Have questions about ChatGPT Edu? This article answers the questions the University of Maine System (UMS) receives most often about the move to the University's ChatGPT Edu workspace, eligibility, privacy, and training resources.
Common Questions
- Will my chats automatically move to ChatGPT Edu?
- What happens if I do nothing?
- What if I pay for ChatGPT Plus?
- Can I change the email address on my existing account so I can keep it as a personal account?
- What happens to my account when I graduate or leave the University?
- I have a ChatGPT Business account. Can it migrate to ChatGPT Edu?
- How do I move between my ChatGPT Edu account and my ChatGPT Business account?
- Is my ChatGPT Business subscription refundable?
- Do I still need my ChatGPT Business account?
- Can I use the ChatGPT desktop application to complete the migration?
- Do I need to uninstall the ChatGPT desktop application?
- Can I switch back and forth between workspaces in the desktop application?
- Who is eligible for the University of Maine System ChatGPT Edu workspace?
- Is my data safe?
- Will my information be used to train OpenAI's large language models?
- Will the University of Maine System track usage? What data will the University collect?
- How private are my conversations?
- How do I delete my chats?
- Can each user create custom GPTs? Can those custom GPTs be shared?
- How do I invite students to a custom GPT?
- Where can I get help learning how to use ChatGPT Edu?
Migration and Transition
Not necessarily. Because ChatGPT Edu is a separate workspace, some content from your current account may not transfer automatically. Review your account and preserve any information you want to keep.
After migration (date to be determined), your @maine.edu ChatGPT account will transition to the University's ChatGPT Edu workspace. Content that is not migrated or transferred beforehand may no longer be available in your previous account.
If your personal ChatGPT Plus or Pro subscription is tied to your @maine.edu address, that account is part of the transition. Subscriptions purchased directly through ChatGPT may be canceled and refunded on a prorated basis when the account moves into ChatGPT Edu.
If you want to keep the subscription you are paying for, change the email address on that account to a personal address before the account is claimed by the University's ChatGPT Edu workspace. An active subscription remains active under the new address. See the answer about changing the email address on an existing account.
Possibly, but only before your account is claimed by the University's ChatGPT Edu workspace. You can make the change yourself only if all of the following are true:
- You have never signed in to the account using single sign-on (SSO).
- The account is not already part of an Enterprise, Edu, or Business workspace.
- The maine.edu domain has not yet been verified by the University's ChatGPT Edu workspace, or by any other Enterprise or Business organization.
Changing the email address moves the entire account to the new address, including chat history, Projects, Custom GPTs, settings, and any active subscription. The change must be made in a web browser; it is not available in the ChatGPT mobile or desktop applications.
For eligibility details, step-by-step instructions, and limits, see Change the Email on Your Personal ChatGPT Account Before the UMS Edu Migration.
Always submit the email change form
After you change your email address, tell UMS IT using the Change the Email on Your Personal ChatGPT request form. OpenAI has to complete a step on their end before your ChatGPT Edu account becomes available to you for University work.
If you get an error: Submit the form anyway. Describe what happened and what error message you saw. UMS IT will escalate the issue to OpenAI on your behalf.
At this time, users in the University of Maine System (UMS) secure ChatGPT Edu workspace are not able to directly transfer their full chat history or the intellectual property they own to a personal ChatGPT account upon leaving the institution. This restriction reflects the University's commitment to privacy, data security, and appropriate stewardship of institutional environments.
Business Accounts
No. A ChatGPT Business workspace is a separate organization with its own owner, billing, and settings. It cannot be converted, merged, or transferred into the University of Maine System ChatGPT Edu workspace. Your ChatGPT Edu account is a new account that you reach by signing in with your University of Maine System credentials.
Content does not cross over on its own. If you want material from the Business workspace in ChatGPT Edu, move it yourself before the Business subscription ends: copy the text of the chats you want to keep, download and re-upload any files, and rebuild custom GPTs in the ChatGPT Edu workspace.
The migration acts on your personal chats, not your Business workspace
Your University of Maine System address may have two separate things attached to it: a personal ChatGPT account and your seat in the Business workspace. The migration prompt always applies to the personal side, no matter which workspace you are viewing when you start. Signing in to the Business workspace first does not change this.
This means your Business workspace will not migrate, and the personal chat history attached to your address will. Content that moves into ChatGPT Edu cannot be moved or exported back out, so review your personal chats before you begin.
If both are attached to your University of Maine System address, both workspaces are listed in the account section of the ChatGPT sidebar. Both use that same email address, so the button you select at chatgpt.com is what decides where you land.
- ChatGPT Edu: type your University of Maine System email address into the email field and continue. This sends you through single sign-on and into ChatGPT Edu. For the full steps, see Sign In to ChatGPT Edu.
