Office of Information Technology

No.

The University's email retention policies apply uniformly to all Microsoft 365 email accounts, including:

• Faculty and staff mailboxes
• Shared mailboxes
• Departmental mailboxes
• Service accounts

Individual users, departments, or administrative units may not opt out of the University's standard retention policies.

While email messages in standard mailbox folders are no longer automatically deleted based on age, all users remain subject to the same mailbox storage limits, retention settings, and records management requirements established by University policy.

Users with unique business, legal, compliance, or records retention requirements should contact the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and the appropriate University offices for guidance on approved retention and archiving solutions.

This retention schedule applies to all University mailboxes, including shared and departmental mailboxes.

Email messages in Inbox, Sent Items, and other standard folders are no longer automatically deleted based on age. However, messages in the Deleted Items and Junk Email folders are automatically deleted after 30 days.

It is the responsibility of the department supervisor or mailbox owner to manage mailbox storage, maintain required records, and utilize the Online Archive when appropriate.

Microsoft Office 365 is the University's official email platform. The Office of Information Technology (OIT) only supports this platform.

Requests to substitute non-TAMIU email addresses for official University communications will not be honored.

Use of non-approved email platforms may expose University information to legal collection, e-discovery, and open records requests administered by the Office of General Counsel (OGC).

For additional information, refer to the Texas Public Information Act:

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.552.htm#552.004

Yes.

You may archive messages using:

• Swipe actions configured in Outlook Mobile.
• The Archive button available within the Outlook application.

Please note that archiving moves a message from its current folder to the designated Archive location. Once archived, the message will no longer appear in its original folder unless moved back.

If the Online Archive mailbox is enabled, users should archive messages there rather than relying on local storage.

No.

University email should not be stored locally on personal computers because doing so may place University and client data at risk.

Users may access University email through Outlook on the Web when necessary. Accessing University email on personal devices may be subject to disclosure requirements under the Texas Public Information Act.

University email should not be archived locally on a non-University device.

Faculty and staff who do not have a University-issued computer should utilize the Microsoft 365 Online Archive for long-term email retention.

The Online Archive is available through Outlook for Windows, Outlook for Mac, Outlook on the Web, and mobile Outlook applications.

Online Archive mailboxes start at 100 GB and can automatically expand up to 1.5 TB.

If you have specific retention requirements that are not addressed by this guide, please contact the OIT Help Desk for assistance.

Yes.

SB944 amended the Texas Public Information Act and clarified that work-related information stored on privately owned devices may be considered public information subject to disclosure requirements.

Individuals may be responsible for preserving University-related information stored on personal devices until that information has been transferred to, stored on, or archived within an approved governmental information system.

For additional information:

https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/GV/htm/GV.552.htm#552.004

Yes.

Primary Mailbox

• Maximum size: 100 GB

Users should periodically clean up and organize their mailbox to avoid reaching this limit.

Online Archive

• Initial capacity: 100 GB
• Auto-expanding archive enabled
• Maximum capacity of up to 1.5 TB

Local Archive (PST or "On My Computer")

Local archive files do not have a University-imposed storage limit. However, very large PST files can negatively affect Outlook performance and may become more susceptible to corruption.

Please note that the Local Archive is no longer supported and the Online Archive is the University's recommended archive solution. Existing Local Archive files should remain on local storage.

Users who utilize Outlook rules to move or copy messages to the Online Archive or a Local Archive should periodically verify that those rules are functioning as intended.

To confirm proper operation:

• Send or receive a test message that meets the rule criteria.
• Verify that the message is copied or moved to the intended archive location.
• Periodically review the Online Archive or Local Archive folders to ensure messages continue to be archived correctly.
• Check Outlook for any rule error notifications or synchronization issues.

Users who manually move messages to the Online Archive can confirm that archiving is working by verifying that the message appears in the appropriate Online Archive folder.

Regularly reviewing archived content is considered a best practice and helps ensure that important messages are being retained in accordance with University records retention requirements.

Yes.

The Microsoft 365 Online Archive is available to MacOS users.

Users can access their Online Archive through:

• Outlook for Mac
• Outlook on the Web

Users may manually move messages into the Online Archive or implement Outlook rules where appropriate.

Instructions may be found by visiting the following URL: How to Set Rules in Outlook on the Web.docx

Yes.

Messages stored in the Deleted Items folder remain available for 30 days before automatic removal.

After a message has been removed from the Deleted Items folder, additional recovery may be available using the Recover Deleted Items feature, subject to Microsoft 365 retention settings.

Instructions may be found by visiting the following URL: How to Recover Deleted Items in Outlook for Windows Client.docx

Under the current retention policy, messages stored in Inbox, Sent Items, Archive, and other standard folders are not automatically deleted based on age.

Only messages located in:

• Deleted Items
• Junk Email

are automatically deleted after 30 days.

Therefore, most messages will not display a deletion countdown because they are no longer subject to automatic age-based deletion.

Since email messages are no longer automatically deleted from the primary mailbox after 30 days, users generally do not need to take special action prior to extended absences.

However, users should continue to manage mailbox storage and move older messages to the Online Archive when appropriate to stay within the 100 GB primary mailbox limit.

OIT personnel have limited capabilities to recover email once it has been permanently deleted from Microsoft 365.

Users are encouraged to:

• Regularly review Deleted Items and Junk Email folders.
• Utilize the Online Archive for long-term retention.
• Avoid relying on recovery processes as a substitute for proper email management.

Yes.

MacOS users can access and use the Microsoft 365 Online Archive, which is the University's recommended solution for long-term email retention. The Online Archive is available through:

• Outlook for Mac
• Outlook on the Web

Users can manually move messages to the Online Archive or create Outlook rules to assist with mailbox organization and retention.

Unlike Outlook for Windows, AutoArchive is not available in Outlook for Mac. Users who require local offline storage may use Outlook's On My Computer folders. However, these folders are stored locally on the device and are not part of Microsoft 365.

Before using local storage, users should be aware that:

• Local archive folders are not automatically backed up by Microsoft 365.
• Emails stored locally may be lost if the computer fails and no backup exists.
• Local archives cannot be accessed through Outlook on the Web or mobile devices.
• Online Archive is the preferred solution because it is cloud-based, accessible from anywhere, and supports auto-expanding storage up to 1.5 TB.

Instructions may be found by visiting the following URL: How to Set Rules for Inbox folder in Outlook for Mac client.docx and How to Set Rules for Sent Folder in Outlook for Mac Client.docx

AutoArchive is a legacy Outlook feature that was commonly used when messages were automatically deleted from the mailbox after 30 days.

Because email messages are no longer automatically deleted from Inbox, Sent Items, and other standard folders, AutoArchive is no longer necessary to prevent message loss.

Effective September 25, 2026, the AutoArchive feature will no longer move any email messages to the local PST archive folder.

Moving forward, OIT recommends using Microsoft's Online Archive service instead.

Benefits of Online Archive include:

• Cloud-based storage within Microsoft 365
• Access from any supported Outlook client
• No dependency on a specific workstation
• Better recoverability and accessibility
• Auto-expanding archive capacity up to 1.5 TB

If assistance is needed, contact the Office of Information Technology Help Desk:

Submit a ticket via our web portal: https://itsupport.tamiu.edu
Phone: 956.326.2310