What Changes Are Happening to UTmail?
Due to licensing changes imposed by Google, UTmail accounts will no longer offer unlimited storage beginning in late 2022.
These changes will ensure that the total UTmail storage complies with the new maximum put in place by Google to prevent loss of data, service outages, and security risks:
- Students, faculty, and staff will be limited to 5GB of storage for their Gmail and Google Workspace accounts.
- Alumni, former students, and retirees will be limited to 1GB of email storage and will have access to Gmail only. Accounts that have been inactive for 12 months or longer will be deleted.
The UTmail team has developed recommendations and documentation (including this online guide) to assist you with taking any necessary actions. The UTmail team will also be communicating with UTmail account holders throughout the 2022 calendar year regarding these changes. For further information and background on this project, please visit: https://it.utexas.edu/projects/utmail_storage_reduction
What Storage Quotas and Services Will I Have?
Please refer to the table below for UTmail storage quotas and enabled services based on user affiliation; storage quotas will go into effect no later than November/ 2022 and changes to enabled services will be implemented no later than December 2022.
|
Affiliation |
UTmail Quota |
Enabled Services |
Inactive Account Status |
| Current Students | 5GB | All Google Workspace for Education services | N/A |
| Current Faculty | 5GB | All Google Workspace for Education services | N/A |
| Current Staff | 5GB | All Google Workspace for Education services | N/A |
| Former Students | 1GB | Gmail Only | Accounts inactive for more than 365 days (>- 12mo.) will be suspended |
| Retirees | 1GB | Gmail Only | Accounts inactive for more than 365 days (>- 12mo.) will be suspended |
What Actions Do I Need to Take?
For all users:
- You must check your storage usage to ensure that you are below the limit for your user type (refer to What Storage Quotas and Services Will I Have?).
- For more information on managing your storage on Google Drive, visit Manage Files in Your Google Drive Storage.
For current faculty, staff, and students:
- If you have more than 5 GB stored in Google, you will be required to migrate your email and/or files to a new location to bring you under the 5 GB limit.
For former students and retirees:
- If you have more than 1 GB stored in Google and/or if you have any files stored in Google Drive, you must reduce your Gmail storage below 1 GB and remove all files stored in Drive.
- You must log in to your UTmail account at least once every 365 days. If you do not log in to your UTmail account for 365 days, it will be archived, then deleted after 120 days. You will receive alerts prior to your account being archived.
- NOTE: Forwarding does not count as a logging in. Only signing in to your UTmail account via a web browser will keep your account active. Checking your storage usage counts as logging in.
Do I Have Any Legal Obligations for Managing Data in My UTmail Account?
For Faculty, Staff, and Retirees:
- Yes. University faculty and staff must manage emails and files in their UTmail business accounts as official university records. Retirees should ensure that they do not have any university records in their accounts.
- For further guidance, please review the information below in As an Employee, What are my Obligations When Reducing Files and Email in My UTmail Business Account?
For Students, Former Students, and Alumni:
- No. University retention rules do not apply to student, former student, or alumnus UTmail accounts. Contents of those accounts may be deleted or managed at the discretion of the account owners.
As an Employee, What are My Obligations When Reducing Files and Emails Stored in My UTmail Business Account?
Reducing the UTmail account storage of UT staff and faculty may require deleting or managing records and email that are official university records. Please review the following information before deleting.
The University Records Management Officer has authorized the deletion of inactive university records dated prior to Dec. 31, 2017. Records from that period pertaining to active business issues should be transferred to another university storage account such as UTBox, OneDrive, or SharePoint.
University business records dated after Dec. 31, 2017, are not authorized for deletion. They may be transferred to another university storage account for retention, or you must submit a request for authorization to dispose or consult with Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) before deleting.
You may dispose of all records and emails not conducting university business up to the present day, including:
- Personal use emails, photographs, and other personal files
- Department social emails e.g., “cookies at the front desk” or “Join us for Ben’s retirement party”
- Memos from other university departments
- Unsolicited advertisements
Please refer to RIMS' guidance regarding the reduction in size of your UTmail account for more detailed information.
Am I Allowed to Store Official University Data in My Personal Account?
No. All university records must be stored in approved, university-managed accounts and storage locations. Do not use your personal UTmail account (nor any other personal account) to conduct university business.
Reach out to Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) for further guidance.
How Do I Check My UTmail Usage?
You can review the storage used by your Gmail and Drive content at https://drive.google.com/settings/storage.
Viewing UTmail vs. Personal Account Storage
If you are already logged in to Google with a personal account, you may be shown your personal account storage allocation and usage instead.
You will have to sign in with your UTmail account to view the storage for your UTmail account.
Follow Google’s instructions for signing in to multiple accounts at once.
Example:
Note: Even though Photos is displayed as one of the storage options, Google Photos is not included in UTmail and will always display as 0 GB.
Can I Purchase Additional Storage for My UTmail Account?
No. The university is limited to the enterprise license that Google offers and cannot add storage to individual accounts.
If you are an active university student, faculty, or staff member, there are alternative services that have greater storage allocations at no cost.
What Alternative Services Can I Use?
For Students, Faculty, and Staff:
- If you are current staff, faculty, or a student, the services listed below exist that you may use in place of UTmail.
- A matrix detailing the suitability of the UTmail service for various types of University data are available at: Local and Cloud Services Decision Matrix
|
Google Service |
Replace With |
| Gmail |
Microsoft Office 365 Exchange Online |
| Drive |
Alumni, Former Students, and Retirees:
- For alumni, former students and retirees, the university is unable to provide recommendations for 3rd party commercial services.
How Do I Export Items from Google Calendar?
If you wish to export your Gmail calendar to a file, you can view instructions for doing so at: https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37111
UT EMPLOYEES CAUTION: All university emails and files must be stored in approved, university-managed accounts and storage locations. Do not use a personal account to store university records or conduct university business. Review the alternative services you may use an employee, or reach out to Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) for further guidance.
How Do I Export Files from Google Drive?
You may download data stored in your UTmail account (including Drive) via Google Takeout.
Instructions for using Google Takeout are available at: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190
UT EMPLOYEES CAUTION: All university emails and files must be stored in approved, university-managed accounts and storage locations. Do not use a personal account to store university records or conduct university business. Review the alternative services you may use an employee, or reach out to Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) for further guidance.
How Do I Export My Gmail Contacts?
If you wish to export your Gmail contacts to re-import them elsewhere, you can view instructions for doing so at: https://support.google.com/contacts/answer/7199294
UT EMPLOYEES CAUTION: All university emails and files must be stored in approved, university-managed accounts and storage locations. Do not use a personal account to store university records or conduct university business. Review the alternative services you may use an employee, or reach out to Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) for further guidance.
How Do I Export Content from Gmail?
You may download data stored in your UTmail account (including Gmail) via Google Takeout.
Instructions for using Google Takeout are available at: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190
If you wish to import your UTmail emails into a personal Gmail account, instructions for doing so are available at: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/21289
UT EMPLOYEES CAUTION: All university emails and files must be stored in approved, university-managed accounts and storage locations. Do not use a personal account to store university records or conduct university business. Review the alternative services you may use an employee, or reach out to Records and Information Management Services (RIMS) for further guidance.