Google has recently announced some changes to their collaboration products for education customers. If you are an existing G-Suite for Education customer, you will still be able to use the product at no cost. However, it’s getting a new name and there are some changes coming to how storage limits get allocated for your domain. More on that later.
G-Suite for Education is no more, being replaced by Google Workspace for Education, and there will be four editions:
- Education Fundamentals (replaces G-Suite for Education) – a free edition
- Education Standard (New – available April 2021) – paid-for edition
- Teaching and Learning Upgrade (New – available April 2021) – paid-for edition
- Education Plus (replaces Google G-Suite Enterprise for Education) – paid-for edition
Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals is very popular with Jisc members. However, in response to customer demand for additional capabilities, Google launched an enterprise version in 2018. The launch of the new editions sees a continuation of this theme, whilst providing extra flexibility and choice, so you can choose the capabilities and features you need based around your priorities.
Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals
Again, this is the new name for Google’s free version of G-Suite for Education. All the familiar applications are included such as Classroom, Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets and Meet. And essential services such as directory management, data loss protection, multi-factor authentication (to name a few!). Education Fundamentals is GDPR compliant out-of-the-box. New features will continue to be added going forward.
Google Workspace for Education Standard
This edition is a new offering which brings you all the features within Education Fundamentals, plus additional tools and services to enhance security and data protection within your institution.
For example, Education Standard includes the Security Center which provides a security dashboard, investigation tool and security health page. These features help you keep aware of security and privacy issues within your domain and take remediation steps when necessary.
You can choose data regions and export reports to BigQuery to visualise activity within your domain. You also get access to email security services such as malware detection, where attachments can be isolated within a security sandbox. Again, you can utilise BigQuery to dig into logs from Gmail. You can also utilise enterprise-class device management by purchasing this edition.
Workspace for Education Standard will be licensed per student, for full domains only.
Teaching and Learning Upgrade
The Teaching and Learning Upgrade will appeal to teaching staff, academics and learning technologists. Effectively a ‘bolt-on’ for Education Fundamentals and Education Standard, the Teaching and Learning Upgrade features enhanced video communication (e.g., breakout rooms and attendance reports), improvements to Google Classroom, and originality reports. You can purchase individual licenses for staff as you need them.
Google Workspace for Education Plus
Replacing G-Suite Enterprise for Education, Workspace for Education Plus combines all the enhanced security, compliance and analytics capabilities of Education Plus, along with the enhancements available within the Teaching and Learning Upgrade.
You also get additional features (e.g., user and device context-aware access control), enhanced support, and more.
Previously, G-Suite Enterprise for Education was available to purchase using ‘partial domain’ or ‘full domain’ licenses. Workspace for Education Plus will be licensed per student, for full domains only.
Take a look at this comprehensive feature comparison for more information.
Pooled Storage Quotas
Google is moving from their unlimited storage offering for those institutions that qualified for it, to a pooled storage model.
The new storage model will provide institutions with an initial 100TB of pooled storage shared across all users. Google states that this will provide more than enough storage for over 100 million docs, 8 million presentations or 400,000 hours of video.
The new pooled storage policy will come into effect in July 2022. There will be new tools for admins to identify usage and manage their storage.
Users who are licensed for the Teaching and Learning Upgrade receive an additional 100GB of pooled storage. Workspace for Education Plus users get 20GB extra.
As a Google for Education partner, Jisc can provide Google Workspace for Education licenses and assistance. Please contact cloud@jisc.ac.uk or your account manager for more details.