Google License
The University of Arizona provides Google Workspace for Education accounts to students, faculty, staff, and DCCs with 15GB of storage for Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. Additionally, since Google Workspace for Education was provided free to the university, these accounts have persisted for those who have separated from the university. 

The change in Google’s service to a paid offering with more limited storage requires the university to shift these practices. The impact to your account is based on your current affiliation with the university. 

Use of Data
Please be advised that Google Workspace data storage is provided for work and learning purposes only. Personal data that is unrelated to coursework or university business should be stored elsewhere.

Current Faculty, Staff, Students, DCCs, Emeritus, and Retirees
The University of Arizona is implementing a 15GB storage limit on University Google accounts. Account holders who exceed the 15GB limit need to reduce the number and size of files stored in their accounts by March 1, 2023.

See Storage Applications - Choosing the Right Option for additional cloud storage options.

Additionally, a research data storage solution is available for faculty researchers built on AWS. The new service is free to researchers who use it to store less than 1TB of data. Costs incurred when storage exceeds 1TB.

Former students who completed a degree
Former students who have completed a degree at the University of Arizona will continue to maintain their University Google account including Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos and need to maintain a storage level under the 15GB limit.  

Former students and affiliates
Effective March 1, 2023, University of Arizona Google accounts will be discontinued for former students who did not complete a degree and for former university affiliates. Please ensure all files are removed prior to this date to avoid any loss of files.

Former faculty, staff, DCCs
Former faculty, staff, and DCC account holders will need to offboard all content being stored in the university’s Google Workspace for Education account to a personal account in 2022. Please ensure all files are removed prior to this date to avoid any loss of files.

If an individual user with an active affiliation exceeds their storage limit, their account will be immediately impacted.

Until their storage amount is brought into compliance, the user WILL NOT be able to:

• Upload new files or images to Google Drive
• Create files for collaborative content creation apps such as Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drawings, Forms, and Jamboard
  • Users cannot edit or copy impacted files
  • Nor submit forms, even if owned by the user
• Back up any photos or videos to Google Photos
• Record new meetings on Google Meet

Users can still sign in to their Google Workspace for Education account. This access includes viewing and downloading their files, as well as sending and receiving emails.

Ensure that you are logged into your university account and not your personal Gmail account.  Once you are logged, consider the following:

• Check your data storage:  drive.google.com/settings/storage
• Identify and delete large, unnecessary files:  drive.google.com/drive/quota
  • You can sort by the largest file size by clicking on the Storage Used column.
• Check the content in your shared drives: drive.google.com/drive/shared-drives
• Move the files you wish to keep to an appropriate alternate storage solution.
• In the email and Google Drive search fields, look for files ending in .iso, .mp4, .mov and .wav to find large items.
• To perform a bulk deletion of the email, select the square at the far left to select all. Then choose the option below to select all the conversations that match this search and select delete from the trash can icon above. You will be asked to “Confirm Bulk Action”—select OK.
• Remember to empty the trash to complete the process of freeing up space.
• Additional options for managing your data: How to download your Google data

What types of data are impacted by this change?

• All data stored in your University Google account is impacted, including files from Google Drive (including shared drives), Gmail, and Google Photos

Will Google provide migration tools to help move files?

• Yes, leverage Google’s Takeout tool for easy transfers to a personal Google account - Google's Takeout platform. If you are logged into your personal account at the time of clicking on this link, you will need to select your profile picture in the top-right and switch to your University Google account.

What should I start doing now?

• All account holders are strongly encouraged to review their file storage in the Google Workspace as soon as possible and to begin managing file storage to remain within the recommended limits. See the storage management tips above. Find additional instructions on how to transfer files here: Copy UA Google files to a Personal Google Account.

My Drive Storage shows "0 GB", but I thought I had files in Drive?

• Google shows storage in Gigabytes. If you carry under 1 Gigabyte in Drive, click the 9-square menu in the top-right of the Drive Storage page and open Google Drive. Open the Gear icon menu in the top-right and choose Settings. This page will provide a detailed summary of your storage usage

What should I do with the files that were shared with me?

• If permitted, download any files that have been shared to your account. If the share is set to prevent downloading, you will need to reach out to the person who shared the files with you to attain proper permissions

What happens to My Google Share Drive?

• Upon graduation and/or separation from the university, you will lose access to any Shared Drive you have created or of which you are a member. Be sure to change ownership to the appropriate colleague if you are the Owner. If you are not the Owner and the share does not permit downloads, reach out to the current owner to attain files before you lose access

What happens to my Google Sites?

• Upon graduation and/or separation from the university, you will lose access to any Google Sites you have created or are an editor of. Be sure to change ownership to a relevant colleague if you are the owner. You can reach the site’s URL provided it remains publicly available.

Be proactive about the content and files stored in your Google account. As of 2023, this process will no longer be voluntary as the university has implemented storage limitations of 15GB per account.

The following resources can help you with the process:

• Check Gmail Storage & Move Files
  This article includes instructions for checking your storage usage, transferring files to a personal Google account, and downloading files to your desktop.
• Offboarding - Google Workspace for Education
  This article includes information about saving and sharing your files, along with an FAQ. 
• Please see Reset Forgotten or Expired NetID Password if you have forgotten your NetID password.
• Please reach out to the 24/7 Support Center if you have any questions or concerns regarding the process described in this article.