Google Workspace for Education at WWU

About 

Google Workspace for Education is a suite of cloud-based tools tailored specifically for educational environments. Since 2016, WWU has provided access to the free-of-charge Education Fundamentals edition, to support learning and academic workflows alongside our existing campus tools. This product provides apps for collaboration, content creation, storage, and sharing, communication, and AI tools. These tools are optional and available as a complement to the university-supported Microsoft 365 suite of services, such as OneDrive, Teams, and SharePoint.

Access to Google Workspace for Education

Google Workspace for Education accounts are automatically provisioned for WWU faculty and students. Non-faculty employees who need to have an active account to perform academic work can request one via HelpDesk@wwu.edu. 

Review the WWU Google Workspace Terms of Use and sign-in instructions:

Sign in to your WWU Google Workspace Account

FAQs

All faculty and students are provisioned Google accounts automatically. Non-faculty employees who need to have an active account to perform academic work can request one via HelpDesk@wwu.edu.

Google logins using the firstname.lastname@wwu.edu address will not change from being a personal account. These accounts will remain separate personal accounts unmanaged by WWU. 

If you wish to migrate your content from your firstname.lastname@wwu.edu account to your username@wwu.edu account, you have two options:

  1. Download the content to your computer and then upload it to the preferred account, or
  2. Share a folder* from your first.last account to your username account granting editor access. Select either Send or Share, and then from the Share/Editor setting, select Transfer ownership. You will still have access from both accounts unless you change it.

If you decide to keep this separate account, you may wish to use both by Switching between multiple Google accounts.

There are some applications that will not work while signed in to your Google Workspace WWU account. These include, but are not limited to:

  • Gmail
  • The Chrome Store/Extension store
  • Maps
  • Calendar
  • Classroom

If you want to use these services, you will need to open them in a different browser, use an incognito window, or sign out of your WWU Google Workspace account and into a personal Gmail account. You can also remain signed into your WWU account as a Chrome profile, but add your personal account to be able to switch between them for access to these apps.

A Google account is needed to have your own YouTube account (but not to view content). It is not necessary to use Gmail with a YouTube account, so if keeping professional YouTube content separate from personal YouTube content is needed, a Google Workspace account can be used with WWU Microsoft email/login. Note that YouTube via your WWU Google Workspace account is a separate service from the Core Services that have data and privacy protections, and will use your data to show ads. For academic video, WWU promotes the use of the ad-free, full-featured, secure environment of our Panopto Video Management System.

No, we do not create shared accounts in Google Workspace because they require an individual to manage a password and share it with colleagues, rather than using your own information to sign into an account as you do with a Microsoft shared mailbox. If your group would like a virtual space for collaboration, consider creating an Office 365 Group or a Team. 

When you share something from your WWU Google Workspace account, the people you share it with will lose access to the content when you leave the university. Files that need to remain with a department or group should be stored in a shared location like an Office 365 Group or a SharePoint site. If you would like to transfer content from your Google Drive to another WWU user, you can request to have this done prior to leaving WWU.

Important Notes

Make sure Google apps are appropriate for your needs. While these apps may be helpful for academic use or productivity, consider WWU's fully-supported suite of tools, including Microsoft OneDrive, Teams, and Sharepoint. See File Storage, File Sharing, and Backups.

Know that WWU support is limited. Please note that while ITS will provide best effort support, WWU does not have an enterprise support agreement with Google. File recovery is limited. If you need help, feel free to reach out to ATUS.HelpDesk@wwu.edu or CanvasHelp@wwu.edu

Do not store sensitive data. While Google Workspace for Education can be used in compliance with FERPA and COPPA, take precautions not to share Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as student names in combination with emails or IDs (see also FERPA Toolkit). WWU's free license does not include the security agreements necessary for users who are subject to the university policies and regulatory requirements of HIPAA. However, Google protects, encrypts, and prevents sharing of user data in their Core Features. See Google's Privacy Policy & Terms and Privacy & Security for Teachers & Students.

