SUNY Fredonia Data Storage Services

In accordance with Fredonia’s Data Risk Classification Policy (see Data Examples), the following chart should be used as a guide to determine what kind of University data can be saved where:

University Data Storage Services & Description

Where can I access the service and can I share data from this location? 

What is my storage quota?

What kind of University data can I store here from a data security perspective?

What are my data recovery options and is the data backed up?

What are some common file types that I can store here?

What are some important recommendations & considerations?

Google Gmail/ Drive/Photos

Google Workspace Education Plus is available for all students, University employees, University Associates. 

Access On-campus & Off Campus

Shareable with anyone

 

Students - 20 GB

Faculty/Staff - 20 GB

Associates - 20 GB

Visitors - 5 GB

Student Association Groups -  

5 GB

 

Category II -  Private Data

Examples: 

●FERPA-protected data

● Gramm-Leach Bliley data 

● Final course grades, exam questions or answers 

● HR employment data

● Law enforcement investigation data, judicial proceedings data includes student disciplinary or judicial action information 

● Public Safety information 

● IT infrastructure data 

● Collective bargaining negotiation data, contract negotiation data 

● Trade secret data 

● Protected data related to research 

● University intellectual property 

● University proprietary data 

● Data protected by external non-disclosure agreements 

● Inter- or intra-agency data which are not: statistical or factual tabulations; instructions to staff that affect the public; final agency policy or determination 

● External audit data 

● University person number 

● Licensed software 

● Certain nonpublic Intellectual Property

Backups are kept by Information Technology Services (ITS) for 30 days. 

 

If a user deletes data from their account it goes to their trash and they can recover it for 30 days.

 

After 30 days, or if a user deletes data from their trash (empty trash), ITS can recover the data up to 25 days. 

 

If a user’s Google account is deleted from the fredonia.edu domain, ITS can recover the account and the user’s data up to 20 days.  

 

 

  • Google Docs

  • Microsoft Office

  • Adobe PDF

  • Photos 

  • Videos

  • Other

 

NOTE: This is the best solution for collaboration and sharing of data however, it is automatically deleted with the users account is deleted.

  • It is highly recommended that users maintain their quotas 15% to 20% under the 20GB quota to avoid any service disruptions.

  • Files that can be accessed remotely

  • Files that can be shared with University and external users

  • Documents with Public or private data are allowed

  • Gmail messages and attachments count towards quota

  • Files and documents that need to be shared and used in a collaborative way with other users 

  • Files and documents shared with other users that are used for ongoing instruction 

  • Add to Website Content

  • While Google makes sharing files and folders very easy with Drive, employees need to be careful to never share Cat II - Private data to unauthorized individuals or organizations (e.g. FERPA violation).

  • Saving Category III - Restricted data is strictly prohibited

Google Shared Drive

Google Shared Drive is the authorized cloud storage service for the University. Shared Drives is a shared space where teams can easily store, search, and access their files anywhere, from any device. Unlike files in My Drive, files in a Shared Drive belong to the team instead of an individual. Even if members leave, the files stay exactly where they are so your team can continue to share information and get work done. It can be used to save Category I - Public or Cat II - Private data only. Saving Category III - Restricted data is strictly prohibited. While Google makes sharing files and folders very easy with Drive, employees need to be careful to never share Cat II - Private data to unauthorized individuals or organizations (e.g. FERPA violation).

Anywhere

TBD

Category II -  Private Data

Examples: 

●FERPA-protected data

● Gramm-Leach Bliley data 

● Final course grades, exam questions or answers 

● HR employment data

● Law enforcement investigation data, judicial proceedings data includes student disciplinary or judicial action information 

● Public Safety information 

● IT infrastructure data 

● Collective bargaining negotiation data, contract negotiation data 

● Trade secret data 

● Protected data related to research 

● University intellectual property 

● University proprietary data 

● Data protected by external non-disclosure agreements 

● Inter- or intra-agency data which are not: statistical or factual tabulations; instructions to staff that affect the public; final agency policy or determination 

● External audit data 

● University person number 

● Licensed software 

● Certain nonpublic Intellectual Property

Backups are kept by Information Technology Services (ITS) for 30 days.

