into your Google One account and open Google Drive
  5. Select all of the files you just shared, and right-click or use the “More” menu to select “Make a Copy”

**”Make a Copy” will create a copy of each of these documents that are now owned by your Google One account.  If you do not Make a Copy, the file will be deleted from your Google One account when your @wfu.edu account is deactivated 60 days after Commencement.**

How long do I have to transfer my information to a new account?

Your current @wfu.edu account will be deleted approximately 60 days after your graduation.

Help! I can’t access my alumni account! Who should I contact?

We’re happy to help! Contact us at Wake Network Help (wknthelp@wfu.edu) any time.

Want to temporarily forward your student emails to a different account?

Click here for further instruction.

What’s the catch?

  1. You have to comply with Google’s Terms of Service.
  2. You must remain under the established 25GB quota.
  3. You must keep the Alumni Gmail account active by logging into the account at least once a year.
  4. Accounts that do not meet these criteria are subject to suspension and termination.

How can I keep my account under the 25GB quota?

There are several ways to keep your current storage usage below the 25GB limit.

  1. Migrate your content to a personal Google One account using the Google Transfer tool.
  2. Export your files and preserve them in an external hard drive, or within another cloud storage platform of your choice. See a helpful Google article on managing and exporting your data to inform your approach. 
  3. Evaluate your files and delete content to get below the Limit.  You should review and delete large or unnecessary files in Drive, review and delete large or unnecessary files in shared drives, then consider deleting Drive content that you may have copied to a shared drive. If a file resides in 2 locations, it may be consuming twice the storage space.
  4. Content stored in Trash will count against your quota for up to 30 days in Drive and 60 days in Photos. Empty your trash permanently to safeguard against this.
  5. Ready for a clean slate? If you’d like, we can help to “wipe your account clean” while ensuring you keep your @alumni.wfu.edu email address. While it is the easiest, this option is not for everyone, as it will remove and delete all data in the account, including any email history. To take this approach, please contact alumni@wfu.edu and ask for your account to be deleted and recreated.

Helpful Links