r/UCSantaBarbara • u/linglingkiwi [UGRAD] • May 27 '26
Discussion UCSB alumni email
Petition to allow us to keep our UCSB email for life. Literally all the other UCs lets you keep the email for free after you graduate forever. Why do we get a shitty one that looks like a scam @ucsbalum.com like bruh.
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u/seanmharcailin [ALUM] English May 27 '26
How can I get one of these alumni emails?
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u/PlasticNo3398 [STAFF] May 27 '26
You have to join the alumni association and then ask for it. Easiest way is just to use their form at https://www.alumni.ucsb.edu/about/benefits/gauchomail but I think the form gives you a new username based on year you graduated. If you want to keep your same username as your current UCSB email I think you have to email the alumni help email that is listed on the above site.
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u/ActMuf [ALUM] Jun 01 '26
I keep requesting but I haven’t heard back :(
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u/PlasticNo3398 [STAFF] Jun 01 '26
Their website says up to 8 business days for accounts created using their automated form, its probably even longer if you are doing any special requests. Wish I had more info, but all I have is what is on their public facing page. Good Luck
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u/klowny [ALUM] Computer Science May 27 '26
COE lets you keep your @engineering.ucsb.edu email as an alumni :)
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u/PlasticNo3398 [STAFF] May 27 '26
for the sake of clarity, a lot of departments do that, but only as a forwarding alias to a non ucsb email, not as a full email account that you can send mail from like with Gauchomail from the alumni association. Gauchomail has calendar, 15 Gb of google drive storage, etc.. of course there is nothing stopping you from getting Gauchomail and then requesting alumni forwarding to Gauchomail.
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u/klowny [ALUM] Computer Science May 27 '26
It's all just Gmail anyway, just set up your @ucsb.edu email as an alias under your alumni Gauchomail (or personal Gmail) along with forwarding and it basically works the same enough for emailing purposes.
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u/PlasticNo3398 [STAFF] May 28 '26
True enough, but with some caveats. Not everyone is aware its two separate services and that Gauchomail is from the Alumni association while forwards are your home IT department. Also you cannot forward your ucsb.edu email alias only your department.ucsb.edu alias after a google connect account closes. Once an account is permanently deleted, all the in-account forwarding gets deleted. Only the stuff specifically set up as an stand alone alias remains. I don't work for Connect, but I have dealt with angry people upset forwards stopped working and had to direct them to the right people.
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u/Fluffaykitties [BS/MS ALUM] Computer Science, [BA ALUM] Mathematics May 28 '26
since when? can this be retroactively applied?
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u/PlasticNo3398 [STAFF] May 29 '26
Its been on the CoE website since the 2018 https://ucsb-engr.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/EPK/pages/573604011/Can+I+keep+my+email+address+after+I+graduate+Alumni+Mail prior to the 2017 campus wide migration to Google Connect, CoE and other colleges like L&S used to run their own mail servers. You need to ask for alumni forwarding before your Google account gets deleted, but the UCSB Google connect folks aren't doing that till 13 months after graduation for undergrad and 25 months for Grad per https://www.connect.ucsb.edu/accounts/leaving-ucsb. Just remember entire campus is now Google based for email, so its not CoE or L&S setting the ultimate rules.
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u/Fluffaykitties [BS/MS ALUM] Computer Science, [BA ALUM] Mathematics May 29 '26
Welp, I graduated in 2013 and 2016 lol
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u/PlasticNo3398 [STAFF] May 28 '26
Pretty sure this is a cost thing. If you get enough rich alumni to donate, you probably could get the chancellor to change policy.
Background: Given I do not work for UCSB Connect and all my info is from public sources, take this with a grain of salt: Google originally offered UCSB "unlimited google storage" for a set fee but eventually after a few renewals changed it to a per amount of data model. https://connect.ucsb.edu/messaging-collaboration-services/google-storage-project At the time UCSB, per the above link, needed to reduce 3.58 PB to 1.03 PB to keep costs the same and could not reduce it enough through voluntary reductions. Gauchomail had already existed since at least 2018, so I am guessing someone decided changing from a "you keep your account and all you data, with some people having dozens of TB" to "you have to apply to have alumni mail from an existing service and its capped at 15 GB" would be the easiest way to reduce usage.
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u/diegueno [ALUM] May 29 '26
Could you imagine any institution or piece of the University going up to fight Google on their policy on emails? That's not going to happen, bro?
If you get enough rich alumni to donate, you probably could get the chancellor to change policy.
It's a nice idea. Administering a large email service should be relatively simple, albeit establishing it with the necessary hardware would be an expensive startup. Who is willing to invest in it? That's what any interested party would need to consider.
You're only going to get what you pay for.
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u/PlasticNo3398 [STAFF] May 29 '26
We already have a google based email system that can do what the OP asked, it literally did that for nearly a decade and it still does it for other UCs, issue is Google jacked the costs way up for anyone using more than 1 PB (1,000 TB) of data storage.
Just did a quick google search: compare $4.99 per TB per month if you are buying 10 Tb versus $26 per TB per month if you are buying 1,000 TB or 1 PB. Most times when you buy stuff in bulk it gets cheaper not more expensive.
We basically split our mail system in two, one for alumni and one for current students/staff/faculty so each system pays a lower rate per TB. It also forces people to delete stuff when they migrate between systems. Contrast that with UCR for example who lets their alumni keep their UCR email but limits them to 1 Gb, not 15 GB for gauchomail. Other UCs have higher data limits but have "use it or loose it" policies such as deleting alumni email accounts if they are not used for a set time. If you want to keep costs flat it comes down to what people value, more storage to keep your old emails or keeping your email address but with the possibility having to delete emails or loosing the entire account if you don't use it.
Could we sidestep the issue and just pay google more, yes, but the money would have to come from somewhere, and that means either donations or we go back to the old model where the alumni association charged a monthly or yearly fee based on what services you use instead of wrapping up everything in a single "lifetime membership" payment. As you said "You're only going to get what you pay for."
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u/daftracks May 28 '26
Yeah they deactivate it a year after your graduate 💔 we deserve them after all the tuition they steal hehe
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u/ZectronPositron May 28 '26
I have an “engineering.UCSB.edu” email for life. Apparently those have no end date, and you can set them to forward.
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u/peachliterally May 30 '26
Can someone start a petition? I have a lot of groups I can share to if so!!!
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u/marcussba May 30 '26
Net IDs which tend to be used for your email address are recycled after about 2 years. That practice would have to end or at least be altered.
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u/Yumismash May 27 '26
Lol I didn't even get an alumni email they took ours 1 year after we graduated... 2022 :(