Overview

With Google My Drive, you can create and share files and folders online for you individual use. You can temporarily share with others and collaborate with others on group projects, but you will retain ownership of the files. Files in Google Drive can be accessed from any smartphone, tablet, or computer.

Appropriate Use

Google Workspace is intended for actively used University files for your individual use and is not intended to be an archive. We recommend against using your University of Minnesota Google account for personal business. Personal media files, including photos and videos should not be stored in a UMN Google Workspace Account.

What happens to files stored in Google My Drive when people leave the University 

  • Beginning June 1, 2024 after students, non-emeritus faculty, or staff members leave the University, they will have a transition period determined by their role and affiliation with the Health Care Component. After the last day of their transition period, their accounts will close and they will no longer have access to email and Google Workspace. See the Review When Your Access Will Change section of the Leaving the University self-help guide. 
  • During the transition period, the account owner can download or transfer personal files stored in My Drive to a personal account or device. Restrictions apply for people in the Health Care Component. See the Move or Delete Your Personal Files and Data in the Leaving the University self-help guide for guidance and instructions. 
  • After the transition period is over and the account is closed, if the UMN Google Workspace account owner did not transfer ownership or place My Drive files in a Google shared drive, and those files need to be retained at the University, the people with whom the account owner shared files have 120 days to make a copy. 
  • After 120 days, no one can access the email or files stored in the closed account. 
  • After a UMN email and Google Workspace account has been closed for 180 days, its contents will be permanently deleted.

 

Highlights

  • Organize  and share files and folders
  • Find files and folders using advanced searching and filtering functions
  • Collaborate online with others in real time
  • Create new docs or upload and convert Word documents, OpenOffice, RTF, HTML, text (.txt) and other types of files

Getting Started

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Intended Audience

Students
Instructors
Researchers
Staff & Departments

Cost

University-funded: No charge.

Featured Resources

Good Practices

How to Keep Ownership of Departmental Google Files

Ensure important department documents in Google Drive do not get accidentally deleted or go missing, especially when someone leaves the University or moves to another department.ChallengeHow do I ensure important...

Ensure important department documents in Google Drive do not get accidentally deleted or go missing, especially when someone leaves the University or moves to another department.

See All Resources

Additional Resources

Manage Data and Documents
Google Workspace
Google Shared Drives
Select Digital Storage Options