- ChatGPT Business: select Continue with Google and use the same University of Maine System email address. Signing in this way does not trigger single sign-on, which is what brings you to the Business workspace rather than ChatGPT Edu.
In a web browser you do not have to sign out; select the other workspace in the account section of the sidebar and choose the sign-in method when prompted. The desktop and mobile applications have no workspace switcher, so there you sign out and sign back in using the method for the workspace you want.
No. ChatGPT Business subscriptions are not refundable, and the University of Maine System cannot reimburse the cost of a Business workspace or an unused seat.
Individual users do not cancel a Business subscription themselves. The workspace and its billing belong to the owner who purchased it, usually a department or unit, not to the person using the seat. As your billing cycle approaches its end, contact your workspace owner so the seat is not renewed. If you do not know who owns your workspace, submit a ticket to the University of Maine System IT service portal and the request will be routed.
Access continues through the end of the period that is already paid for. Manually move anything you want to keep before that date.
Most people do not. The University of Maine System funds ChatGPT Edu for eligible students, faculty, and staff, and ChatGPT Edu is the only ChatGPT environment covered by the University's agreement with OpenAI. University work belongs in ChatGPT Edu.
If your work depends on something a Business workspace provides that the University's ChatGPT Edu workspace does not, submit the University of Maine System AI Request Form so the need can be reviewed before you renew.
Desktop Application
No. Complete the migration in a web browser at chatgpt.com. The migration steps are not available in the ChatGPT desktop application for Windows or macOS. Once the migration is complete, you can sign in to the desktop application and use it as usual.
No. You do not need to uninstall the desktop application. Sign out of your current account in the desktop application, then sign back in with your University of Maine System credentials to reach the University's ChatGPT Edu workspace.
Yes, but only by signing out and signing back in. The desktop application displays one workspace at a time, so your personal account and the University of Maine System ChatGPT Edu workspace will not appear in a list together. To move from one to the other, sign out of the workspace you are in, then sign in to the workspace you want to use.
Eligibility
Enrolled full time and part time students, faculty, and staff of all University of Maine System campuses and the System Office are eligible to use the tool. Licenses are not intended for alumni or other community members such as volunteers or guests.
Privacy and Data Security
Yes. The University of Maine System (UMS) has taken steps to protect your data, including secure sign-on using your University credentials and data encryption. OpenAI also meets recognized security and privacy standards.
No. The University's agreement with OpenAI prohibits the company from using any University of Maine System environment to train its large language models. A large language model (LLM) is the type of artificial intelligence system that powers ChatGPT.
The University of Maine System (UMS) will not monitor individual users' interactions with ChatGPT Edu. The University will collect basic use statistics to better understand adoption and use patterns. This data will only be reported publicly in the aggregate.
The University retains the right to audit individual user interactions in isolated and limited cases. While the University respects user privacy and will not actively monitor day-to-day interactions, as a public institution the University may need to access or disclose records in response to legal requests, court orders, or specific investigations involving potential policy violations.
The University of Maine System ChatGPT Edu workspace is designed for institutional use, with enhanced privacy and security controls compared to consumer accounts. Your conversations are private to you by default, are not monitored by University of Maine System Information Technology staff, and are not used to train OpenAI's models. Access to content in the University's ChatGPT Edu environment by OpenAI personnel is restricted and is generally limited to specific cases such as incident resolution, user-authorized recovery, or legal requirements.
You can delete individual chats or all chats from within ChatGPT Edu. When you delete a chat, it is removed from your view immediately and scheduled for permanent deletion from OpenAI systems within 30 days, with limited exceptions such as legal or security obligations. Deleted chats are not recoverable.
Note: Archiving is not deletion. Archiving only hides chats from your main view.
Custom GPTs
Yes. Users can build custom GPTs tailored to specific courses, academic needs, or administrative functions. Custom GPTs can be shared with individual users or multiple users within the University of Maine System ChatGPT Edu workspace using the invite feature. Custom GPTs cannot be shared with users outside the University of Maine System ChatGPT Edu environment.
Access to ChatGPT Edu is on an opt-in basis. Students who have completed the opt-in process will appear as available for you to invite. The University of Maine System resources on teaching with AI cover recommended practices for communicating with students about AI use.
Getting Help and Training
Self-paced basic learning resources are available from OpenAI. Each title below links to a video, with the running time listed after the title.
Environment
- ChatGPT Edu, University of Maine System workspace
- Web browser at chatgpt.com, plus the ChatGPT desktop applications for Windows and macOS
- ChatGPT mobile applications for iOS and Android
- Sign-in with University of Maine System credentials (single sign-on)
- Eligible users: students, faculty, and staff at all University of Maine System campuses and the System Office