Update on digital storage for alumni

As of May 31, 2023 digital storage for alumni has closed.

From 31 May, 2023 the College had to make the decision to close digital online storage. This move was as a result of changes that Google made to the education sector. The RCA is one of a very small number of higher education institutions in the UK to use Google Workspace for enterprise collaboration and productivity services. One of the specific changes was to limit the free storage allowance allocated to us.

While this decision was not taken lightly, it has affected all RCA alumni that previously held an RCA email address.

Please note this does not affect any current students, until after they graduate.

We are sorry that we had to introduce this change and have tried to be open and transparent since we first started communicating this in August 2022.

What does this mean for RCA alumni?

Google Drive is no longer available on RCA Alumni Google accounts – the one linked to their RCA email address – this was deleted on 31 May 2023.  Alumni RCA email addresses ARE NOT affected by this change – it only applies to digital storage. 

Alumni RCA email addresses ARE NOT affected by this change – it only applies to digital storage. 

Why is this happening?

This is due to changes introduced by our supplier, Google. 

The RCA is one of a very small number of higher education institutions in the UK to use Google Workspace for enterprise collaboration and productivity services. One of the specific changes will be to limit the free storage allowance allocated to us.

At the moment, our alumni have over 830 terabytes of digital information saved onto the RCA’s system. To maintain this storage would incur significant annual cost – diverting investment away from our current students. We are therefore requesting that our alumni support us by moving the digital information stored with us to another platform by the end of May 2023.

So digital storage on the Google Drive, linked to our RCA accounts, has been closed?

Yes, this change affected Google Drive accessed with your network.rca.ac.uk account and services which are dependent on it, such as Google Photo.  

Does this mean after the change comes into effect, I won’t be able to access previous emails? Or is this specifically related to accessing data that’s stored on Google Drive?

RCA email for Alumni will not be affected by this change, it will continue to work and all emails will be accessible. The changes only relate to storage on Google Drive.

Does this include other Google services, as well as Google Drive?

This change affects Google Drive and services which are dependent on it, such as Google Photo.  

You reference free storage, does this mean I can no longer access my Google drive in the future?
Alumni will no longer be able to access Google Drive and the data will be erased.

Will the digital space associated with our emails be completely shut - or will we still have some space offered by Google?

RCA email for Alumni will not be affected by this change. It will continue to work and all emails will be accessible.  This change affects Google Drive and services which are dependent on it, such as Google Photo.  

How do I get an RCA email address?

If you were provided an email address when you started your programme  at the RCA please contact the IT Service Desk to reactivate it.  We cannot create email addresses for Alumni retrospectively.

Will it affect Google docs associated with that email address?

Documents, photos and other types of data stored in GDrive will not be accessible after May 2023.  

Will there be any storage allowance at all?

You will not be able to access GDrive to store documents, photos or other files.  Gmail will continue to store emails and attachments.

How much more space can I get after the digital storage is closed? A personal Google account has a minimum of 15GB, I wonder whether it'll be the same (or more) for our RCA's account?

You can open a personal Google account to store files and photos but you will not be able to store anything other than emails in your RCA account.

Does Google Photo include in the storage count?

Your RCA Google account. will not be able to access or store Photos

Can I buy Google drive storage with the RCA account, and continue to use the drive even after unlimited storage is no longer available?

Alumni cannot increase the RCA Google account storage with a personal subscription.  You will need to open a personal account with a subscription and transfer data.

Will I still have access to Google Calendar, Maps or YouTube?

GDrive will be discontinued from the 31 May.   You will continue to be able to access other Google services such as Maps, Youtube and your RCA email.  

Can I pay for extra storage on my RCA email account?

Your RCA Google account is part of the RCA Google domain and as such you can not personally pay Google for storage. 

I cannot remember my password or have moved to a different country and cannot access my old mobile number for the reset or authentication. What can I do?
You can contact IT Support at [email protected]