If you’re on the verge of graduating and starting a new life after Tech, congratulations! But don’t turn your tassel without taking advantage of what Tech can offer you long after you’re gone from the grounds.

Once you leave, the services provided by the Office of Information Technology change, but not everything goes away. You will always be a Yellow Jacket, but you’ll be a former student when you have not registered for two consecutive terms. After that, some — but not all — online resources will no longer be available to you.

Here is an overview of what you lose, what you keep, and what your alumni status may provide after graduation.

What You Keep

Your Georgia Tech account will always remain active so you can access certain systems, and, even when you are no longer a student, your password will not expire. Here are some resources that will be available to you for life:

• PassPort (the Personal Account Self Service Portal): This site allows you to manage your Georgia Tech account, control your alias (EMFL), manage your hints, and change your password if needed.
• BuzzPort: Through BuzzPort, former students are able to maintain access to the Student Information System (OSCAR) to obtain transcripts, for example.
• T-Square: Former students continue to have partial access to Tech’s course management and collaboration system, T-Square.

What You Lose

You will be notified via email before losing access to services such as:

• LAWN (wireless network): The wireless network is unavailable to former students. For more information about LAWN, visit lawn.gatech.edu.
• Prism (2 GB cloud storage on Georgia Tech servers): If you have stored files on Prism, including any Prism public websites you’ve created, be sure to relocate any work you want to keep. The following links provide information about copying or downloading Prism files to your own resources: https://faq.oit.gatech.edu/node/84 (Windows) and https://faq.oit.gatech.edu/node/83 (Mac).
• MyGaTech (Zimbra email service): MyGaTech, which includes your email and storage on the mail servers, will expire once you become a former student. You will no longer be able to log in to my.gatech.edu or mail.gatech.edu. Any email you wish to keep should be saved or downloaded from MyGaTech to your own resource before your access expires.

Former students who are in good standing with the Institute, however, have the option of receiving Email Forwarding for Life (EMFL). EMFL does not provide you with a mailbox within the Georgia Tech email system, but it does allow you to keep your Georgia Tech email alias (the @gatech.edu address), which will then forward messages on to any other valid email address. In order to set this up, visit this FAQ for assistance.

Even if you already have been forwarding your email using your Georgia Tech alias, please log in to PassPort and make sure that your Georgia Tech mailbox address (the @mail.gatech.edu address) is removed from your alias delivery. Otherwise, anyone emailing you after MyGaTech expires will receive an “undelivered” reply, even though the message is still forwarded to you. For more information on EMFL, see FAQs from OIT.

What You Can Get

After leaving Tech, you will be able to access some services and resources only for a certain amount of time or, in some cases, for a fee. These include:

• Library Resources: Online access is available through an annual donation of $50 to Roll Call (contact Gerri Elder for more information). You can also access the library as a visitor; more on that here.
• CareerBuzz: You will be able to access this career services system for a fee once you become a former student. Alumni Association Career Services also can assist with career planning, job searches and career transition activities. Whether you are a recent graduate or a professional making a change in your career, these services are available throughout your professional life.
• Lynda Online Training: Lynda, the online tutorial database open to the Tech community, will remain available to you for one full semester after you graduate.
• TechWorks: If you ever worked for Georgia Tech, your access to TechWorks will remain active for up to two years after your employee status changes to “former.”

If you have questions, please contact the Technology Support Center at 404-894-7173 or support@oit.gatech.edu, or stop by suite 215 in the Clough Commons.