  • Google Docs

  • Microsoft Office

  • Adobe PDF

  • Photos 

  • Videos

  • Other

 

NOTE: This is the best solution for collaboration and sharing of data that needs to be maintained for future University business such as committees, accreditation, or regulatory compliance. This data ownership can be transferred to other users and is not deleted when individual user accounts are deleted.

 

  • Files/documents that need to be shared with other University users 

Microsoft OneDrive

Microsoft OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service part of the Office365 suite available to all faculty, staff, and students. 

On University-owned desktops and laptops,  OneDrive functions as if it were a local drive for ease of use. 

Anywhere

 

Shareable with anyone.

1 TB

NOTE: If campus users need additional storage space above and beyond the 1TB quota, ITS can increase individual quotas up to 5 TB if users can demonstrate a valid business need for the additional storage. 

Category II -  Private Data

Examples: 

● FERPA-protected data

● Gramm-Leach Bliley data 

● Final course grades, exam questions or answers 

● HR employment data

● Law enforcement investigation data, judicial proceedings data includes student disciplinary or judicial action information 

● Public Safety information 

● IT infrastructure data 

● Collective bargaining negotiation data, contract negotiation data 

● Trade secret data 

● Protected data related to research 

● University intellectual property 

● University proprietary data 

● Data protected by external non-disclosure agreements 

● Inter- or intra-agency data which are not: statistical or factual tabulations; instructions to staff that affect the public; final agency policy or determination 

● External audit data 

● University person number 

● Licensed software 

● Certain nonpublic Intellectual Property

Backups are kept by Information Technology Services (ITS) for 30 days.

  • Microsoft Office

  • Adobe PDF

  • Photos

  • Videos

  • Other

 

NOTE: This is the best solution to archive videos/photos/office documents that may need to be shared with other users (e.g. Archive performances or portfolio etc.)

  • Business related public and private files including multimedia files (videos/photos)

  • Files can be shared with other Fredonia users and external users

  • Files could be accessed from anywhere via the internet

  • Files and documents shared with other users that are used for ongoing instruction 

 

U: Drive

U: Drives are dedicated network storage service for all employees, students, and some campus community members, which is automatically backed up twice a day, is encrypted and is available from University-owned computers anywhere on campus.  If your computer crashes, your important files will still be accessible and secure on the University’s servers located in the data centers.

On-Campus Only 

(VPN connection required for off campus access)

Students -  5GB 

Faculty/Staff - 50GB

NOTE: these can be expanded with a valid business reason up to 750 GB  by emailing tracker@fredonia.edu

Category III - Restricted Data 

Examples: 

  • Social security number (SSN)

 ● Driver license number 

● State-issued non-driver ID number 

● Bank/financial account number 

● Credit/debit card number (CCN) 

● Protected Health Information 

● Passport number

● University I.T. authentication credentials 

● Documents protected by attorney-client privilege 

Backups are kept by Information Technology Services (ITS) for 30 days.

  • Microsoft Office

  • Adobe PDF

  • Photos

  • Videos

  • Other

  • Work files that do not need to be shared 

  • Files that do not need to be accessed remotely

M: Drive

M: Drives is a dedicated network storage service that is automatically backed up twice a day, encrypted, and is available from computers anywhere on campus. Create and access control to Fred shares need to be requested via Tracker.fredonia.edu and the requesting user needs to obtain approval from their Department Head (Director, Dean, Chair) before they are issued the new Fredshare. 

On-Campus Only

(VPN connection required for off campus access)

As needed by the department. 

NOTE: these can be expanded with a valid business reason up to 750 GB  by emailing tracker@fredonia.edu

Category III - Restricted Data 

Examples: 

  • Social security number (SSN)

 ● Driver license number 

● State-issued non-driver ID number 

● Bank/financial account number 

● Credit/debit card number (CCN) 

● Protected Health Information 

● Passport number

● University I.T. authentication credentials 

● Documents protected by attorney-client privilege 

Backups are kept by Information Technology Services (ITS) for 30 days.

 

NOTE: Category III Data is backed up for 6 months if the share has been designated as such by the requester.)

  • Microsoft Office

  • Adobe PDF

  • Photos

  • Videos

  • Other

 

NOTE: This is the best solution for Category III - Restricted data sharing between departments.

