Sonoma State University

Google Storage Review

Monday, March 9, 2026, 3:02pm

TO: SSU Faculty & Staff
FR: Amanda McGowan, Deputy CIO & Dmitry Vayntrub Senior Director, Cloud and Systems Services

Sonoma State’s Google storage environment is approaching its allocated limit. To ensure uninterrupted access to Google Drive, Gmail, and Photos, we are asking the campus community to take proactive action to reduce unnecessary storage.

Please set aside 30–60 minutes to complete this review by March 31, 2026. Review the recommended actions below, or visit How to Clean up or Delete a Shared Drive for detailed step-by-step instructions and additional best practices.

CSU policy requires employees to retain records only as long as they have administrative value or are required by legal or regulatory obligations. When deciding whether to retain files in Gmail or Drive, please refer to the CSU Records Retention and Disposition Schedule policy. Record custodians should review the policy and dispose of records that have exceeded their retention period, unless there is a specific reason to keep them longer. For documents not specifically addressed in the policy, most records should generally be reviewed for disposal after 3–5 years.

  1. Review and delete large files. In Google Drive, sort by “Storage used” to quickly identify large videos, recordings, and outdated files. After deleting items, be sure to empty your Trash in both Drive and Gmail. 
  2. Remove duplicates and outdated content. Delete draft versions, duplicate files, and materials from completed projects that no longer need to be retained. 
  3. Clean up Shared Drives and shared folders. Review shared content and remove outdated files or unnecessary access.

Note: To better support departments and maintain consistency across campus, we are standardizing the process for creating new Google Shared Drives. Please submit a Service Request for any new Shared Drive so our team can ensure proper setup and access.

If you have questions or need assistance in navigating Google Drive or Mail, please contact the SFBRN Network Support Center via email at [email protected] or call (510) 885-4357. If you have a question regarding retention requirements, please contact the Records Office in Risk Management at [email protected].

Thank you for helping us responsibly steward our shared technology resources.