UW-Madison G Suite - FAQ
This article provides basic information regarding UW-Madison G Suite.
- How do I access my UW-Madison G Suite account?
- Why should I use a UW-Madison G Suite Account?
- What is my account name?
- How do I share a file using UW-Madison Google Drive?
- How do I share a UW-Madison Google Site?
- What’s the difference between a personal G Suite account and a UW-Madison G Suite Account?
- What are the implications of sharing content with members who do not have a UW-Madison G Suite Account?
- Are there storage limits?
- Where is the data stored (UW or G Suite servers)?
- Is the data backed up, can it be restored?
- Will G Suite access my data?
- Why a UW-Madison G Suite service?
- Why did UW-Madison sign a license agreement with G Suite?
- Which G Suite services and applications are included in a UW-Madison G Suite Account?
- Why are only some of G Suite's service and applications included in a UW-Madison G Suite account?
- Why isn't Gmail included?
- Does a UW-Madison G Suite account meet the requirements to host restricted information or sensitive information?
- UW-Madison is offering a suite of applications through our service, which are not covered under our G Suite for Higher Education license. What does it mean to me to use these applications for University business?
How do I access my UW-Madison G Suite account?
You can log in using your NetID and password at https://apps.google.wisc.edu/
Why should I use a UW-Madison G Suite Account?
UW-Madison G Suite is a protected space allowing users to share content and collaborate with others inside and outside of the university. You can use your @wisc.edu address and NetID to access both the G Suite suite as well as the additional consumer application G Suite has made available.
What is my account name?
Your UW-Madison G Suite account uses your NetID as your account name (netid@wisc.edu). Your other email addresses are also added to your account such that people who look you up by another address (e.g. first.last@wisc.edu) will find your one account.
How do I share a file using UW-Madison Google Drive?
See: UW-Madison G Suite - Sharing Files with Google Drive
How do I share a UW-Madison Google Site?
See: UW-Madison G Suite - Sharing UW-Madison Google Sites
What’s the difference between a personal G Suite account and a UW-Madison G Suite Account?
A personal G Suite account:
- “A G Suite Account provides access to products administered by G Suite; A G Suite Account provides access to products powered by G Suite but administered by an organization.”
- Content hosted in a personal G Suite Account is subject toG Suite’s Terms of Service: “By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give G Suite a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any content which you submit, post or display on or through, the services.” See http://www.google.com/accounts/TOS
- If you’re able to sign in on the G Suite Accounts homepage, you have a G Suite Account.
A UW Madison G Suite Account:
- A UW-Madison G Suite Account provides access to Drive (includes Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, and Forms), Sites, Hangouts, Groups, Calendar, Contacts, and Google+ and is administered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
- A UW-Madison G Suite Account also provides additional license protection, ensuring an environment where you can collaborate and share while retaining rights to your intellectual property.
- Sign into your UW-Madison G Suite account to view your documents. If you are unable to access your account please contact the DoIT Help Desk at 608-264-HELP.
Further information
- UW-Madison G Suite Accounts vs. G Suite Accounts vs. G Suite Accounts
- What’s the difference between a G Suite Account and a G Suite account?
What are the implications of sharing content with members who do not have a UW-Madison G Suite Account?
While sharing content with individuals outside of the university does not remove the protections of the UW-Madison Terms of Service, non-UW-Madison users may be subject to their own Terms of Service. Therefore, UW-Madison users should be confident that these users will safeguard the intellectual property.
Are there storage limits?
Google Drive has no quota limit other than a limit for an individual file size of 5 TB (yes, that's T as in 'tera'). The ability to sync data to your computer is limited by your local drive's capacity.
Where is the data stored (UW or G Suite servers)?
Data within G Suite services is stored on G Suite's servers. More information about how G Suite stores data is here: UW-Madison G Suite - Privacy Policy and Terms of Service
Is the data backed up, can it be restored?
DoIT has the ability to restore accidentally deleted files for only Google Drive. Please contact the Help Desk if you need data restored.
Otherwise, G Suite does not back up user data. It is up to the individual using G Suite services to back up their own data.
Will G Suite access my data?
While the license agreement with G Suite forbids unauthorized access to data stored on G Suite's servers, if this is a concern then we recommend not storing data within the G Suite service.
What happens to my UW-Madison G Suite account when I leave the University?
When you are no longer eligible for a NetID (NetID - Eligibility Policy), your access to UW-Madison G Suite will also end. A few days prior to your account being deactivated, you will receive an email notification. It is up to the individual user to make sure that they have downloaded all of the data they need from G Suite's servers to their own computer or external UW account. For information on exporting files, please see: UW-Madison G Suite - Preserve your data
Why a UW-Madison G Suite service?
G Suite has made available a suite of applications for students, faculty and staff of higher education institutions. Many institutions have adopted G Suite for their ease of use and collaboration features. The G Suite suite includes common applications like Drive and Sites. Higher education G Suite also give access to a broad range of consumer applications like Picasa (now transitioning to Google+) and YouTube.
Why did UW-Madison sign a license agreement with G Suite?
UW-Madison negotiated a terms of service agreement with G Suite to protect University intellectual property and individual privacy rights. Many students and staff were already using G Suite with a personal account, which does not provide the level of protection that the university agreement does.
Which G Suite services and applications are included in a UW-Madison G Suite Account?
A UW-Madison G Suite Account will have access to Drive (includes Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, and Forms), Sites, Hangouts, Groups, Calendar, Contacts, and Google+.
Additionally, G Suite provides access to its consumer applications like Picasa and YouTube through your UW-Madison account. You can view the list of consumer applications that are provided as a convenience to you, but please understand they NOT covered under the UW-Madison agreement.
Why are only some of G Suite's service and applications included in a UW-Madison G Suite account?
G Suite applications and services are made available after a review by members of the campus community to determine their value and appropriateness for the university environment. Some applications like Gmail are currently unavailable due to policy and technical reasons.
Members of the campus community can make a request to include additional apps by opening a ticket with the Help Desk. The app will be reviewed by the G Suite team when two or more requests have been submitted.
Why isn't Gmail included?
Google Mail is not being implemented at this time. As a result of the Administrative Excellence Email and Calendaring Consolidation project, the campus has decided to adopt Microsoft Office 365 as its email and calendaring solution.
Does a UW-Madison G Suite account meet the requirements to host restricted information or sensitive information?
We recommend that G Suite not be used for storing restricted information. Other sensitive information is likely ok if you limit who has access to the information. See also:
UW-Madison is offering a suite of applications through our service, which are not covered under our G Suite for Higher Education license. What does it mean to me to use these applications for University business?
G Suite does offer additional applications through the UW-Madison G Suite Service. These applications are personal and unique; however, they are not covered under the G Suite for Education terms of service. Each of these applications has its own G Suite Terms of Services. Be aware that you (the user), not the University, are accepting these terms.
A list of G Suite Consumer Applications available to UW-Madison users can be found at UW-Madison G Suite - List of Available Consumer Applications.
The Terms of Service of these G Suite commercial applications can be found at here. Because these G Suite commercial applications are not covered by the G Suite for Education terms of service:
- UW-Madison cannot assure users of these G Suite commercial applications where the data is stored
- Users will be subject to the jurisdiction in the courts of California in any legal proceedings
- Representation by UW-Madison Legal Services cannot be assumed
Guidelines for use of non-UW-Madison applications can be found at: Non-UW-Madison Applications and Services Guidelines