While the end of the semester can feel like closing a chapter, the shared files, accounts, and access you leave behind still matter. Taking a moment to plan can help protect your work and personal information.

Preparing for graduation

Before graduation, take time to understand how your access to university services will change. Just because your HawkID (your university login) is active doesn’t mean every service will continue to be available after graduation. University email and Microsoft 365 end two years after graduation or your last course, but online library resources end immediately.

To help plan for this change:

• Save personal coursework you’re authorized to keep, especially work that may help with portfolios and interviews.
• Hand off shared files, surveys, and student organization accounts to someone who is staying.
• Make sure university records and research data stay in approved university locations, not on personal storage.
• Move accounts that use your university email, such as banking or job sites, to a personal email so you can reset those passwords.

During your time here, you may have held several roles, such as teaching assistant, researcher, or student employee. When one of those roles ends, ask your supervisor to update the access that came with it, even if you’re staying at the university.

Your records, your privacy

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), a federal privacy law, protects your education records, including grades, schedules, and class rosters. Once you’re enrolled, the right to share those records belongs to you, not your parents, and the university generally needs your written permission to release them. These protections continue after you leave campus. 

Watch for graduation scams

Students nearing graduation are frequent targets for fake job offers, scholarships that require a fee, and messages claiming you must pay to release your transcript or diploma. Be cautious of messages that pressure you to act quickly or ask for payment, gift cards, or bank details. The university will never ask for your password. 

Reporting a concern

If you think your account has been compromised or if you receive a suspicious message, report it to the university’s Information Security and Policy Office through Report an incident or [email protected]. Reports can be made even when you don’t have all the details.