Google Workspace Changes
Previously, it was announced that files shared with you by former Miami students would be removed from your Drive on February 8. Upon receiving feedback from key stakeholders across the University, we have decided to extend that deadline to allow faculty and staff more time to identify files they need to retain.
That new deadline is Wednesday, March 6, 2024.
As Miami works to address storage constraints, we have many Google Drive accounts that will be removed in April 2024 as the Lifetime Email service is decommissioned. If you have access to a file that someone else created, and that person is no longer affiliated with Miami, you will no longer have access after the new deadline of March 6. Remember: If you discover that a file you need has been removed after March 6, you still have until April 8 to contact the owner and ask them to transfer it to you.
For some helpful tips on how to find files that have been shared with you, we have put together a video guide.
Thank you for your patience as we navigate together the new storage constraints being placed on us by Google.
For more information about our Google Workspace and how it’s changing in 2024, please visit the IT Services website.
As you know, Miami is working to strengthen our data storage policies and practices in light of Google ending its unlimited free email and storage, which has significantly impacted institutions around the country. Part of our process has included the institutional business decision to remove the Lifetime Email service for former students.
In planning for the removal of this service, we have been made aware of some University needs that have relied on the historical practice that students retained access to their Miami accounts after they were no longer affiliated with Miami. Now that these accounts will be removed 180 days after graduation (or after the first semester in which a student does not enroll), we realize that there is a business need to retain some (not all) accounts beyond the new standard time period of 180 days post-departure from Miami. We have heard these issues and want to empower you to resolve them! After some discussion, we have determined that the solution for this is the current courtesy account request process.
Some new examples of folks that would fit the criteria to have courtesy accounts:
- Alumni or community members who are providing advisory services for campus organizations or working on projects affiliated with the university
- Students who are no longer enrolled but will continue to require Miami accounts to complete coursework (e.g., graduate students completing a thesis or doing research)
- Students who are not currently enrolled but are studying abroad or at another educational institution
- Students who are taking approved leave (e.g., medical, military, etc.)
For these exceptions, the process will be to request a courtesy account for the individual in question. Courtesy accounts are given the same kinds of access as other accounts; the main difference is that they require a “sponsor” (that’s you!) to manually approve the account once per year.
The good news is that you and your teams are already doing this for some related cases! The requirement that each account be renewed yearly helps us retain only those accounts that are truly currently affiliated with Miami. This process empowers you to authorize these special circumstances and allows you and your teams to review each case annually.
Thank you for your patience and collaboration as we all work through this together!
Subject: For Your Information: Files shared with you in Google Drive
Good afternoon,
As Miami moves closer to our Google Workspace deadline of July 2024, IT Services will be communicating more frequently about changes taking place within your Google Drive.
First up: Files belonging to former students that have been shared with you are going away!
As Miami works to address storage constraints, we have many Google Drive accounts that will be going away as we decommission the Lifetime Email service. These accounts include those of former students. Starting in February, Google Drive files that belong to former student accounts pending deletion will no longer be accessible to you.
Important: The files have not yet been deleted. These files will be removed permanently on April 8, 2024.
If you have access to a file that someone else created, and that person is no longer affiliated with Miami, you will no longer have access after February 8. This includes alumni who graduated more than 180 days ago and former students who left the university more than 180 days ago. (Students who graduated in December 2023 will have access to their accounts until June 12, 2024 – 180 days after their graduation.)
What do I do if a file I need will be removed from my Drive?
If you need the file, please do one of these things before February 8:
- Make a copy of the file or folder by following the instructions in this Google support article: Create, view, or download a file.
- Contact the owner of the document and ask them to transfer ownership to you. They may use these instructions: Make someone else the owner of your file.
After February 8, you may find that you no longer have access to a file you need (that you did not identify previously). If this happens, please contact the owner of the document and ask them to transfer ownership to you. They may use these instructions: Make someone else the owner of your file. And please remember: The original owners will only have access until April 8, 2024.
How do I find files shared with me?
