Google Workspace Transition for Students

Last Updated: November 16, 2023 4:16:34 PM PST

New Student Quotas

Attention Tritons!

Google recently renamed GSuite for Education to Google Workspace for Education, and discontinued free and unlimited file storage for your UCSD Gmail and Google Drive. This necessitates establishing fixed storage quotas on all student, faculty, and staff accounts.

The fixed storage quotas for students have been designed based on current usage patterns to minimize any disruption to individual accounts.

Use the guide below to determine your Google storage quota:

Google storage quota guide
I am:	My Gmail + MyDrive usage prior to September 14	New Storage Quota effective September 14
An incoming student (May 30, 2023 and later)	n/a	5GB
A current student (prior to May 30, 2023)	0GB - 4.5GB	5GB
A current student (prior to May 30, 2023)	4.5GB - 19.5GB	20GB
A current student (prior to May 30, 2023)	20GB+	20GB Note: You have a temporary quota exemption until January 16, 2024, then 20GB quota will be applied. Please delete or move storage immediately to get under 20GB.
A current or incoming graduate student who is also a UCSD employee (teaching/instructional assistant, research assistant, etc.)	0GB - 100GB	100GB Note: You are included in the Faculty & Staff quota tier.

What else has changed?

Creation of new Shared Drives is disabled.
If MyDrive + Gmail storage exceeds your allocated quota, MyDrive becomes "read-only." You will be able to send and receive Gmail, but will be unable to add or edit files until data is deleted/moved out of MyDrive.

How can I check and manage my quota?

Use the Google Storage Manager to view your current storage.
Scan for and delete large or duplicate files you may no longer need.
Empty your MyDrive Trash regularly.
Please see the FAQs below for more info and guidance.

What other campus storage options do I have?

You receive up to 5TB (5000GB!) of storage via OneDrive. File management is very similar to Google - visit our OneDrive page to log in and get started.

Have a lot of videos to move out of Google? You can store unlimited video files via our Kaltura MediaSpace service. Easy upload instructions here, and more info here.

Expand all

Expand section Quota FAQ

How do I check my quota and current usage?

To check your current usage:

Login to Google Drive with your UC San Diego credentials.
On the left side panel, click “Storage.”
Your quota and total used storage are displayed alongside a breakdown of files stored in Google Drive, Gmail, and Photos.

I am a graduate student and an employee (teaching/instructional assistant, research assistant, etc). Is my quota different?

Yes. As an employee of UC San Diego, you are included in the Faculty & Staff quota tier of 100GB.

Why are 5GB quotas being applied to incoming students?

Unlike former free and unlimited Google storage, moving forward UC San Diego will have a single storage allotment to share across all faculty, researchers, students, and staff. The quota levels are to ensure Google storage for the entire campus community, and headroom for future campus growth. The vast majority of students use less than 1GB of Google storage throughout their academic career.

What happens if I go over my quota?

If you are over the storage quota at the January 16, 2024 deadline or go over quota afterwards, your account will become "read-only" mode until you delete/move data.

This means:

You will not be able to sync or upload new files.
You will not be able to add or edit files until data is deleted or moved out of your MyDrive.
You will still be able to send and receive Gmail.
Learn more about being over quota.

Will my quota ever be increased?

Campus storage use and quota allocation will be reviewed regularly, with the goal of increasing student quota limits whenever feasible. Any changes will be announced in advance.

My instructor assigned a course project that requires me to submit a large media/video file using my Google MyDrive, and I'm concerned it will take me over quota. What should I do?

If you are assigned course homework or a project that requires you to submit large media or video files via your Google MyDrive and have concerns about your quota limit, please let your instructor or TA know they can instead purchase dedicated Shared Drive storage via their department process to accommodate the collection of large files. Your instructor can visit here for more information and to quickly secure additional Google storage.

I am a Principle Member of a student organization. What will my organization's quota be?

Registered student organizations received a 50GB storage quota. This quota is applied to the org's Google account, not an individual student's account. Please see https://getinvolved.ucsd.edu/org-toolkit/register/principal-members.html for more information on official student organizations.

Expand section Getting and Staying under Quota FAQ

I'm over quota. What happens now?

If you are over the storage quota at the January 16, 2024 deadline or go over quota afterwards, your account will become "read-only" mode until you delete/move data.

This means:

You will not be able to sync or upload new files.
You will not be able to add or edit files until data is deleted or moved out of your MyDrive.
You will still be able to send and receive Gmail.
Learn more about being over quota.

How can I quickly reduce my Google Storage?

Log in to your UCSD account and use the Google Storage Manager to quickly scan and delete large or duplicate files you may no longer need.
Unnecessary and duplicate Gmail attachments can take up a lot of space. Use this link to view all your attachments greater than 1MB, or greater than 5MB.
Review and delete emails in your Spam folder, and empty the trash can in you Gmail.

My Google Drive has departmental or research lab data. What should I do?

If your MyDrive or owned Shared Drives contain academic department or research lab data, you need to reach out to your department or Faculty Sponsor immediately to move the data to their owned Shared Drives.

How can I transfer everything in one Google account to a different Google account or other storage option?

Visit takeout.google.com to review your data and package it up for transfer. This process can take several days, so plan ahead if possible. Also note that this should be used to move personal data from your UCSD Google account into a different account, not to move UCSD data into personal accounts.

I have a lot of personal files and photos in my UC San Diego Google account. Where can I move them?

Your UC San Diego email and file storage is not intended for personal files and photos. There are several free and paid alternative storage options for your non-coursework files. CNET has a very helpful article with a round-up and pros/cons for several services.

Expand section Shared Drive FAQ

How did Shared Drives changed after September 14?

New Shared Drives creation was disabled effective September 14, 2023. Please note this is likely a temporary restriction. Once campus meets its total storage quota allotment, restrictions on new Shared Drive creation will be reassessed.

What will happen to my existing Shared Drive data?

Shared Drives created prior to September 14, 2023 will remain until January 16, 2024. Please begin deleting or moving personal and non-essential data in your existing Shared Drives immediately.

I own Shared Drives with departmental or research lab data. What should I do?

If you own Shared Drives that contain academic department or research lab data, you need to reach out to your department or Faculty Sponsor immediately to move the data to their owned Shared Drives.