Computer account lifecycle
When your University of Waikato enrolment or employment ends, an automated process begins which will eventually remove access to, and then delete, your Waikato Google and Microsoft accounts.
Google and Microsoft Account Lifecycle
Who does this apply to?
The account changes apply to:
- Former staff i.e. on their final day of employment (with some exceptions to meet the requirements of the Public Records Act 2005)
- Alumni and students not enrolled in any papers and it has been 180 days (~ 6 months) since the end date of their last paper:
- account deactivation will occur 180 days after their final paper ends, and an email notification will be sent (if possible) notifying the student that their data will be deleted in 90 days
- account/data deletion will occur 90 days after the deactivation (presuming the student has not enrolled in any papers since deactivation) i.e. no data is deleted/unrecoverable until it has been 270 days (~9 months) since a student was last enrolled in a paper
- PhD student not enrolled in any papers:
- account deactivation will occur 5 years after their final paper ends
- data deletion will occur 90 days after the deactivation (presuming the student has not enrolled in any papers since deactivation) i.e. no data is unrecoverable until it has been 5 years + 90 days since a PhD student was last enrolled in a paper
Why
As of January 2023 Google charges the University for data storage - without mitigation, this would have lead to an increase in costs, as:
- Google previously offered free accounts with unlimited storage for educational institutes
- Students currently retain their University Google accounts and data for life
To control costs, we have changed how Google accounts/data are managed when staff and students leave the University.
What
As well as addressing the lifecycle of our Google accounts, this is an opportunity to improve and align how we manage Microsoft accounts/data and home drive data at the same time and inform our people about all of these changes at once.
We are going to:
- Change how we manage Google accounts, Microsoft accounts and home drives for staff and students who have left the University
- Tidy up accounts/data currently retained for former staff, alumni and former students
- Update operational processes so in future, staff and student accounts/data will be removed after they depart (including ensuring automated notifications/reminders are sent to affected users, giving them an opportunity to move their data elsewhere)
We will communicate these changes across a variety of platforms (email, social media) at different times (including reminder emails), in an effort to reach as many impacted users as possible.
End of Life How To Guides and Frequently Answered Questions
You will be sent notification of this process at the time.
If you wish to retain anything from your Waikato accounts you will have to move it to a personal account of some kind.
Alternative Mail Options
Google has personal Google Accounts which give you access to email, calendars and storage.
Microsoft offers free email and calendar services in Outlook. Hotmail is an Outlook account that lets you choose to have your address as @hotmail.com
Yahoo also offer free email
How do I move my Google Mail to a new account?
You can import your Waikato email into a personal account.
You can use Google Takeout to export your Waikato email (All or selected labels).
You can import Gmail into Outlook.
Alternative Storage Options (Prices accurate May 2023)
There are many free and subscription based personal storage options available. The most common include.
Personal Google One plan
15 GB Free storage
100GB - $34.99 NZD/year
200GB - $49.99 NZD/year
2TB - $166.99 NZD/year
Personal OneDrive
5GB free storage
100GB - $29/year
1TB - $129/year (includes Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Defender)
Family 365 - !179 /year (1 TB per person * 6, includes Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Defender and Microsoft Family Safety mobile app)
DropBox - (yearly billed monthly)
Free 2GB storage
2TB -$9.99/month
Family and Friends 2TB up to 6 users - $16.99 / month
Box - (per month paid annually)
Free - 30GB
100GB - US $11.50
How much space am I currently using?
For Google, log into your Waikato University Google account and then click on the Google Storage Information link.
Microsoft has many ways to find out what storage you are using depending on how you connect.
How do I move my Google data?
Use Google Transfer to transfer email, Google Drive and "Shared with me" folders to a personal account.
Use Google Takeout to move some or all of your data types to supported alternative storage
Download your Google Data to your personal computer.
Manually copy from your Waikato Google drive to your personal Google Drive by sharing to your personal account and making a copy within that account.
What happens with files I have shared with others?
When your account is deleted, these files are also deleted. Please contact the people you have shared files with and ask them to make a copy of the shared files they may wish to keep.
Google Takeout will make copies of all the files that you created.
What happens with Shared Drives?
If you have created the Shared Drive then the contents will be migrated if you use Google Transfer or Google Takeout to move your data. Any files that are visible in Shared with Me were not created by you so you will need to create a copy of anything that you wish to keep. Copies might only be available if you are granted Editor access to the files.
How do I make a copy of a file shared with me?
These instructions are provided by Google on how to make a copy of a file shared with you.
In Shared with me, right-click a file and select Make a copy. Copies will end up in your “My Drive”.
