Storage and Email Transformation Project

To see how much mailbox storage you've used in Outlook:

1. Log on to Outlook for the Web
2. Click on the Settings menu (the gear icon) at the top of the page
3. Select Settings > Account > Storage.

Microsoft has online instructions for checking your OneDrive storage numbers online.

The Administrative Resource Center (ARC) has instructions you can use to see how much storage you are using in Teams.

Archiving emails and setting retention tags will not only ensure you are a good steward of university resources, but also prevent you from having to do so later if you do exceed limits at some point during your time at Ohio State. Developing good habits now, will save you time in the future. Here are three great reasons to observe retention schedules;  

1. Ensure you keep what you should keep: A records retention schedule is a legally mandated tool that classifies records created, sent or received by the university, and provides instruction for records retention and disposition. Retention schedules cover records on any media format, including paper and electronic.
2. Ensure you discard what you no longer need: Because not all records are equal in value or retention period, the retention period for each message is based upon the content and informational value of the message.  The key to effectively managing emails and electronic messages is to be proactive. University Libraries has extensive information about managing emails. Information about retention requirements that is presented here was drawn from University Libraries’ existing documentation.  
3. Manage Storage Responsibly: Using retention tags will enable you to follow Ohio State’s retention policies and will remove records that you no longer are required to save, reducing the overall number of messages you have stored. By doing so, you will increase storage space in your account to make room for messages that are helpful related to work on current projects.  

University Libraries maintain both a General Retention Schedule and a Unique Retention Schedules that contains record series that are unique to a particular unit’s operations.  

Microsoft Outlook enables you to use Default Retention Tags, Retention Policy Tags, and Personal tags to adhere to university retention recommendations for email records. Based on Ohio State’s retention policies, the university has set up several recommended tags in Outlook for you to use: 1 month, 1 week, 1 year, 10 years, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 months, and 6 years. 

We have posted how-to articles in the Administrative Resource Center so you can learn to use retention tags in the Outlook Web App, in Outlook for Windows and in Outlook for Mac. These articles also provide instructions for using your online archive in any of these apps.   

• Read instructions for Outlook for Windows  or this video.
• Read instructions for Outlook for Mac  or watch this video.
• Read instructions for Outlook Web App (OWA).  or this video.

While retention tags can be applied to individual emails, they work most efficiently when applied at the folder level using a functional filing structure. By doing this, retention tags can be applied to a high-level parent folder and is then inherited by the child folders. You should also know that the retention period for the tag runs based on the date of the email. Tags work best with retention periods beginning with a specific Creation Date (CR) or records that are transient. For retention periods that begin with ACT, which stands for “active,” it might be necessary to increase retention time by a year or two on the retention label to ensure you wait long enough for the active period and the retention period to expire.  

In addition to setting retention tags, here are some things you can do to manage storage:  

• Set retention on sent items in your online archive.
• Archive regularly to establish good habits, even if you are not close to or above storage limits, 
• Empty the Conflicts, Sync Issues, and other folders.
• Ensure the Deleted Items folder is emptied.
• Send links to files stored in OneDrive instead of the file itself to save space. 

University Libraries maintain both a General Retention Schedule and a Unique Retention Schedules that contains record series that are unique to a particular unit’s operations.  

Microsoft Outlook enables you to use Default Retention Tags, Retention Policy Tags, and Personal tags to adhere to university retention recommendations for email records. Based on Ohio State’s retention policies, the university has set up several recommended tags in Outlook for you to use: 1 month, 1 week, 1 year, 10 years, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 months, and 6 years. 

We have posted how-to articles in the Administrative Resource Center so you can learn to use retention tags in the Outlook Web App, in Outlook for Windows and in Outlook for Mac. These articles also provide instructions for using your online archive in any of these apps.   

• Outlook for Windows  
• Outlook for Mac  
• Outlook Web App (OWA)   

While retention tags can be applied to individual emails, they work most efficiently when applied at the folder level using a functional filing structure. By doing this, retention tags can be applied to a high-level parent folder and is then inherited by the child folders. You should also know that the retention period for the tag runs based on the date of the email. Tags work best with retention periods beginning with a specific Creation Date (CR) or records that are transient. For retention periods that begin with ACT, which stands for “active,” it might be necessary to increase retention time by a year or two on the retention label to ensure you wait long enough for the active period and the retention period to expire.

