Lafayette College, like other institutions with Google Workspace for Education subscriptions, has had service terms updated from unlimited storage to limited pooled storage shared across all users. Because of this, it is necessary to adjust and implement various Google storage management policies, one of which is deleting inactive Google Workspace accounts. Changes may affect faculty, staff, or students and will require all members of the community to be aware of their storage usage and may require changes to workflows.

Managing Google Workspace storage timeline

  • May 2023: Accounts created for the Class of 2027 will have a 10GB storage allocation.
  • January 10, 2024: Inactive Google Workspace accounts will be deleted.
    • ITS will provide those who have access to any files owned by inactive accounts sufficient time to make copies of any necessary files (See “How will this impact me” below).

how will this impact me?

Students

Beginning with the Class of 2027, students will have a 10GB Google My Drive storage allocation and will need to request to have Google Shared Drives created. Shared Drives requests can be made by contacting the Help Desk at help@lafayette.edu.

How much storage will I have?

  • Google My Drive: 10GB storage allocation for all Google Workspace storage beginning with the Class of 2027.
  • Google Shared Drive: By request only; contact the Help Desk at help@lafayette.edu.

How much storage am I using?

Managing Data in Google Drive

  • Delete data in Google Drive and Gmail that is no longer needed, which includes duplicate data (files or threaded conversations that are no longer needed).
  • Working with large amounts of videos or images:
    • Audio/video files should be stored in your Kaltura My Media account or on a personal storage device (e.g., an external hard drive).
    • Images can be saved onto a personal storage device (e.g., an external hard drive).
  • Working with faculty on large research data projects:
    • Reach out to your faculty research advisor and ask them to set up a Shared Drive where data can be stored.
    • Research should not be stored and shared out of personal Google Drive (e.g., Google My Drive).

What if I exceed my quota?

You can reduce your data storage by using the suggestions mentioned above in “Managing Data in Google Drive” or transfer data to another means of storage (See “Can I transfer data to another means of storage” below).

What counts toward my storage data quota?

  • Email
    • Including attachments
    • Including trash
  • Google Drive
    • Including trash
  • Google Photos

Can I transfer data to another means of storage?

Process for Managing Inactive User’s Data Prior to Deletion

  1. ITS will add the file label “To Be Deleted” to all files shared from an inactive user; see the label:
    a screenshot image of the label "To Be Deleted" applied to the top of a Google Document
  2. Search for files with the label:
    1. Navigate to: https://drive.google.com
    2. Select the [Advanced Search] button to the right of the search bar at the top.
    3. Scroll to “Labels” and select the “Search labels” search bar.
    4. Select the “To Be Deleted” label from “All available labels”.
  3. Review the list of files that have the label “To Be Deleted”.
    1. You may notice that some files have been shared with multiple people (i.e., the inactive user has shared a file with multiple users). See “What should I do if a file is shared with multiple people?”.
  4. Make copies of any files you wish to save before they are deleted by selecting “File” then “Make a Copy”. Note: Media files will need to be downloaded and then uploaded to an appropriate My Drive/Shared Drive.

What should I do if a file is shared with multiple people?

When reviewing the list of files labeled “To Be Deleted”, you may notice some files are shared with multiple people (i.e., the inactive user has shared a file with multiple users). For those files, we suggest reaching out to the other individuals to determine if the files should be deleted or moved into an appropriate Shared Drive to give multiple people access to the file(s). For information on creating Shared Drives, see our help documentation on Getting Started with Google Shared Drives.

Faculty and Staff

Data that is shared with you from an inactive user (students/staff/faculty) will be deleted on January 10, 2024, and annually thereafter. Please see the process outlined below to ensure you are able to make copies of any data before it is deleted.

Process for Managing Inactive User’s Data Prior to Deletion

  1. ITS will add the file label “To Be Deleted” to all files shared from an inactive user; see the label:
    a screenshot image of the label "To Be Deleted" applied to the top of a Google Document
  2. Search for files with the label:
    1. Navigate to: https://drive.google.com
    2. Select the [Advanced Search] button to the right of the search bar at the top.
    3. Scroll to “Labels” and select the “Search labels” search bar.
    4. Select the “To Be Deleted” label from “All available labels”.
  3. Review the list of files that have the label “To Be Deleted”.
    1. You may notice that some files have been shared with multiple people (i.e., the inactive user has shared a file with multiple users). See “What should I do if a file is shared with multiple people?”.
  4. Make copies of any files you wish to save before they are deleted by selecting “File” then “Make a Copy”. Note: Media files will need to be downloaded and then uploaded to an appropriate My Drive/Shared Drive.

What should I do if a file is shared with multiple people?

When reviewing the list of files labeled “To Be Deleted”, you may notice some files are shared with multiple people (i.e., the inactive user has shared a file with multiple users). For those files, we suggest reaching out to the other individuals to determine if the files should be deleted or moved into an appropriate Shared Drive to give multiple people access to the file(s). For information on creating Shared Drives, see our help documentation on Getting Started with Google Shared Drives.

NEED HELP?

Attend an ITS Working Session

ITS is offering a number of Google Workspace Management working sessions. Join ITS staff at either an in-person or virtual session for help managing the process. Details to follow.

ITS Google Workspace Management Working Sessions

Contact the Help Desk

For additional assistance, the Help Desk can be contacted at (610) 330-5501 or help@lafayette.edu.

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