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Google Drive

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Overview

Use Google Drive to create, share, and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations simultaneously with others. All active Pepperdine University accounts have online cloud storage shared among all Google Workspace services (Google Mail, Drive, Calendar).

Pepperdine Google Workspace should be used for University teaching, learning, research, and business purposes only; do not use a personal Google account for University business, and do not store personal content on your University Google account.

Google Drive Policy and Standards

While Google Drive is a powerful tool for storage and collaboration, please be aware that it is not approved for the storage of Restricted data. Also, when sharing any Confidential data, you may only share it with specific individuals or groups (not made public). You may learn more below:

Pepperdine Drive

 

Google Workspace Learning Center

 

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Google Storage Limits


Students

50 GB


Faculty and Staff

200 GB*


Shared Drives

TBD*

*Starting limits. Departments and schools may purchase additional space for Faculty/Staff users, delegate inboxes, and Shared Drives. Student limits are fixed. 

Learn more about Storage Changes at Pepperdine.

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Quick Facts

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Google Storage Changes

Google ended its practice of offering free, unlimited storage for educational institutions. Google storage powers Google Drive and Gmail. Because online file storage is vital for collaboration, communication, and supporting the University mission, we must implement Google storage limits. Starting November 15, 2023, we will implement the following limits:

  • Faculty and Staff: 200 GB
  • Students: 50 GB
  • Shared Drives: Limits are coming and will be announced in 2024.

Learn more about Storage Changes at Pepperdine.

 

Using Google Drive

  Getting Started with Google Drive

Before You Begin

A few reminders:

  • Pepperdine Google Drive is intended for University-related content only. Do not store personal files, media, and other data.
  • You cannot store Restricted information within Google Workspace. Please review our Google Drive Policy and Standards listed above.
  • Only store University data on University-approved services. You may not use a personal Google account to store University data or place University data on unauthorized, third-party services.

How to Access Pepperdine Google Drive

Access couldn't be easier!

  1. Visit drive.pepperdine.edu.
  2. Log in with your Pepperdine credentials.
  3. That's it!

Learn How to Use It

Visit the following resources to learn more about Google Drive and get familiar with the basics:

 

  Shared Drives

What is it?

Google "Shared Drives" are shared spaces where teams can easily store, search, and access their files anywhere. Unlike files in your personal "My Drive," files in Shared Drives do not belong to an individual. Even if members leave the University, the files stay so your team can continue to share and work together. Overall, Shared Drives offer great cross-platform collaboration options, better search, version management features, and more.

Before You Begin

Remember, you cannot store Restricted information within Google Workspace, even in departmental Shared Drives. Please review our Google Drive Policy and Standards listed above.

Reasons to Use Shared Drives

Shared Drives are great for the following:

  • Department and team document storage. If your team or department has used S: or U: Drives in the past, consider using Shared Drives to centrally store team handbooks, documentation, reports, and other work-related content. 
  • Cross-departmental or special projects. Projects that span multiple areas of the University can collaborate together, share information, and centrally store materials.
  • Research projects. Whether led by students or faculty, any University research projects can be centrally stored and continue with the University even when some participants may graduate or leave over time.

Learn How to Use It

 

  Drive for Desktop

What is it?

Google "Drive for Desktop" is an application that you can install on your computer to access, manage, and sync documents between your computer and Google Drive. Available for Mac and PC, it can be helpful for storing content in the cloud and still accessing them quickly from your computer.

Before You Begin

Remember, you cannot store Restricted information within Google Workspace. Please review our Google Drive Policy and Standards listed above.

