Effective Thursday, March 6, 2025, Washington State University will begin archiving all emails older than six months to an online archive. This process will occur for faculty, staff, students, and alumni automatically, and all emails older than six months will be archived daily thereafter. No action is required for this change.
The email online archive will be accessible in the regular mail folders within Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, Outlook on the Web, and Outlook for iOS and Android.
Access to the online archive may not be immediate on March 6, as Outlook may require up to 30 days to transfer data. However, Outlook will remain fully functional, and WSU users will retain uninterrupted access to all emails during this transition.
The email online archive reduces primary mailbox storage demands while ensuring continued access to historical emails, maintaining organization and efficiency. With a 100 GB capacity, it provides ample space for long-term storage without occupying local device storage.
In May 2026, WSU will also implement additional storage changes that will reduce the available storage capacity for Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, and SharePoint. To minimize any potential service disruptions in May 2026, ITS encourages all WSU users to begin reducing their Microsoft cloud-based storage usage now.
The WSU Email Online Archive resource page guides users through accessing the email online archive, details online archive limitations, offers recommendations for managing Microsoft cloud storage, outlines upcoming Microsoft storage limit changes, and more.
For any questions or assistance, please contact Crimson Service Desk at crimsonservicedesk@wsu.edu or 509-335-4357.