Be careful when storing files that other people might need. Google Drive is not recommended for departmental, team, or long-term institutional file storage. While Google sharing options are extensive, they are tied to each owner of the files. When a person leaves Western, they will no longer have access to their Google account materials. Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Microsoft 365 Groups are the university’s supported cloud storage solutions.

Gemini chats are data locked and limited. While using WWU Gemini, chats are only retrievable for 72 hours and they are not used to improve Gemini models.

Available Google Workspace Apps

Google Apps enabled at WWU for academic use or productivity include Drive (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Vids, Forms), YouTube, Meet, Notebook, Gemini, and more (see Google Workspace). Apps such as Gmail and Calendar are not included as they replicate WWU's fully-licensed Microsoft Outlook products. Google Maps is not enabled at WWU due to the age-related requirements of the app. See details below.

Google's apps are described in the agreement as "Core" and "Additional" and these have structural, legal, and operational differences. Core Services are covered by the Workspace for Education Terms and the Cloud Data Processing Addendum. Additional Services, such as YouTube and Earth, will have fewer restrictions, allow ads, etc. Extra caution is advised when posting information information on YouTube. Panopto is preferred as our privacy-controlled, secure, ad-free video platform.

Core Services

  • AppSheet: No-code application development platform that enables users to create custom mobile and web applications from data sources such as Google Sheets, Excel, and databases.
  • Chrome Sync: Saves bookmarks, history, and other settings between user devices
  • Drive: Cloud storage and file management service for securely storing, sharing, and accessing files from any device.
    • Docs: Cloud-based word processing application for creating, editing, and collaborating on documents in real time.
    • Forms: Survey and form-building application for collecting information, conducting assessments, and gathering feedback.
    • Sheets: Cloud-based spreadsheet application for organizing data, performing calculations, creating charts, and collaborating on analyses.
    • Slides: Presentation creation application for developing, sharing, and delivering professional slide presentations.
    • Vids: AI-powered video creation application that helps users produce, edit, and share professional videos using templates, scripts, voiceovers, and collaborative editing tools.
  • Gemini: Generative AI assistant that helps users create content, summarize information, analyze data, answer questions, and automate tasks across Google Workspace.
  • Keep: Note-taking application for capturing ideas, creating lists, setting reminders, and organizing information.
  • Meet: Google's video conferencing service lets users host and join virtual meetings for face-to-face communication, screen sharing, and real-time collaboration.
  • Notebook: AI-powered research and knowledge assistant that helps users analyze, summarize, organize, and interact with information from their own source materials.
  • Read Along: AI-assisted reading application that helps learners improve reading fluency, pronunciation, and comprehension through guided practice.
  • Sites: No-code website creation platform for building and publishing internal or public websites.
  • Tasks: Personal task management tool for creating, organizing, and tracking to-do lists integrated with Gmail and Google Calendar. 
  • Vault: Information governance and eDiscovery service for retaining, searching, exporting, and managing organizational data for compliance and legal purposes.
  • Workspace LTI: Apps that securely connect Google Workspace for Education with third-party learning management systems (LMS) such as Canvas.
  • Workspace Studio: No-code, AI-powered automation platform that enables users to build custom AI agents and workflows that automate tasks across Google Workspace and third-party applications.

NOTE: WWU does not have duplicative Core Services enabled such as Gmail, Calendar, Classroom, Voice, Chat, and Groups for Business, nor does it have Maps enabled due to the age restrictions of the platform.

Additional Google Services

Various Additional Google Services are enabled including YouTube, Analytics, Earth, Photos, Translate, and more. These will have fewer restrictions, allow ads, etc. Extra caution is advised when posting information information on YouTube. Panopto is preferred as our privacy-controlled, secure, ad-free video platform.

 

Support

Related WWU Resources

Google Help Documentation

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