Google recently announced the end of unlimited storage in Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Google Drive, Photos) for all its customers. This change will impact research universities such as Case Western Reserve particularly hard. Currently, CWRU has about four times the storage in Google Workspace as will be allowed after limits are put in place in the summer of 2024. As a result, the university needs to make significant changes in how it administers Google Workspace.
The university will phase out Google Workspace as a service available to alumni in summer 2023. You will retain your CWRU email address and we will provide a forwarding service so you can have your CWRU email delivered to the personal email address of your choice. However, you will no longer have access to a Gmail mailbox, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Drive, Photos, or any other Google service through your CWRU account.
We are announcing this change now to make sure you have adequate time to transition your data and email. Here is the anticipated timeline for this change:
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Now: Update your preferred non-CWRU email address by filling out this Google Form. You’ll need to log in through your university email address (abc123@case.edu).
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Sign up for University Technology’s email redirecting service to specify a personal email address to have your CWRU email re-routed.
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By June 30, 2023: Download or transfer any Google Workspace data you would like to retain. Google makes it very easy to transfer your university email and Drive documents to a free personal Google account. See Google’s guide for detailed instructions. You can also use Google Takeout to download all of your Google Workspace data (email, Contacts, Calendar,, etc.) to a local hard drive or a personal cloud storage service you may already be using, such as DropBox or Microsoft OneDrive.
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On July 1, 2023: Alumni will no longer have access to Google Workspace and their data will be removed.
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See our FAQ for more detailed information and instructions.
We understand this service transition may be disappointing, but we want to emphasize that you will still be able to receive your CWRU email and you can easily transfer your university email and Drive documents to a free personal Google account. However, we need to make this change to the storing of data so Google Workspace can continue to be a viable service for faculty, staff and students.
If you have any questions or need assistance with any technology product or service at Case Western Reserve, contact the University Technology Service Desk at help@case.edu or 216.368.HELP (4357) or visit help.case.edu.