Retiree Email Process

Summary

Due to a change in policy, Winona State University (WSU) no longer provides university email service for employees retiring on or after March 1, 2024. Email access had historically been provided as a retiree benefit; however, this service is no longer sustainable due to changes in software licensing, security requirements, and technical support resources.

As part of the retirement process, employees are provided a one-time option to request email forwarding from their WSU email address to a personal (external) email account. This option is intended to allow continued communication for both internal and external contacts while minimizing security risk.

This article explains how retiring employees can:

• Forward WSU email to a personal email account, and/or

• Configure an ongoing Automatic Replies (Out-of-Office) message in Outlook on the web.

Information Applies to

Faculty and staff retiring from Winona State University

What Does This Mean?

After retirement, you will no longer have access to your WSU email mailbox. To support a smooth transition:

• Incoming email sent to your WSU address can be forwarded to a personal email account.
• You may configure an Automatic Replies (Out-of-Office) message prior to your last day to notify senders that you have retired and provide alternative contact information.
• If you wish to keep copies of existing email messages, you should forward or save them to a personal account before your last day of employment.
• The WSU Retiree Center will maintain the contact information you provide and continue to offer retiree services and support.

Next Steps

1. Complete the Retiree Agreement Form through Human Resources.
2. Set up an Automatic Replies (Out-of-Office) message to notify senders that you have retired.
3. Set up email forwarding from your WSU account to a personal email address.

Forward WSU Email to a Personal Email Address

Use Outlook on the web to create a rule that forwards incoming messages to an external email account.

Create the Forwarding Rule

1. Go to Outlook on the web and sign in using your WSU Microsoft login.

• Username: StarID@minnstate.edu

2. Select Settings (gear icon) in the upper-right corner.
3. Select Mail, then select Rules.
4. Select + Add new rule.

Configure the Rule

1. Enter a Name for the rule (for example: Forward all email).
2. Under Add a condition, select Apply to all messages (scroll to the bottom of the list).
3. Under Add an action, select Redirect to, then enter your personal email address.
   • Redirect to: Forwards the message without indicating it was forwarded.
   • This is the cleanest approach, avoids keeping duplicates in the mailbox
4. Select Stop processing more rules if no additional rules should apply.
5. Select Save.

Verify Forwarding

• Send a test email to your WSU address.
• Confirm the message is received at your personal email account.

Configure Automatic Replies (Out-of-Office)

Automatic Replies can be configured to send continuously and are commonly used to notify senders of retirement from WSU.

1. Go to Outlook on the web and sign in using your WSU Microsoft login.

• Username: StarID@minnstate.edu

2. Select Settings (gear icon) in the upper-right corner.
3. Select Account, Select Automatic replies.
4. Toggle Automatic replies to On.
5. Enter your automatic reply message.

Sample Automatic Reply Message

"I have retired from Winona State University. Emails sent to this account are being forwarded to a personal email address. University-related questions should be directed to Department@winona.edu or by calling 507.457.5000. If you wish to contact me directly, you may email RetireeX@gmail.com." 

1. To send replies to external senders, select Send replies outside of your organization and paste the same message into the external reply box.
2. Ensure Send replies only during a time period is not selected so the message remains active.
3. Select Save.

Notes

• External forwarding is limited to a one-time setup at the time of retirement.
• Automatic Replies (Out-of-Office) are sent once per sender.

Learn More

For additional information or assistance:

• WSU Tech Support
  • Email
  • Phone: 507.457.5240, option 1