Benefits of Drive for Desktop

  • Save Hard Drive Space: Running out of room on your computer's hard drive? Afraid of what might happen if your hard drive fails? Drive for Desktop allows you to store and access all of your University-related work files in Google Drive. When you need to work with a file, Drive for Desktop streams the content to your computer so you can work with it on demand. This way, you and your team can spend less time waiting for files to sync, experience fewer worries about running out of disk space, and be more productive.
  • Offline Access: Worried about what happens when you don't have internet access? You can select which files or folders you want to access offline at any time by mirroring them (that is, keeping copies on the cloud and on your computer).
  • Work with Any File: Drive for Desktop allows you to work with all the tools and apps that you're used to, like Microsoft Office Word or Adobe Photoshop. Drive for Desktop will stream the files to your computer. You'll use the app on your system to edit the content, and all changes and updates are streamed back to the cloud and saved automatically. 
Get Drive for Desktop

 

Learn How to Use It

 

 

Storage Best Practices

  Digital Data Habits

We all know that a good diet and regular exercise lead to a healthier lifestyle. The same applies to our digital lives and the data we store.

Email Habits

  1. Delete spam and other unwanted messages ("Archive" does not delete or reduce storage; never forward suspicious messages)
  2. Unsubscribe or opt out of unnecessary lists or services from legitimate senders (Stop the email from continuing to fill your inbox)
  3. Never email Restricted information through Gmail (Review the Google Workspace Information Storage Policy and consider Secure Attachments if appropriate)
  4. Check the sender and actual website before acting (Develop anti-phishing skills to protect yourself and University data)
  5. Consider Drive Sharing over File Attachments (If you send an uploaded 10MB PDF file to 20 people at Pepperdine, you sent 20 copies of the same file (200MB); be efficient and link to Drive when appropriate (20MB vs. 200MB); consider whether Secure Attachments is a better option, too)

Drive Habits

  1. Know the difference between My Drive and Shared Drives (Place personal work data in "My Drive" and store team- or project-based data in "Shared Drives")
  2. Check your Drive Storage regularly (See "Check Your Google Drive Storage Usage" below)
  3. Identify and delete duplicate files (Keep the definitive or final copy; delete unnecessary copies or versions)
  4. Identify and delete outdated data (Keep current and relevant information; delete data that is no longer accurate or necessary)
  5. Never store Restricted Information on Google Workspace (Review the Google Workspace Information Storage Policy)
  6. Share content appropriately (Check sharing settings and update when team or group membership changes; any Confidential information must be restricted to specific people or groups only; refer to Google Workspace Information Security Standards)
  7. Only Store University data on University-approved storage services. You may not use personal Google accounts or unauthorized third-party services to store University data.
  8. Remove any personal, non-University related content (Pepperdine Google Drive is intended for University learning, teaching, work, and research; store your personal or non-University or non-job-related content on your own personal cloud storage solution)

Learn more about Data Privacy and Data Minimization.

  Check Your Google Drive Storage Usage

We all need to store data for University learning, teaching, work, and research. Tools like Google Drive allow us to collaborate and complete projects. As good stewards of University resources, we need to be mindful of our storage footprint and make sure that we are not storing unnecessary content.

Check Your Pepperdine Account Google Drive Storage

  1. Go to drive.pepperdine.edu.
  2. Select "Storage" in the left tool menu.
  3. Review your overall storage consumption across Drive, Gmail, and Photos.
    • Note: The "Google Photos" app is not supported by Pepperdine University. If you have mistakenly stored content on the "Google Photos" app within Pepperdine Google Workspace service, please transfer that information to an appropriate location and delete the content from Google Photos. To be clear, images, photographs, graphics, and other media files can be stored on Google Drive; the "Google Photos" app is not supported and will be disabled in the future.
  4. By default, files will be listed in descending order by size (largest to smallest).
    • Are there duplicate files? Keep the definitive copy and delete any duplicates.
    • Are there outdated files? Are older files still needed, or can they be deleted?
    • Are multiple versions needed? Some files can have multiple versions or drafts (e.g. File_v1, File_v2). Keep the final version or relevant drafts and delete the excess copies.
    • Are personal files present by mistake? Pepperdine Google Drive is for University-related business only. Relocate any personal files to your personal cloud storage and permanently delete them from Pepperdine Google Drive.

