Digital Storage Changes for Current Students, Employees, and Emeriti
Kent State University is dedicated to keeping your digital tools running smoothly and securely. We know that the email and storage services provided through Microsoft and Google are particularly important in your daily work. Therefore, to support a smooth transition and minimize disruptions, we want to make sure you're aware of upcoming changes with these services and how they may affect you.
Microsoft and Google have recently updated the terms and conditions related to storage space and associated service costs provided to the university. In response to these significant changes in licensing, storage limits, and security requirements, the university must now align with the vendors’ new service models.
To comply with these provider-driven updates, Kent State will implement a series of account adjustments across Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 services. These changes will affect all users to varying degrees and are essential to maintaining secure, compliant, and efficient systems. They also help ensure that digital resources remain sustainable and available for actively enrolled students.
If you're currently taking classes or working at Kent State, we recommend completing four steps to prepare for upcoming digital storage changes.
Recommended Steps for Current Students, Employees, and Emeriti
1. Transfer any needed data out of Google
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Using Google Takeout to Download Data
Note: Google Takeout will only download files you own. For shared files, follow the instructions regarding data "shared with me."
Visit Google Account Data and Privacy.
- Scroll down until you find the Download or delete your data section.
- Click Download your data.
Scroll through the first section labeled Select data to include and choose which products you want to download.
- You may have issues if the total content is over 100 GB. If you experience difficulties, try downloading the data directly.
- To help ensure the best transfer, it is also recommended that you delete any unwanted files first to limit the amount of data you are trying to export.
- Also, ensure that you are not downloading business data to a personal account as it may contain sensitive information.
- Once you have made your selections, click Next step.
- Select your preferred Delivery Method, Frequency, and File Type & Size. We recommend choosing the file size of 10 GB.
- Click Create Export.
This process can take up to several days if exporting large amounts of photos.
- A box will appear labeled Export Progress, allowing you to cancel the export or create another one.
- You will receive an email when the process is complete.
After all needed photos have been removed from your Kent State Google account, you must delete all remaining photos so that Google Photos is empty.
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Accessing and Making Copies of Your "Shared with Me" Files
- Log into your Kent State Google account at email.kent.edu.
- Select Google Drive from the list of applications represented by a square of dots in the upper right hand corner. (Fig. 1)
- From the side bar on the left of the screen, select the Shared with me option. This will show you all of the files that have been shared with your Kent State Google account. (Fig. 2)
- Select "Shared with me" in the sidebar of your Google Drive. (fig.1)
- Find the file(s) from the colleague that is leaving the university.
- Right-click on a file and select "Make a copy".
- A copy of the file will be created and saved to your drive (My Drive)
Fig. 1
2. Remove All Photos in your Kent State Google Account
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Ensure You Are Using Your Kent State University Google Account When Viewing Google Photos
Confirm You are Logged in to Your Kent State University Google Account
- Since you can sign into multiple Google accounts in one browsing session, it's important to know how to swap between the two. This will avoid accidentally requesting access for something with a personal account or storing a file in the wrong Google Drive.
- Your Kent State University Google account will have the Kent State University logo next to your profile icon. (fig.1)
How to Change Accounts
- Locate the circle in the upper right hand corner of your Google, Gmail, or Drive page and select it.
- You will then see a drop-down menu that will show all the Google accounts you are signed into. The Google account listed at the top is the account you are currently viewing. To swap between accounts, select the other account.
Permission Errors and Warnings
If you see the following message when trying to access a file shared with you, be sure that you are signed into the correct Google account. You will see the account you are signed in as at the bottom of the message.
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Using Google Takeout to Download Photos or Other Data
Visit Google Account Data and Privacy.
- Scroll down until you find the Download or delete your data section.
- Click Download your data.
Scroll through the first section labeled Select data to include and choose which products you want to download.
You may have issues if the total photo content is over 100 GB. If you experience difficulties, try downloading the data directly.
To help ensure the best transfer, it is also recommended that you delete any unwanted files first to limit the amount of data you are trying to export.
Also, ensure that you are not downloading business data to a personal account as it may contain sensitive information.
Once you have made your selections, click Next step.
Select your preferred Delivery Method, Frequency, and File Type & Size. We recommend choosing the file size of 10 GB.
Click Create Export.
This process can take up to several days if exporting large amounts of photos.
- A box will appear labeled Export Progress, allowing you to cancel the export or create another one.
- You will receive an email when the process is complete.
After all needed photos have been removed from your Kent State Google account, you must delete all remaining photos so that Google Photos is empty.
3. Reduce Your Storage Footprint in Google Drive in Preparation for Future Storage Limits.
