In fall 2023, the University of Miami revised its post-graduation email policy to ensure new graduates' @miami.edu emails are forwarded to their personal email address. Alumni that retained their UM mailboxes (e.g., those that graduated before the Fall 2023 semester) were transitioned to a forwarding-only account to align with the University's alumni email policy as of November 18, 2024. This change is in alignment with best practices across higher education and essential for protecting our digital environment.
If you are an alumnus using your UM mailbox, your access to the mailbox was removed on November 18, 2024. Alumni were asked to export any important past UM emails before the mailbox closed. As of November 18, when the @miami.edu mailbox was closed, alumni no longer have access to the contents within the mailbox.
Alumni who wish to continue to receive messages sent to their @miami.edu email address should add their personal email address to CaneLink so new incoming mail can be forwarded there accordingly.
Watch this video for an overview of this initiative.
What is changing?
As of November 18, 2024, University of Miami alumni who previously retained mailbox access are no longer able to log in to their UM @miami.edu email mailbox to send or receive emails. Instead, all new emails received are forwarded to an alumnus's personal email address, as noted in CaneLink. As of November 18, past emails in the alumnus's UM mailbox are no longer be accessible. Alumni should follow the steps below to prepare for the transition.
Why is this happening?
The decision to stop offering lifetime @miami.edu mailboxes is part of the University's efforts to strengthen its cybersecurity posture. We are just one of many universities across the nation that have adopted this policy, which is becoming a best practice across higher education. With this change, University of Miami alumni are no longer able to log in to their UM email mailbox to send/receive emails.
Step 1: Switch to an alternate email account.
Alumni who have used their @miami.edu email as their primary email account, and they do not already have a personal email account, are encouraged to open a new email account to provide UM with for email forwarding. Many popular and reputable free email services are available, such as Outlook.com, Gmail, and Yahoo mail.
Step 2: Add your personal email address to CaneLink.
To ensure any new mail sent to your UM mailbox is forwarded accordingly, alumni should log in to CaneLink (canelink.miami.edu) and add their personal email address.
Step 3: Export important emails from your mailbox.
Before November 18, 2024, alumni were asked to back up their email and move any important emails from your @miami.edu mailbox to their personal email account.
As of November 18, 2024, University of Miami alumni who previously retained @miami.edu mailbox access are no longer are able to log in to their alumni UM mailbox to send or receive emails. These UM mailboxes became a forwarding-only account, and new alumni emails are automatically forward* to their personal email address, as noted in CaneLink. After November 18, attempts to send or receive email from your @miami.edu mailbox no longer function. Before November 18, we encouraged alumni to export any important past emails they would like to keep from their UM mailbox. (*Note: If you do not plan on adding a forwarding email address for your UM mailbox and would like to keep a copy of your emails, please export your emails, e.g., by manually forwarding messages to your personal email account.)
Employees who become alumni retain an @miami.edu email as long as they are employed at the University of Miami. Alumni who have returned to UM as a student retain an @miami.edu email as long as they are enrolled at the University. Keep in mind, students* at the University of Miami use Gmail for email. (*Exception: medical students (in M.D. programs) use Outlook for email.)
Alumni are responsible for backing up their email data prior to their @miami.edu account closing. To learn how to back up your past University of Miami email before November 18, 2024, please review this step-by-step guide.
Within the current policy, upon graduation, there is a 60-day grace period for new alumni to access their UM mailbox before deactivation. For more information about forwarding email aliases, please visit the changes to IT services for students informational page.
For technical support—available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—please contact the IT Service Desk at 305-284-6565 or help@miami.edu.
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