Default Storage Limits
When accounts are active, they are subject to the following default storage limits based on the user’s affiliation. Shared drives have separate allocations.
In the event of a justifiable academic or business need, personal storage limits may be increased with a request and approval by the CIO.
Storage Limits by Affiliation
Active Affiliation
Undergraduate
- Email (Gmail): 5 GB
- OneDrive: 5 GB
- Box: 5 GB
Graduate
- Email (Gmail): 5 GB (if active)
- OneDrive: 5 GB (if active)
- Box: 5 GB (if active)
Employee (Faculty or Staff)
- Email (Gmail): 25 GB
- OneDrive: 25 GB
- Box: 25 GB
Sponsored
- Email (Gmail): 5 GB
- OneDrive: 5 GB
- Box: 5 GB
Post-Relationship Affiliation
Retiree
- Email (Gmail): 5 GB (if active)
- OneDrive: 0 GB (if active)
- Box: 0 GB (if active)
Emeritus
- Email (Gmail): 25 GB
- OneDrive: 25 GB
- Box: 25 GB
Alumni
- Email (Gmail): 5 GB (if active)
- OneDrive: 0 GB
- Box: 0 GB (if active)
No Affiliation
Discontinued
- Email (Gmail): 5 GB (if active)
- OneDrive: 0 GB
- Box: 0 GB
Former Faculty
- Email (Gmail): 0 GB (if active)
- OneDrive: 0 GB (if active)
- Box: 0 GB (if active)
Former Staff
- Email (Gmail): 0 GB (if active)
- OneDrive: 0 GB
- Box: 0 GB
Google Storage
Google Storage Affiliation Hierarchy
UMBC’s Google storage assignments are based on affiliation precedence.
If an individual holds multiple affiliations, the highest affiliation listed below determines their storage allocation.
Storage does not stack. Storage is assigned based on the highest affiliation an individual holds, not the total number of affiliations.
Primary Google Storage Tiers
- Emeritus – 25GB: Emeritus individuals retain access similar to current faculty/staff. They receive 25GB of Google storage, with access reviewed every five years. This category is the highest in the affiliation hierarchy.
- Faculty / Staff – 25GB: All actively employed personnel—including faculty, staff, instructors, and equivalent center-based roles—receive 25GB of storage. Pre-hire individuals fall into this tier once fully onboarded.
- Students / Graduate Assistants / Student Staff – 5GB: All active learners and student workers receive 5GB of Google storage. This tier includes undergraduate students, graduate students, graduate assistants, and student staff.
- Alumni – 5GB (if active): Alumni accounts retain 5GB of Google Drive storage as long as they remain active under institutional policy. Email access is indefinite unless otherwise specified.
- Retiree – 0GB (unless Emeritus or Alumni): Retirees do not receive Google storage by default. Those granted Emeritus or who are also considered Alumni inherit the respective tier of those categories.
Please Note: Quotas and Amounts are subject to change based on our cloud storage as a university.
Check your Google Storage
To see how much storage you’re using, click here: Check my Google Storage Usage
Where does my Google storage number come from?
Storage is comprised of data in Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. This includes items in your Spam and Trash!
How can I reduce my storage?
- Review your Data: Review and delete any large or unnecessary files in Google Drive and clean up emails with attachments. Take some time to organize your Gmail, Google Drive, and export your Google Photos.
Recommended article: How do I clean up my trash, spam, and large documents in Google Drive? - Transfer Non-UMBC Data to a Personal Account: Google Takeout can be used to export your data from your UMBC account and download your data in a compressed format. Consider setting up a personal cloud storage space using services like Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or any other preferred platform. Ensure you have enough storage space for your data. Please remember to delete your data from your UMBC account once you have migrated the data.
- Recommended articles: How do I use Google Takeout?, How do I copy content from my UMBC account to a personal account?
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