Using the "Storage" feature of Google Drive can keep your data storage lean and focused on relevant University-related content. In this way, you will do your part to keep within our institutional storage limits.

  Check Storage Used by a Google "Shared Drive"

Google Shared Drives are perfect for departmental storage of team and project work. Shared Drives remain with the institution, so if a member leaves the team or institution, the content stays with the department, team, or project.

Review Total Storage for a Shared Drive

  1. Go to drive.pepperdine.edu.
  2. Select "Shared drives" in the left menu.
  3. Double-click the Shared Drive in question.
  4. Select the "View details" icon at the top left (if not already selected).
  5. In the right "Details" sidebar, locate the "Storage used" and review the amount.

If you manage multiple shared drives, you will repeat this process for each drive.

 

 

What Happens When I Exceed My Storage Limit?

All users will have a storage limit based on their role (see "Google Storage Changes" above). Once you reach or exceed your storage limit, much of your Pepperdine Google Workspace will shift to a "read-only" mode. Nothing is deleted automatically; you simply won't be able to interact with many of the features until you reduce your storage usage. Here is a brief list of some of the impacts when you exceed your storage limit:

  • Gmail: You will retain basic email functionality. You be able to receive and reply to messages, but you will not be able to upload files or photos to send attachments. Also, you will not be able to save email attachments to Google Drive.
  • "My Drive:" All of your content will become "read-only" until you reduce your storage usage. You will not be able to:
    • Add new content.
    • Edit or change existing content.
    • Submit Google Forms.
    • Create or edit Google Sites.
    • Sync data to Google Drive.
    • Other collaborators will not be able to edit or change your shared documents.
  • "Shared Drives:" All content will become "read-only" until a Content Manager or Manager of the Shared Drive moves or deletes content, or the department purchases more space for the Shared Drive. Other members (i.e. Contributors and Commenters) will not be able to edit, make suggestions, or add new content. Again, either the storage needs to be reduced or the department or school must purchase more space for the specific Shared Drive.

How to Get Under the Limit

The available options will vary based on the person's role. In general, here are the available options:

  1. Remove Content: All of us store content that is no longer necessary or may be located in multiple places. If content is duplicated elsewhere, outdated, or no longer necessary or relevant, delete the content and then empty the Trash. For example, did you archive that unnecessary promotional email, or did you delete it? Do you have multiple "draft" versions of a Word document or Excel spreadsheet that are no longer necessary?
  2. Move Content: Are you storing departmental or school data in your "My Drive" that should be stored in a school or department's "Shared Drive" space? Consult with your supervisor to determine if the work content is needed and where it should be stored.
  3. Transfer Ownership: An option for some content may be to transfer the ownership of the file to another person. That person must have available storage space and accept the owner transfer request. A student worker may decide to transfer ownership of a document to a department supervisor, and then the supervisor can decide on the appropriate location for the data. Note: The new owner must accept ownership, and then it may take Google 1-2 days to update the storage usage data accordingly. Also, transferring ownership of a folder does not automatically transfer the ownership of its contents; those must be done individually.
  4. Migrate Content: Are you accidentally storing personal (non-Pepperdine) content on Pepperdine Google Workspace? Maybe you accidentally synced your personal computer to your Pepperdine Google Drive or uploaded home or family photos or media to your Pepperdine account by mistake. You must download the content to a personal storage device (not a Pepperdine device) and then permanently delete it from Pepperdine Google. Warning: The transfer of confidential or restricted Pepperdine data to a non-Pepperdine device or location may be considered an information security breach. This can have serious consequences. Consult with Tech Central on the best ways to move any personal content to a personal account or device. Also, refer to the Google Drive Policy and Standards above.
  5. Buy More Space (Faculty/Staff Only): If your work requires you to store large amounts of data in your "My Drive," consult with your supervisor and the major area budget manager for the school or department. They can purchase more space for you if merited. Details will be forthcoming.

See "Digitial Data Habits" in the "Storage Best Practices" section above to learn other strategies.

 

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