Follow the instructions in this Google support article: Find files shared with you in Drive.
Please visit the IT Services website for full context about the limitations of Miami’s Google Drive space.
First of all, congratulations on your impending graduation! You have worked hard to achieve your degree, and Miami is better for you having graced its halls.
As you transition away from Miami and on to your next adventure, IT Services wanted to let you know some important information regarding your Miami Gmail account and Google Drive space. Your access to Miami Mail (Google email) will expire 180 days from your graduation date (unless you are continuing your studies at Miami towards an additional degree or certificate).
In addition to Miami Mail, you will also lose access to your Google Drive and emails, photos, and files associated with it.
If you would like to keep your data, it’s easy to transfer your files to a personal Google account before your access expires. Here are some resources for transferring that data:
- Download data from your Miami account using Google Takeout
- Transfer the data from a Miami account to a personal Gmail account
- Download data from your Miami account in your browser
Again, if you are continuing your studies at Miami towards an additional degree or certificate, this does not apply to you.
If you have any other questions, please contact IT Help by initiating a live chat session at https://MiamiOH.edu/ITChat or by calling 513-529-7900.
Good afternoon,
Please read this email carefully, as you will need to take action.
As you may recall, Google has placed restrictions on the amount of storage we are allowed to hold in our domain at one time.
As of right now, your Drive storage exceeds the quotas we have set for your group (faculty). As a faculty member, you have access to 800GB) worth of space in your Drive. At the end of the Spring 2024 semester, these quotas will be enacted, and if your storage still exceeds the quota, you will lose the ability to edit or create new files. You will retain the ability to view your files.
For all of Miami, including students, faculty, and staff, there is only a set amount of Drive storage available. This in turn means that Miami, in service to the Miami community and being mindful of current business needs, has had to make responsible decisions regarding how much storage we are using. The result is that we have to institute some quotas on how much Google Drive storage that students, faculty, and staff can access. The good news is that these quotas only affect less than 200 of our 36,000 users. We want to sincerely thank you for your cooperation as we work to get within our quota!
Here is what you will need to do before the end of the Spring 2024 semester:
- Transfer personal documents, photos, and email out of your Miami Google account to a personal Google account
- Our website lists some resources for this – you can transfer your documents directly to another account
- As a faculty member / staff member / student, you have access to 800GB / 500GB / 500GB worth of space in your Drive
- Talk with your local IT support person regarding options for storage of Miami-critical data
- Many of you are already in talks with local IT support! Thank you!
- Delete any unused, unneeded files from your Google Drive to get below your quota
- Open and read future notices from IT Services about this situation
Please visit and bookmark the IT Services website for more information about Google usage quotas, and look for further notices.
Thank you for your patience, support, and understanding as we work to strengthen our data stewardship and improve our technological environment.
Hello!
In spring 2023, it was announced that Miami will no longer be able to continue to support MiamiOH.edu email accounts for former students effective April 8, 2024.
You still have plenty of time to make the transition, and we want to make sure that you stay connected to Miami and retain the information connected to your Miami Google account.
Need to move your data? You can shift your Miami emails and data to a new or existing Gmail account. There are three ways you can do this (instructions linked to our Knowledge Base):
- Download data from your Miami account using Google Takeout (including Photos)
- Download data from your Miami account in your browser (so you can save your files to another computer or non-Google account)
- Transfer the data in your Miami account to a personal Google account
- Please ensure you are logging into your Miami account before initiating this process
This also applies to online accounts that you have used the MiamiOH address to sign up for (e.g., social media accounts, bank accounts, online shopping services,etc.). You will need to change the login for those accounts to a personal email address, as you will no longer have access to your Miami account.
Forwarding your MiamiOH.edu email to another email account? The ability to forward that account will go away on April 8, 2024.
Do you already have a different email that Miami should use to contact you in the future? Let us know by filling out this simple form. (If you have already done this, thank you so much!!)
If needed, sign up for a new email account on a new service. Then use the next eight months to change your email on online accounts and save files to your computer. You will have full access to your Miami account until April 8, 2024.