If you use your Ohio State OneDrive storage only for coursework and Ohio State projects, that will help you stay below the storage limit. Other best practices to manage storage include: 

• Store files in the appropriate place: Use OneDrive to store your individual work, such as files that include private info. Use Teams for collaborative work, and any resources that should be owned by the business or group even if you leave the organization.
• Declutter regularly: Set aside time periodically to review and delete files you no longer need. This could be monthly, quarterly, or annually, depending on your workflow.
• Organize files efficiently: Create a clear folder structure that makes sense to you. Use broad categories with subfolders as needed. This will make it easier to locate files and reduce the temptation to save everything in one place.
• Use descriptive file names: Choose file names that are descriptive and meaningful. This will make it easier to identify files at a glance and reduce the need to keep multiple versions of the same document.
• Backup and archive old files: For files you don't need to access regularly but want to keep for reference, consider archiving them onto an external hard drive or cloud storage. This keeps them accessible while freeing up space on your main device.
• Avoid duplicates: Be mindful of creating duplicate files. Instead of saving multiple copies of the same document, consider using version control or saving revisions within the same file. Use software tools or built-in features in your operating system to scan for and remove duplicate files. This can help streamline your storage and reduce clutter.
• Be selective about downloads: Before downloading files from the internet, ask yourself if you really need them, as this can quickly lead to clutter. If you regularly download shared files, take a moment to consider if you really need your own copy, or if the shared file is sufficient for your needs.

Many providers offer free email services. Below are links that can instruct you on setting up an account with any of the top 10 providers. This list is for information purposes only; The Ohio State University does not recommend or endorse any specific email service. 

• AOL
• Global Mail Exchange (GMX)
• Gmail
• iCloud
• Juno
• Mail2World
• Microsoft Outlook
• Proton Mail
• Yahoo!
• Zoho Mail

We recommend taking these steps: 

• Backup: Save important emails – forward to your new address or save elsewhere
• Update Contacts: Inform contacts of your new email - include both personal contacts and accounts (shopping, finance, subscriptions, etc.)
• Download Contacts: Microsoft offers instructions on downloading your contacts list
• Transfer Subscriptions: Update email addresses for subscriptions
• Notify Services: Update accounts tied to your Ohio State email including contacts for purchasing OSU sports tickets
• Update Profiles: If you use your Ohio State address for social media and online profiles, update them
• Check Payments: Update email for subscriptions that use your Ohio State address. 

If you are a graduated student with access to BuckeyeMail, you will also lose the ability to automatically forward your email account to a third-party service on December 31, 2024. From that date forward, you will need to log in to BuckeyeMail to access your email account. Because alumni populations will be impacted differently depending on how they receive our services, we are emailing alumni with links to webpages with information specific to them. We will also be partnering with the Alumni Association to correspond with alumni in the coming months.

Before your email service ends, we recommend switching to a personal email address. We recommend taking these steps: 

• Backup: Save important emails – forward to your new address or save elsewhere
• Update Contacts: Inform contacts of your new email - include both personal contacts and accounts (shopping, finance, subscriptions, etc.)
• Download Contacts: Microsoft offers instructions on downloading your contacts list
• Transfer Subscriptions: Update email addresses for subscriptions
• Notify Services: Update accounts tied to your Ohio State email including contacts for purchasing OSU sports tickets.
• Update Profiles: If you use your Ohio State address for social media and online profiles, update them
• Check Payments: Update email for subscriptions that use your Ohio State address.

You will have 2 years of access to your Microsoft 365 account. At the end of the 2 years the account will be deleted, including email and data.  Because email forwarding will be discontinued on December 31, 2024, you will need to log in to BuckeyeMail to access your email.   

Before your email service ends, we recommend switching to a personal email address. We recommend taking these steps: 

• Backup: Save important emails – forward to your new address or save elsewhere
• Update Contacts: Inform contacts of your new email - include both personal contacts and accounts (shopping, finance, subscriptions, etc.)
• Download Contacts: Microsoft offers instructions on downloading your contacts list
• Transfer Subscriptions: Update email addresses for subscriptions.
• Notify Services: Update accounts tied to your Ohio State email including contacts for purchasing OSU sports tickets.
• Update Profiles: If you use your Ohio State address for social media, online profiles, update them.
• Check Payments: Update email for subscriptions that use your Ohio State address. 