(Optional) To move the file:
In the pop-up window at the bottom, click Show file location.
Right-click the file and select Move to and select an appropriate location.
Can I transfer ownership of my files to someone else?
No. Our Google Domain prevents the transfer of ownership to someone else, either inside or outside of the Waikato google domain. If you wish to give ownership to someone else, first Share the items with them and then ask them to make a copy in their account.
This also works as a process for changing ownership from your Waikato account to a personal Google account.
How do I move my Google photos?
Move your Waikato account photos to a personal Google account.
Copy your Google Photos to service outside of Google using Google Takeout
How do I transfer my Google Site?
Migrate a Waikato Google Site (ePortfolio) to a personal Google account
How do I transfer my Google Contacts?
You can export your contacts and restore them in a personal Google account
How do I transfer Google Calendar and/or Calendar events?
You can transfer Google Calendars and Calendar events from Calendar you own to other owners.
How do I transfer my OneDrive data?
Microsoft currently provide a mechanism for moving your files when you graduate.
This option utilises a tool called Mover which can also be used to migrate files from Google to OneDrive.
Does this change anything for staff who are currently employed?
No. There were storage limits/quotas implemented recently for current staff, but this additional work will not change anything for staff who are employed - the change only applies to staff once they are no longer employed.
Does this change anything for students who are currently enrolled?
No. There were storage limits/quotas implemented recently, but this additional work will not change anything for current/enrolled students - the change only applies to students once they have not been enrolled in any papers for some time.
Does this change anything for students who leave and then return to study after a period of time?
Yes. If you return to study (after being unenrolled for 9+ months) your account and data will not be recoverable. You will get a new account which will not have any data.
How can PhD students continue to access their data once they’re no longer enrolled?
If your final paper ended less than 5 years ago:
- your Google account and data will be migrated to Microsoft (late 2023/early 2024)
- once we have migrated from Google to Microsoft, you will be able to access data using Microsoft Office in a browser
Does this change anything for Emeritus Professors and Honorary Fellows?
No. Emeritus Professors and Honorary Fellows are considered active accounts, thus their Google and Microsoft 365 accounts will be retained for the duration of their engagement with the University.
How will this impact staff who are taking a break, secondment or transferred between roles?
There will not be any data loss, as long as the gap in employment is not more than 7 years. In order to provide compliance with the Public Records Act 2005, all staff Google and Microsoft account will be disabled on the employee's final day of employment and then retained for 7 years before being deleted.
Will I still be able to access MyWaikato and a record of my papers/grades after I leave?
Yes, you will still be able to login to MyWaikato and access your enrollment records.
How will we continue to meet the requirements of the Public Records Act 2005?
- General staff Google and Microsoft accounts will be deactivated on the employee’s final day of employment, and then retained for 7 years, before being deleted
- Management Staff (staff who have financial delegation and all VC Exec members) data will be retained indefinitely
What is prompting the removal of Google Accounts?
When the University adopted Google we were granted unlimited storage as part of our subscription. However, last year Google advised the University that they were going to start charging for any storage that we use over 100TB. Where once we could advise our staff and students that they could store anything they wanted for as long as they wanted in Google Drive, this is no longer the case as the charges for exceeding 100TB of data for our domain is substantial. A project was undertaken in 2022 to get us below 100TB but in order to safely remain there the decision was made to remove Google accounts for former staff and students.
Microsoft OneDrive became the preferred storage offering for students and staff in 2023. Microsoft licenses are linked to employment or enrollment. Once either finishes Microsoft licences are deactivated and an automated timeline for the deletion of all data begins.
What Google Services are affected?
Google Mail, Google Drive (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms etc), Google Photos. Microsoft OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams access.
What about my email address (@waikato.ac.nz, or @students.waikato.ac.nz?
These email addresses will no longer exist.
The only way I hear from the University currently is through my student email. How can I ensure that I hear from the University/Alumni Office in the future?
Please update your alumni details with a new email address to continue receiving University alumni updates and invitations to events.
What do I need to do?
Migrate any email, files, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms etc) and any photos stored in Google Photos, that you wish to keep to a personal account. Move any data stored on OneDrive, arrange alternative access to SharePoint and or TEAMS if appropriate. See the How to Guides for assistance with this process.
What if I have data that is critical to the University that cannot be moved and must not be deleted?
Please contact the ITS Service Desk help@waikato.ac.nz or 07 838 4008.
Does this account cleanup work assist the Microsoft 365 Migration project?
Yes. This cleanup work will assist the Microsoft 365 Migration project by reducing the volume of accounts and data that need to be migrated from Google to Microsoft 365.