CUNY SPS Student Email Change — Spring Break 2026 | CUNY School of Professional Studies

CUNY is upgrading student email across all colleges to a modern, unified, and more secure communication system. This change will give students a consistent email experience throughout the University.

During Spring Break (April 2026), CUNY SPS will transition student email to this new CUNY-wide system. When you return on April 13, 2026, your student email will shift from spsmail.cuny.edu to a new standardized CUNY address format.

Why This Change Is Happening

One Mailbox and One Login: Students will use a single Microsoft 365 mailbox connected to one standardized CUNY Login (firstname.lastname##@login.cuny.edu).
Stronger Security: Consolidation into the updated system enhances protection against phishing, hacking attempts, and spam.
Improved Email Delivery: A unified system helps ensure important messages are received reliably.
Better Microsoft 365 Integration: The new structure supports smoother use of Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and other tools.

What's Changing

CUNY SPS Student emails flowing into single mailbox

Primary Microsoft 365 Login Address: firstname.lastname##@login.cuny.edu
This address serves as your main CUNY service account and will be the username you use to sign into Outlook, Teams, OneDrive, and all Microsoft 365 applications.

CUNY‑Wide Student Address: firstname.lastname##@cuny.edu
This address represents your official University‑wide student identity and will be used by many CUNY systems and services.

SPS‑Branded Student Email Address: firstname.lastname##@stu-mail.sps.cuny.edu
This is your new SPS student‑facing address and is ideal for communicating with instructors, campus offices, classmates, and other SPS community members.

To prepare for the transition, you are encouraged to clean up your current spsmail.cuny.edu mailbox by deleting old or unnecessary messages—especially messages with large attachments—to help keep your new mailbox organized once the migration occurs. If you have important files stored in your SPS OneDrive, please download anything you wish to keep since OneDrive content will not be transferred automatically; only email will be copied to the new environment.

Timeline

The migration will occur over the course of Spring Break. During the week of April 6–10, the new student email system will undergo a structured, phased implementation as follows:

Day 1: Initial preparation of the new student email environment is completed behind the scenes to establish the foundation for the transition.
Day 2: New student email addresses are generated. The existing SPS mailbox is configured to automatically forward incoming messages to the new mailbox, and an automated notification is sent to inform correspondents of the updated address.
Days 3–4: Comprehensive systems testing and validation are conducted to ensure the new mailbox functions as intended and meets operational readiness requirements.
Day 5: The legacy email system is placed into cloud-based readonly mode, marking the completion of the technical migration phase.
Final Step: The new mailbox becomes fully active. Eligible emails from the previous SPS mailbox begin transferring into the new system to complete the transition.

What Happens to Your Current SPS Email? (spsmail.cuny.edu)

Your existing CUNY SPS email account—and everything in it—will transition smoothly during the migration. Here’s what you can expect:

Your current SPS mailbox will be copied automatically - All emails, folders, and content in your @spsmail.cuny.edu account will be transferred to your new CUNY mailbox. Nothing will be deleted or lost.
You will retain access to your old account for an extended period - Even after the transition, you’ll still be able to view your old SPS mailbox for a while. This gives you time to review your data and update services or contacts that still use your old address.
New mail sent to your old SPS address will be auto forwarded - If someone emails your @spsmail.cuny.edu address, their message will automatically arrive in your new mailbox. You won’t miss any communication during or after the transition.
Senders will receive an autoreply with your updated address - Anyone who contacts your old SPS email will receive an automatic message letting them know your new CUNY address so they can update their records.

Important Information About Your OneDrive and Stored Files

Only your email will be transferred to your new CUNY mailbox; files stored in Microsoft OneDrive or other Microsoft cloud services linked to your spsmail.cuny.edu account will not move automatically during the transition. If you have documents, class materials, or personal files saved in these locations, you will need to download them to your computer before the transition takes place. Once your new CUNY account is available, you can upload your saved files into the new storage space. Taking this step ensures that none of your important files are lost during the email system change.

Microsoft Office 365 Multi-Factor Authentication

As part of this transition, all students are required to set up a new Microsoft Office 365 Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) profile using their CUNY Login (firstname.lastname##@login.cuny.edu). This new MFA profile is essential because it will serve as your primary method of verifying your identity when accessing your updated student email and other Microsoft 365 services.

Please note that this MFA setup is separate from the MFA you currently use for CUNYfirst, Brightspace, or your previous spsmail.cuny.edu email account. Even if you already use MFA for those systems, you will still need to complete this new configuration to ensure secure access to your updated CUNY email environment.

To help guide you through the process, CUNY has provided step-by-step instructions, including screenshots and setup options, which can be found here:

https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/cis/technology-services/microsoft-mfa/

Completing this setup ahead of time will ensure you can seamlessly access your new mailbox once the transition is complete.

For additional assistance, please contact the CUNY SPS Help Desk at helpdesk@sps.cuny.edu or 646-664-8592