Google and Microsoft Service Changes at Virginia Tech

Changes for each user group are outlined below. Please see the timeline of changes for important dates.

All users

• Access to the Google Photos app at Virginia Tech has ended. Users can no longer access the app through their Virginia Tech Google account. 

Refer to the Google Photos export guide for more details.

Alumni

• Alumni email service remains on Gmail. New graduates' email service will be moved from Exchange Online to Gmail approximately two semesters following graduation, unless they re-enroll during that time. 
• Alumni receive email service only, with 5 gigabytes (GB) of storage space within the Gmail app.
• Alumni keep their "@vt.edu"' address.
• All other Google services have been discontinued. For details on the alumni Google benefit, read this article.

Refer to the alumni information page for more details. 

Employees

• Email: All employees are now using Exchange Online for email and calendars.
• Google Workspace storage: allocations are now set by each employee's department. Employees will receive a minimum of 5 GB Google storage.
• Shared Drive storage is now managed by departments. New Google Shared Drives can be created by request. 
• Employees retain Microsoft 365 services and most Google Workspace apps, including Docs, Sheets, Forms, Sites, etc., as well as Google Groups. 
• Microsoft storage: coming in 2025, employees will receive up to 25 GB baseline storage in Microsoft 365 (date of these changes to be determined). Storage allocations will be managed by departments.

Refer to the employee information page for more details.

Departments

• Departments now manage employee storage allocations in the Google and Microsoft environments.
• In addition to baseline storage allocations for each employee, departments receive additional storage allotments in both Google and Microsoft, which may be used to support shared storage or to increase individual employee storage. 
• Departments can purchase additional storage on both platforms. Storage subscriptions renew on a yearly basis.
  
• Departments control the creation of Google Shared Drives, Microsoft SharePoint and Teams sites, and Microsoft Groups.

Refer to the department information page for more details.

Students

• Email: Students now use Exchange Online for email and calendar services.
• Google Workspace: students are limited to 5 GB Google storage as of Jan. 16, 2024. 
• Shared Drives: students may not create new Google Shared Drives, but may be added as members by a Shared Drive Manager.
• Microsoft 365: students receive access to Microsoft 365 Online services. Coming in 2025, storage will be limited to 10 GB.

Refer to the student information page for more details. 

Retirees

• Retiree services differ based on the date of retirement:
  • Retired on or before June 1, 2023: receive Google email (Gmail) and calendar and Google Workspace (My Drive), with 10 GB storage.
  • Retired June 2, 2023 or later: receive Exchange Online email and calendar and Microsoft 365 services, with 10 GB storage.

Refer to the retiree information page for more details. 

Individuals no longer affiliated with Virginia Tech 

• Individuals not currently associated with Virginia Tech no longer retain access to storage or email services through the university.
• These individuals include, but are not limited to, former employees who did not retire with Virginia Tech and former students who did not earn a degree.

If you have questions, please contact 4Help.

As Google storage and email and calendar service changes have concluded, no action is required at this time.

You may still view the timeline for Google storage changes. A timeline for Microsoft storage changes will be shared in late 2024. 

The following guides outline the new email and storage service plans for each user group: 

• Alumni
• Departments
• Employees
• Retirees
• Students

If you belong to more than one user group, please review this knowledge base article, which outlines these cases.

Many guides and how-to articles are available on this website and through the 4Help Knowledge Base.

Students and employees also have free access to training videos for Google and Microsoft through Virginia Tech's LinkedIn Learning library.

Managing storage costs under new licensing models

We already pay significant base costs for these collaboration platforms, and continuing to allow unfettered accumulation of files will result in exhorbitant additional costs every year. While both collaboration platforms have become a critical part of the university's IT infrastructure, and enable the achievement of Virginia Tech's mission, they also need to be managed in a fiscally responsible fashion, especially now that our costs will be increasing so significantly. 

Security

Consolidating employees, students, and new retirees' email on the Microsoft Exchange Online platform will provide significant security benefits. 

Improved user experience 

Consolidating email for employees and students under a single email and calendar platform also will provide a unified user experience and simplify scheduling of meetings and events.

However, given the cost structure announced by Microsoft, we reconsidered the move to Exchange Online for alumni, keeping alumni email accounts in Google, and allowing alumni to keep their @vt.edu email addresses.

Meeting the university's needs in a changing digital landscape

Our ultimate goal is to ensure that we are providing the right balance of services to meet the needs of the Virginia Tech community. These decisions were not made lightly, and we recognize that they will create some challenges and adjustment. We are committed to answering questions and supporting everyone through these changes.

For answers to common questions regarding these changes, please see our frequently asked questions.

In 2021, Google announced an end to its long-standing policy of offering no-cost, unlimited storage to higher education institutions, including Virginia Tech. Google began enforcing a storage volume-based subscription model at Virginia Tech on July 1, 2024.

On August 1, 2023, Microsoft also announced a significant change to its licensing model for higher education as well. This change included an increase in the cost of storage on their Microsoft 365 (M365) platform. The Microsoft changes will go into effect in 2025.

The university was already preparing for the Google changes, but the information from Microsoft made it necessary to change course on some elements of the service decision on Google Workspace, as well as to announce future limitations on centrally funded storage in the M365 environment. 

The Microsoft announcement also caused the university to re-evaluate its approach to email administration. In April 2023, we had announced a plan to move all users to one platform (Exchange Online). This plan will move forward for employees, students, and new retirees. However, given the cost structure recently announced by Microsoft, we reconsidered the move to Exchange Online for alumni and some retirees.