For current students, storage limits effective on June 1, 2025, will be:  

• 100GB Outlook email storage 
• 100GB OneDrive storage  

Automatic email account forwarding to outside email services will be discontinued. Log in to BuckeyeMail to send and retrieve emails from your Ohio State account. If your course instructors use Carmen, check Announcements and Carmen Messaging to ensure you do not miss messages from your instructors. While Ohio State’s policies around email remains unchanged, we recommend that students transition all accounts and contacts not related to the university to a personal email address instead of an Ohio State address. 

Like other Microsoft 365 applications, for current students email services will continue for 2-years after graduation or date of withdrawal (if you do not graduate). At the end of the 2 years your account will be deleted, including email and data. Before that time, we recommend taking these steps: 

• Backup: Save important emails – forward to your new address or save elsewhere
• Update Contacts: Inform contacts of your new email - include both personal contacts and accounts (shopping, finance, subscriptions, etc.)
• Download Contacts: Microsoft offers instructions on downloading your contacts list
• Transfer Subscriptions: Update email addresses for subscriptions.
• Notify Services: Update accounts tied to your Ohio State email including contacts for purchasing OSU, sports tickets.
• Update Profiles: If you use your Ohio State address for social media and online profiles update them
• Check Payments: Update email for subscriptions that use your Ohio State address.

Email service to past students who withdrew from Ohio State will be ending December 31, 2024. Before that time, we recommend taking these steps: 

• Backup: Save important emails – forward to your personal, non-OSU address or save messages elsewhere
• Update Contacts: Inform contacts of your new personal email address - include both personal contacts and accounts (shopping, finance, subscriptions, etc.)
• Download Contacts: Microsoft offers instructions on downloading your contacts list
• Transfer Subscriptions: Update email addresses for subscriptions
• Notify Services: Update accounts tied to your Ohio State email including contacts for purchasing OSU sports tickets.
• Update Profiles: If you use your Ohio State address for online profiles, update them 

Like most faculty and staff, former faculty with emeritus status will have storage limits of 100GB for Outlook, 100GB for email archives, and 500GB for OneDrive beginning in June 2025. If an emeritus faculty member is automatically forwarding an email account to an outside service, that forwarding will end on Dec. 31, 2024. 

Not all retired faculty have emeritus status -- to be considered emeritus, you must have requested and been approved for emeritus status before leaving the university. This special status is available to full-time tenure-track, teaching, or associated faculty who retired or resigned at the age of sixty or older with ten or more years of service or at any age with twenty-five or more years of service.

Forwarding will be unchanged for staff who work at the medical center and forward their lastname.#@osu.edu address to a firstname.lastname@osumc.edu address.

To ensure intended recipients receive your messages, you will need may eventually need to change your source for communications lists to use proper email addresses:

• If you are emailing current students: use either @buckeyemail.osu.edu or @osu.edu addresses are currently valid options
• If you are emailing employees (faculty and staff): use osu.edu
• If you are emailing Wexner Medical Center employees: use @osumc.edu
• If you are emailing alumni and former students: use non-OSU email address

In addition:

• If you email alumni regularly, you will eventually need a personal email (non-Ohio State) to reach these contacts. To prevent numerous areas of the university from contacting the same alumni on multiple occasions, the Alumni Association will take the lead on collecting this data to ensure colleges and departments can continue communicating with alumni who want to stay engaged with the university.
• We recommend that you allow recipients to specify the best email address to contact them. 

Students are currently issued both lastname.#@buckeyemail.osu.edu and lastname.#@osu.edu addresses. A cross departmental group is working on a strategy to streamline student emails to one address, but the plan is not yet complete.

Continue to use lastname.#@osu.edu for current, active university employees and guests.

Change your source for communications lists to use proper email addresses: 

• If you are emailing current students: use either @buckeyemail.osu.edu or @osu.edu addresses are currently valid options
• If you are emailing employees (faculty and staff): use osu.edu
• If you are emailing Wexner Medical Center employees: use @osumc.edu
• If you are emailing alumni and former students: use non-OSU email address