We’re here to help. Visit MiamiAlum.org/MiamiEmail to learn more.
As you know, Google has implemented some limitations on its Education customers, and Miami is well underway with our intentions to get within those limitations. As always, the Miami community has shown up for each other with this initiative, and we are grateful for the support and understanding as we navigate these new challenges.
Some new changes are on the horizon for Miami Google Drives. As noted in the Google Storage FAQ, the Shared Drive service will be limited to faculty and staff. As of May 15, students will no longer be able to create Shared Drives.
Students will still be able to share files out of their My Drives and collaborate out of Shared Drives that have been previously shared with them. Faculty and staff will retain the ability to create Shared Drives, and may invite students to participate in those drives. Faculty advisors for student organizations may create a Shared Drive for their charges.
Please note: We will not be deleting any existing Shared Drives that are currently being used by Miami students or ones that were previously created by students. The deadline of May 15 is simply when we will be removing the ability for students to create new Shared Drives.
Please see the Google Storage website for more information about Shared Drives and permissions.
Thank you for your understanding and support!
Hello,
Miami University has seen a lot of changes during its 200-years-plus history, and we know there are countless more to come. One of those changes is coming to the MiamiOH.edu email you currently use. Google, the platform that houses the MiamiOH.edu emails, is eliminating unlimited storage with certain services, and as a result, we will no longer be able to provide Google accounts to our alumni (including Gmail, Drive and Photos storage). We assure you that this decision was not reached lightly.
You will continue to have access to your account until April 8, 2024. We wanted to let you know about this change now so you can come up with a plan for not having your Miami email account.
Since your MiamiOH.edu email is the one we have in our records, we need to update your record with a different email address. Our next email message will include a link to a form where you can easily update your alumni contact information online. But don’t worry, if you are using this email as your primary email account, you have over a year to move to a different email hosting service.
We will be reaching out with further instructions and guides as well, but we wanted to let you know as soon as possible. Thank you for understanding!
Questions, concerns?
Email the Miami University Alumni Association at Alumni@MiamiOH.edu.
Thank you, and Love and Honor!
Subject: Please read: Important notice about Google Drive and Gmail usage
Audience: All Miami University users (faculty, graduate and undergraduate students, staff)
Good morning,
In a 2021 update to its users, Google announced that it would be making significant changes to the amount of storage available to all universities and schools on the Google Workspace for Education plan, which includes Miami. These changes include Google’s elimination of unlimited storage with certain services (i.e., Drive, Gmail, and Photo storage).
Previously, Google provided unlimited storage for all user accounts in Miami’s Google domain. With the changes that Google is making, along with substantial cost, Miami must be conscientious of the amount of storage we use.
After this announcement, Miami went to work determining what this would mean for our users.
A consortium of universities (of which Miami is a member) met with Google in 2022 and negotiated pricing in this new world of cost-based storage. We were able to purchase additional time to accommodate Google's new policies; this has allowed Miami to postpone Google's enforcement of the storage quota to late spring 2024. This has allowed us some time to make key decisions about the future of Google Workspace products at Miami, and we are now ready to announce what this means for our community.
Therefore, in response to the announcement and limitations from Google, Miami users will experience a few changes.Most notably, there will be quotas on the amount of storage available to you within the Miami domain. The good news is: Very few people (less than one percent) will be impacted by the new storage limitations, and these folks will be contacted individually.
This means that depending on your role at the University (faculty, staff, student, and others outlined on the storage quotas page), by the end of the Spring 2024 semester, you will be able to store only that amount of data.
Here is what you will need to do before the end of the Spring 2024 semester:
- Please visit and bookmark the IT Services website for more information about Google usage quotas. Here, you will learn how much storage you get, based on your primary role at the University
- Transfer personal documents, photos, and email out of the Miami Google account to a personal Google account (resources available on the website linked above)
- Open and read future notices from IT Services about this situation
Thank you for your patience, support, and understanding as we work to strengthen our data stewardship and improve our technological environment.
Contact IT Services
