Google Workspace Services

UCSC provides all faculty, staff, and students access to use a set of core Google Workspace applications.

Core applications include Gmail, Calendar, Drive, Team Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Sites, Groups, Hangouts, Forms, Classroom, and Tasks.   Read more...

Service Changes: Google Announces Storage Limits

Google's new storage model discontinues free, unlimited storage for all educational institutions. Campuses, including ours, must align their usage of Google services with the new storage quota.

Storage Limits Based on Your Affiliation

Please choose your primary university affiliation* for a detailed explanation of how you are affected by the new Google storage limits and the steps you should take.

*Those with multiple affiliations will be assigned their quota based on their primary affiliation, which is set in the following order: faculty (including emeriti), staff, students, sundry accounts, alumni.

ITS encourages you to target usage at or below 20 GB in your UCSC Google account.

  1. Review your storage totals and discard inactive, duplicate, or personal content from your UCSC Gmail, Google Drive (My Drive), and Google Photos.
  2. Learn how to reduce your Google storage. Everyone can participate in good data hygiene and help reduce our overall storage footprint.

What if you need more than 20 GB?

Many UCSC faculty and staff using over 20 GB today will be covered by expanded storage tier. For now, please review your content and discard inactive, duplicate, or personal content from your UCSC Gmail, Google Drive (My Drive), and Google Photos. More information about expanded quotas will be available in May.

Stay informed

If you have questions, don't hesitate to contact Information Technology Services (ITS) by opening an online support ticket, by emailing help@ucsc.edu, or by calling (831) 459-4357.

Reduce your UCSC Google account storage by July 1, 2024.

Your UCSC Google account will remain active for one year after you leave UCSC, however, a storage limit of 10 GB will be enforced as of July 1, 2024. Take the following action before July 1, 2024:

Keep an eye on your UCSC email inbox because 3 months before your Google account expires, you'll receive detailed instructions explaining how to request to keep your UCSC Gmail account active beyond one year. Note that extended Gmail service is limited to 500 MB so we recommend using this year to transition to a personal email account.

Undergraduate students have a 10 GB quota in their Google account. Check your storage.

Steps to take before July 1, 2024:

  • If you are using Google Photos, please delete all photos from your UCSC Google account as this service is being discontinued. Learn how to safely delete Google Photos without removing them from your phone.
  • Check storage: If you are already under 10 GB, no further action is needed. If over 10 GB, proceed to the next step.
  • Reduce your Google storage: Clean up your UCSC Gmail, Google Drive (My Drive), and Google Photos by removing inactive, duplicate, and personal items. If the content isn't related to education, research or student life, move it to a personal Google account, which offers 15 GB of free space.
  • If you require more than 10 GB of storage for academic reasons, you may request an exception.
  • Please review any emails related to Google carefully.

The default Google storage quota for Graduate Students is 10 GB in their UCSC Google account. Check your storage.

Graduate students may require more than 10 GB of storage. Many UCSC graduate students using over 10 GB today will be automatically covered by expanded storage tiers. More information will be sent to individual Graduate Students using more than 10 GB in early May. For now, please follow the steps below to eliminate unnecessary content in your account.

Steps to take before July 1, 2024:

UCSC Google Services (Gmail, Drive, Photos, etc.) will no longer be available for alumni accounts effective April 16, 2024, with the following exceptions:

  • Alumni will be able to continue to use their UCSC Google account for one year after their graduation.
  • One year after graduation, UCSC Google accounts (Gmail, Drive, Photos, etc.) will be closed.
  • Alumni will have the option to keep their existing @ucsc.edu Gmail with a 500 MB storage limit by request only.

Important Deadlines for Current Alumni

  • Deadlines differ for different classes and situations. Please refer to the email you receive from "UCSC Information Technology and Alumni Engagement" to confirm your specific deadline. Generally speaking, deadlines are one year after graduating or leaving UCSC. If you didn't receive an email, contact the ITS Support Center for assistance.

Visit the Google for Alumni web page for information about how to retain your UCSC Gmail account and other information about Google services available to you.

ITS encourages you to target usage at or below 20 GB in your UCSC Google account.

For those who require more than 20 GB, we are exploring expanded storage options and will share more information soon.

  1. Review your storage totals and discard inactive, duplicate, or personal content from your UCSC Gmail, Google Drive (My Drive), and Google Photos.
  2. Learn how to reduce your Google storage. Everyone can participate in good data hygiene and help reduce our overall storage footprint.

Stay informed

If you have questions, don't hesitate to contact Information Technology Services (ITS) by opening an online support ticket, by emailing help@ucsc.edu, or by calling (831) 459-4357.