Office of Information Technology

The purpose of the Email Retention Guide is to familiarize our University employee community with the current email system retention policy and provide guidance on additional steps that can be taken to safeguard email records beyond the established limitations in a supported manner, if needed.

Procedures and Responsibilities

The retention settings are designed to comply with the established Standard Administrative Procedures (SAP 29.01.03.10.01, sect. 19.9-19.15), which govern the storage of email on the central mail system. The complete Standard Administrative Procedure (SAP) may be found at:

TAMIU Rules and SAP's

SAP 29.01.03.10.01

Email Retention

As required by SAP 29.01.03.10.01, TAMIU has set the following retention policies for the mailboxes stored on the University’s email servers (Microsoft Office 365):

• Emails 30 days old (from the date they were received/sent) will be automatically deleted from the following top-level system default email folders and subfolders: Inbox, Sent Items, Junk Emails, and Any Additional Subfolders.
• Emails 2 days or older will be deleted automatically from the following folders: Deleted Items.

Email Retention Options

If there is a need to retain emails beyond the intervals stated above, there are two (2) supported options based on the specific needs of the individual mail account user. These options work independently of each other and may also be used concurrently as needed.

Email users are encouraged to consult with the State of Texas and the Texas A&M University System retention rules to determine which approach is best for them. Visit the approved TAMUS Records Retention Schedule to learn more.

Email users who have a need that this guide does not address, and who require a tailored approach to meet their unique email retention needs, are invited to contact the OIT Help Desk. Our team will work to provide an adequate solution.

Option 1 "Online Archive" - 365 days

Mail may be retained online in the central email servers for an additional 365 days (from the date it was received/sent) if they are moved or copied to the server email archive folder either by individually selecting and moving the email message (s) or by a user-created rule. Emails retained in this manner will remain accessible to users however they access their mail account (through the web, on their mobile device, or through the Microsoft Outlook client on their machine).

Inbox Server Archive rule creation

For inbox email, this may be achieved when the user creates an email server rule that creates a copy of the message automatically to the archive folder of the central email servers. The rule can be defined broadly such that it will apply to all messages or may be more narrowly defined email from certain individuals or containing keywords. Once set, the rule runs continuously and ensures that a copy of the email message is backed up to the archive mailbox. Sent emails may only be archived manually using the individual email archive process specified below.

Archive button for individual emails or groups of emails (including sent emails)

The Archive button moves the selected message(s) to the central email server folder named "Archive". The Archive icon is available on your Microsoft Outlook client, Outlook Web Access, and your mobile device.

Microsoft Outlook Client

Outlook on the Web

iOS/Android

You may also copy individual emails or groups of emails to your central email server archive folder by selecting the email message(s), right-clicking, and selecting "Copy", then selecting Archive. This method is not supported on Outlook for mobile devices (Android or iOS)

Option 2 "Offline Storage" - Indefinite

Mail may be retained indefinitely by storing it on the hard drive of a user's University computer via a separate archive file. This method will not be controlled by the central email server retention policies. Mail stored in this method may only be accessed using the Microsoft Outlook Client installed on your machine and will not be accessible through the web mail portal or through any mobile clients (such as phones and tablets).

Note: If the hard drive that contains the archive files becomes unusable due to machine failure or loss, these messages will be lost.

Microsoft Windows users who utilize Microsoft Outlook should have their emails automatically moved or copied to their archive PST file by rule or manually. Similarly, macOS users using Microsoft Outlook for Mac should have their emails automatically moved or copied to their “On My Computer” folder by rule or manually.

Two steps are required to move or copy email messages to an archive PST file or “On My Computer” folder.

Step 1:

Locate or create your local mail offline mail folders. For full instructions, refer to this Word document to locate or create your local offline mail folders in Outlook for Windows.

Outlook Data Files (.pst) are saved on your computer by default in the Documents\Outlook Files folder; however, it is highly recommended to store them in the following path: C:\Users\YourUserName\Outlook Files to prevent possible sync issues with online backup solutions.

Microsoft Outlook for MAC (On my Computer) is sometimes hidden. If so, please view this Word document and follow the steps inside to unhide the “On My Computer” archive folder.

Step 2:

Set up a rule (for Outlook for Mac, Outlook for Windows, or Outlook on the Web). The rule can be defined broadly, capturing all new emails in my inbox, or it may be more narrowly defined, targeting all emails from specific individuals or containing certain keywords. Once set, the rule runs continuously and ensures that a copy of the emails is backed up to the archive mailbox.

See rule examples that move copies of all inbox emails to Offline Archive. For full instructions, please visit the appropriate link:

Outlook for macOS

Outlook for Windows

Outlook on the Web

FAQs

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