July 25, 2025, student email and calendars will transition from Gmail (CatMail) to Outlook in Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Outlook will provide students with a more integrated experience with other Microsoft tools they already use at the University of Arizona—like Teams, OneDrive, and Office apps. It will also bring all students, faculty, and staff onto one email system, making it easier for students to collaborate with their instructors.
Current students and admits with CatMail accounts will be included in the account change and migration. Students who graduate May 2025, degree completers not continuing at U of A, and retirees using CatMail will continue to use Gmail to receive university email at this point in time. There will be another migration later this year to move all members of the university community off the Gmail service, while maintaining other Google services.
What's Changing?
- Your inbox and calendar will move from Gmail to Outlook.
- You will start logging in at outlook.arizona.edu to check your mail.
- Set up your university Outlook account on your phone, tablet, or computer.
What's Staying the Same?
- You will still have full access to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and more.
- Your NetID and email address will not change.
Why the Move?
This upgrade will help streamline communication, improve collaboration, and provide a more secure and consistent email experience across campus.
What Do You Need to Do?
- No action needed now. All email currently in your CatMail account will be migrated to your Outlook account.
- Watch for updates in your inbox with step-by-step guidance.
- After the migration you will check online at outlook.arizona.edu and set up your email apps to use Outlook.
- The Student Email Migration to M365 knowledge base article will show you how.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Your university address will continue to be your NetID @arizona.edu. The migration will change where you find your messages. (If anyone is using an @catmail.arizona.edu address to reach you, you will need to have them use @arizona.edu instead.)
If you are a student worker with an @catworks.arizona.edu account, it will continue to deliver to your Outlook inbox, but now all your other email will as well.
Not at this time. However, they will migrate later this calendar year. After that time, all @arizona.edu addresses (including catmail.arizona.edu) will only deliver to Outlook.
You can begin accessing your university email in Outlook starting July 25 at 8 a.m. by visiting outlook.arizona.edu.
New email will be delivered to this inbox, and all existing Gmail (CatMail) and Google Calendar events will be copied over.
Calendar invites are linked between your email and calendar service. Calendar invites to your email address will appear and be managed in Outlook Calendar. You may choose to keep your personal calendar in whatever service you prefer, and/or show all your different calendar accounts in a calendar application.
If you don’t see all your Gmail messages in Microsoft 365, give it some time—email migration may take several hours to complete. If messages are still missing after 48 hours, contact the 24/7 Support Center at 247.arizona.edu or 520-626-TECH (8324).
After the transition, your university Gmail inbox will be set to read-only. This means you’ll be able to view and download old emails to verify all have been copied but won’t be able to send or receive messages from that account. Later this year, your old Gmail inbox will be permanently retired.
Yes. You will retain access to your Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and other Google Workspace apps using your NetID. Only Gmail is changing.
You can find everything you need to get started in the Impact to Students section of the Student Email Move to Microsoft 365 article in the university's knowledge base (log in to see all articles). You can also search for more information about using Outlook. For additional support, visit a Tech Zone or contact the 24/7 Support Center.
Support
If you have questions about email access, email application setup, or issues with your email, contact the 24/7 Support Center at 520-626-TECH (8324).
If you have questions about the migration project, contact studentemail2025@list.arizona.edu.