Microsoft Storage Changes at Virginia Tech

Upcoming Microsoft changes for each group are outlined below. New storage allocations will go into effect during summer 2025; see the timeline for details.

Employees

• All employees have access to Microsoft 365 services for email, calendars, and productivity (Outlook, OneDrive, Office apps, etc.).
• Effective Aug. 16, 2024, employees must submit a request to their department to create new Microsoft Teams, SharePoint sites, Groups, or Viva Engage communities.
  
• Storage changes for employees and department shared resources will go into effect on June 30, 2025.
• Individual storage will be provided through a centrally-administered baseline allocation, with options for departments to expand storage if needed.

Refer to the employee information page for details.

Departments

• Departments will manage allocations for shared Microsoft 365 storage spaces for employees (e.g., Teams, SharePoint) starting June 30, 2025. 
• Organizational Unit administrators (OU Admins) in departmental IT offices will be the primary point of contact for employees needing storage that goes beyond the baseline allocations for individual employee storage (OneDrive) in Microsoft 365. 
• Effective Aug. 16, 2024, departments are responsible for putting in a request to obtain a new site, team, group, or community in Microsoft 365.
• The Software Service Center will coordinate with departments on the purchase of additional storage when needed. 

Refer to the department information page for details.

Students

• Students have access to Microsoft 365 Online services for email, calendars, and productivity (Outlook, OneDrive, Office apps, etc.). 
• Students may no longer independently create new Microsoft Teams, SharePoint sites, Groups, or Viva Engage communities. However, they may be added to these resources by a departmental owner of the resource. 
• Starting June 2, 2025, students will have 10 GB of storage in OneDrive, and 5 GB for email storage in Exchange Online. Automatic archiving of email older than three years will begin.

Refer to the student information page for details.

Retirees  

The following changes apply to those who retired on or after June 2, 2023, and therefore receive Microsoft 365 service for email, calendar, and productivity:

• Effective Aug. 16, 2024, retirees may no longer create new Microsoft Teams, SharePoint sites, Groups, or Viva Engage communities. However, they may be added to these resources by an owner.
• Starting June 2, 2025, retirees with Microsoft services will have 5 GB of storage in OneDrive, and 5 GB for email storage in Exchange Online.

Refer to the retiree information page for more details. 

Individuals no longer affiliated with Virginia Tech 

• Individuals who no longer have an affiliation with Virginia Tech do not receive Microsoft services.
• 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.
• These individuals should make sure to transfer files or emails as appropriate before their affilation ends.
• Refer to this 4Help article for information about the deprovisioning process for different consituent groups.

If you have questions, please contact 4Help IT Support.

View the timeline for Microsoft storage changes for important dates. More details will be added to the timeline in coming months. 

The following guides outline the Microsoft service plans for each applicable constituent group. Please review the guide that applies to you: 

• Departments
• Employees
• Retirees
• Students

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

Many guides and how-to articles are available on this website and through 4Help IT support.

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

Managing storage costs under a new licensing model
Microsoft's storage and collaboration tools are essential to the university's IT infrastructure and to support Virginia Tech's mission, and it is important to manage the platform in a fiscally responsible manner. This is particularly crucial given that Micrsoft has introduced a new pricing model that eliminates unlimited storage and charges extra fees for additional storage.

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

Improved user experience
Consolidating email and calendar for employees and students under a single platform provides a unified user experience and simplifies scheduling of meetings and events.

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 may create some challenges that require adjustments at the individual and department level. 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.