Microsoft Storage Changes at Virginia Tech

Upcoming Microsoft changes for each group are outlined below. Please 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 went into effect on June 30, 2025.
• Individual baseline storage for OneDrive and Exchange Online will be provided, with options for departments to expand OneDrive storage if needed.

Refer to the employee information page for details.

Departments

• Departments manage allocations for shared Microsoft 365 storage spaces for employees (e.g., Teams, SharePoint) as of June 30, 2025. 
• Organizational Unit administrators (OU admins) in departmental IT offices will be the primary point of contact for employees and graduate students needing storage that goes beyond the baseline allocations for individual employee storage (OneDrive) in Microsoft 365. 
• OU admins can create 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.).  
• Undergraduate students receive 10 GB of storage in OneDrive, and 5 GB for email storage in Exchange Online. Automatic archiving of email older than three years is in place.
• Starting Aug. 29, 2025, graduate students receive 100 GB for email storage in Exchange Online, and a baseline storage allocation of 10 GB in OneDrive. Departments may increase graduate students' individual OneDrive storage upon request.
• Starting Aug. 29, students will be able to own up to five, 1 GB Microsoft Teams sites. 

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.
• As of June 2, 2025, retirees with Microsoft services 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. 

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 (graduate and undergraduate)

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.