  • Work files that need to be shared within a department or other University offices.

  • No sharing with users outside Fredonia

  • Access needs to be requested (users can not share files individually)

 

Personal Cloud Storage

Employees can use web-accessible versions of personal cloud storage services (e.g. Box, iCloud, personal Google Drive, etc.) to save Category I - Public data only. Saving Category II - Private or Category III - Restricted data is strictly prohibited. NOTE: Employees can use the local Dropbox syncing application on University computers to store CAT I - Public data only.

N/A

N/A

Category I - Public Data

Examples:

● University financial data or business records available to the public 

● Approved meeting minutes 

● Administrative process data 

● Data about decisions that affect the public 

● Other university public data 

● General access data, such as that on unauthenticated portions of the institution’s website 

N/A

  • Microsoft Office

  • Adobe PDF

  • Photos

  • Videos

  • Other

  • Only personal or documents with public data

 

Panopto

Panopto is Fredonia’s video management solution. Panopto provides the ability for users to live stream videos, record videos, and to share them with specific audiences. 

Anywhere

Fredonia has a sitewide storage limit of 11,200 hours stored.

Category II -  Private Data

Examples: 

●FERPA-protected data

● Gramm-Leach Bliley data 

● Final course grades, exam questions or answers 

● HR employment data

● Law enforcement investigation data, judicial proceedings data includes student disciplinary or judicial action information 

● Public Safety information 

● IT infrastructure data 

● Collective bargaining negotiation data, contract negotiation data 

● Trade secret data 

● Protected data related to research 

● University intellectual property 

● University proprietary data 

● Data protected by external non-disclosure agreements 

● Inter- or intra-agency data which are not: statistical or factual tabulations; instructions to staff that affect the public; final agency policy or determination 

● External audit data 

● University person number 

● Licensed software 

● Certain nonpublic Intellectual Property

N/A

  • Zoom recordings

  • User generated video content

  • Videos will be automatically archived 13 months after last view

Personal External Hard Drive or USB (Thumb) Drives

Employees can use personal external hard drives or USB thumb drives to save Category I - Public data only. Saving Category II - Private or Category III - Restricted data is strictly prohibited.

N/A

N/A

Category I - Public Data

Examples:

● University financial data or business records available to the public 

● Approved meeting minutes 

● Administrative process data 

● Data about decisions that affect the public 

● Other university public data 

● General access data, such as that on unauthenticated portions of the institution’s website 

N/A

  • Microsoft Office

  • Adobe PDF

  • Photos

  • Videos

  • Other

  • Only personal or documents with public data

 

Data Storage Increase Process

  1. Submit a Data Storage Quota Increase Form. In the Tracker ticket, please provide the justification for the requested additional Google storage and note that it must be for official University business (e.g. instruction, accreditation, regulatory compliance, research etc.).

  2. ITS will review the request and then reach out to the requestor (if needed) for any further clarification.

  3. After ITS works directly with the requestor and the quota exemption is still needed, ITS will take the request to the ITAB Digital Storage sub-committee for review and consideration. 

  4. If approved, ITS will provision out the requested additional storage and provide training as needed. If denied, ITS will review the request with the requestor and then provide training as needed regarding alternative solutions. 

Tips

  • All University data should be stored in accordance with State University of New York Records Management, Records Retention and Disposition requirements. If a department has storage needs that exceed the limitations noted in this document, please send an email to Tracker@fredonia.edu so that ITS can discuss appropriate options.

  • All users should keep only data needed to conduct University business to minimize the impact of Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) Request.

  • Please ensure that you transfer ownership of any documents or files that need to be used for University business from your U drive or Google Drive to either an M drive or Google Shared Drive before you separate from University service. How to transfer document ownership in Google?

  • To view the owner of a document in Google Drive, right click on the file and select the “View details” icon 

  • If you are conducting official University business using data that potentially needs to be available for any future use (e.g. departmental work, committees, task forces, accreditation, planning work etc.), the recommended storage is either an M drive or Google Shared Drive.

Need Further Assistance?

If you have any questions, please contact the ITS Service Center at ITS.ServiceCenter@fredonia.edu or at (716) 673-3407.