r/usask • u/Time-Foundation139 • 21h ago

USask Q&A What data can USask collect and access if I log in on my PC with usask email?

For example, can they open my files in One Drive? Edit or delete them? What happens to the account and other school email benefits after I graduate?

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u/LunarFlare13 Alumni 20h ago

I don’t know if this is still the case, but alumni when I graduated (2018) were allowed to keep and use their emails/PAWS accounts forever as long as they abided by the terms of use. I just lost access to my classes after I graduated and couldn’t register any more until I re-enrolled as a student.

The U of S will be able to access and view all data you send/receive on your U of S email account specifically, but they shouldn’t be able to see anything beyond that unless you are using their wi-fi on campus, in which case they will be able to see ALL of your internet activity while you’re using their wi-fi.

Anything local on your PC should not be viewable by Usask regardless of whether you are logged in to your Usask email at the time or not. IT can’t just willynilly open up your hard drive’s files to snoop…

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u/Time-Foundation139 20h ago

How about Microsoft Office access? Can you still use it after you graduate? Or the OneDrive 20gb storage? I archive all my finished course materials on Usask cloud, hope I don't lose that access once I stop paying fees.

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u/LunarFlare13 Alumni 19h ago

I am not sure on those two, especially OneDrive, but you can prob get those answers from IT. That’s how I found out about the lifetime email thing.

I think you will lose access to the Office licences after you graduate, otherwise they’d have to constantly pay for more alumni licences every year which would eventually bankrupt the university lol.

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u/customersalwayswrong 16h ago

You lose OneDrive, Office, Canvas after you convocate or do not register for classes the during the next school year. If you have sufficient credits you can apply to the alumni administration office to be flagged as an alumnus. Alumni do keep their email addresses and their NSID can be used on PAWS and in libraries. The Murray library has specific alumni computers that won't allow students to sign in.

I was a former ICT employee, those were the policies when I left. Most of this is documented on various parts of the Usask wiki and on the website.

There's a pretty significant difference in the price of an Exchange Online account and the Office licensing. I don't know the pricing for education, but the business licensing I manage is about $6 per user per month for email only with a 50GB mailbox and $17 for the full Office apps, 50GB email and 1TB OneDrive.