Oregon Institute of Technology to Discontinue Alumni Email Forwarding for Class of 2026 — Full Details
What this means
- Graduates from Class of 2026 onwards will not have their university email addresses automatically forwarded to personal accounts after graduation.
- Previous classes continue to have forwarding privileges as per existing policies.
- Alumni will need to rely on personal email accounts for professional or university-related correspondence.
Reasoning behind the change
- Cost and resource management
- Maintaining email forwarding for thousands of alumni requires IT infrastructure and ongoing support.
- Encouraging professional identity management
- Alumni are encouraged to establish their own stable, long-term professional email addresses.
- Security and privacy considerations
- Forwarding addresses can be exploited for spam, phishing, or unauthorized access if not maintained securely.
Implications for graduates
- Graduates must update contacts and subscriptions with their personal email accounts.
- Alumni communications, newsletters, and notifications will require alternative email addresses.
- Networking, recruitment, and university outreach may need proactive email update submissions.
Comparisons and industry context
- Several universities in the U.S. have phased out lifetime alumni email forwarding to reduce IT costs and cybersecurity risks.
- Some institutions provide paid alumni email accounts or encourage forwarding via third-party email services.
- The trend reflects modern professional expectations of maintaining personal, permanent email addresses post-graduation.
Official guidance from OIT
- Class of 2026 students are advised to:
- Set up a personal, professional email before graduation
- Notify key contacts and professional networks of their updated email
- Subscribe to alumni newsletters using their personal email address
- University IT will provide transition support, but forwarding services will end upon graduation.
Expert commentary
- IT and higher education analysts note that:
- Email forwarding can pose long-term security and maintenance challenges.
- Encouraging personal email adoption aligns graduates with professional norms.
- Universities increasingly focus on digital security and cost efficiency rather than lifetime email privileges.
Key Takeaway
For the Class of 2026, OIT’s discontinuation of email forwarding means:
Graduates must proactively manage their professional email identities, ensuring continuity for alumni communications, job applications, and networking, while the university reduces IT overhead and security risks.
This move ref
Oregon Institute of Technology Alumni Email Forwarding — Case Studies and Commentary
The Oregon Institute of Technology has announced that starting with the Class of 2026, it will discontinue alumni email forwarding services. Below are illustrative case studies and expert commentary showing the impact and broader context.
Case Studies
1) Class of 2025 and prior — existing forwarding service
Situation
- Alumni received email forwarding from their OIT address to a personal email account.
- This service helped maintain continuity in professional correspondence, including job applications, networking, and university communications.
Outcome
- Alumni maintained connections with faculty, recruiters, and university updates.
- Some faced issues when forwarders became inactive due to long-term IT maintenance delays.
Lesson: Forwarding is convenient but requires long-term IT oversight and support, which can be costly.
2) Class of 2026 — transition to personal email
Situation
- OIT will no longer forward emails automatically for the Class of 2026.
- Graduates must now establish personal, permanent email accounts prior to graduation.
Implications
- Students must proactively notify professional contacts and alumni networks.
- Alumni communications, such as newsletters and event invitations, will rely on personal emails.
- Universities may provide temporary transition guidance, but long-term email responsibility falls on graduates.
Lesson: Alumni must take ownership of their professional digital identity, a practice now common in higher education.
3) Comparative institutional trends
Situation
- Many U.S. universities have phased out lifetime email forwarding:
- Some offer paid alumni accounts (e.g., Stanford, Harvard alumni domains)
- Others encourage personal accounts while maintaining official directories and mailing lists
Outcome
- Reduces IT infrastructure costs
- Minimizes security risks associated with abandoned accounts
- Aligns with professional norms for email permanence
Lesson: OIT’s move is consistent with industry trends prioritizing cost-efficiency and security over lifetime forwarding.
Expert Commentary
1) Cost and IT efficiency
- Maintaining millions of forwarded emails over decades requires significant server resources and monitoring.
- Discontinuation frees IT resources for current students and secure communications.
2) Security considerations
- Forwarded accounts can be exploited for phishing or spam.
- Encouraging personal email use reduces exposure to long-term cyber risks.
3) Professional digital identity
- Alumni must manage consistent, permanent email addresses for career and networking purposes.
- This transition encourages good digital hygiene and independence.
4) Communication continuity
- Universities need to maintain official alumni mailing lists to ensure outreach and events reach graduates even without forwarding.
Key Takeaway
OIT’s decision for the Class of 2026:
Shifts responsibility for email continuity to graduates, requiring them to manage their professional digital identities while the university reduces IT costs and security risks.
This change mirrors a broader higher education trend emphasizing alumni self-management, cybersecurity, and resource optimization.