Sign in to your WWU Google Workspace Account
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.
Google Apps enabled at WWU for academic use 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.
Google Workspace for Education provides options for faculty and students to support learning and academic workflows alongside our existing campus tools.
Western Washington University (WWU) provides access to a limited subset of Google Workspace applications as an optional tool for instructional use and for collaboration with external partners.
WWU has a no-cost agreement with Google that does not provide the same protections for confidential data or the same tools for data security and recovery as our paid services like Microsoft 365, OnBase, or Canvas. By using your WWU Google Workspace for Education account, you acknowledge and agree that:
- Google Workspace is not a primary university platform. It does not replace WWU’s officially supported systems, including Microsoft 365 or Canvas.
- Use is limited and situational. Google Workspace should only be used when its features are specifically needed. Microsoft 365 should be used by default for university work.
- Confidential or regulated data is not permitted. Please do not store or share sensitive or regulated data in Google Workspace, including HIPAA‑regulated information, Personally Identifiable Information (PII), or data subject to records retention or public disclosure requirements.
- Google Workspace is not intended for departmental shared storage or official university records.
- IT support and data recovery are limited. Google Workspace does not have the same enterprise support, security controls, or recovery capabilities as WWU’s Microsoft 365 services.
Continued use of your WWU Google Workspace account indicates your acceptance of these terms and your responsibility to use appropriate tools for university business.
Sign-in Instructions
Access to your WWU Google Workspace account requires your WWU universal login credentials.
The steps to sign-in include the following.
- From google.com, click the Sign in button in the upper right corner.
- If you are already signed in with a non-WWU account, click your Avatar (photo icon) in the upper right corner, select the down arrow next to your name, and choose + Add another account.
- On the Sign in page, enter your username@wwu.edu version of your email address. Do not use the email address that includes your first and last name. Click Next.
- If you see a prompt that says there are two existing Google Accounts for you, choose Organization Google Apps Account.
- If you receive an error that your account was not found, contact HelpDesk@wwu.edu to have your Google Workspace account provisioned.
- If you are not already authenticated in your browser to your WWU account, you will be redirected to a Microsoft Office 365 login page to finish logging in with your WWU universal login credentials. Enter username@wwu.edu and your universal password. Then click Sign in.
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.
Support
- For academic support (such as how to use these tools for teaching and learning), please contact the ATUS Center for Instructional Innovation.
- For all other support (such as access issues), please contact the ATUS Help Desk.
Related WWU Resources
- Cloud Storage Guidelines to Educational and Sensitive Data
- File Storage, File Sharing, and Backups
- Sign in to your WWU Google Workspace Account