Google@SAS FAQ for Students & Alumni | Arts & Sciences Computing

About Google@SAS

What is Google@SAS?

Google@SAS is a suite of email and collaboration tools customized especially for students, faculty, and staff in the School of Arts & Sciences. Your account will be based on your SAS email address (e.g., ).

Google@SAS consists of the familiar Gmail service, but it uses your SAS email address (e.g., ). When you sign up for Google@SAS, all mail sent to your SAS email address will be delivered to your Google@SAS account; when you send mail from your Google@SAS account, it will come from your SAS email address. Unlike the usual Gmail account, Google@SAS has no advertising.

Google@SAS also has access to the popular Google Apps suite, including Google Calendar, Google Drive, Google Sites, Google Groups, and Contacts. Since accounts are based on SAS email addresses, it is easy to collaborate with other SAS students.

What advantages does a Google@SAS account have compared to a personal Gmail account?

Even if you already have a regular GMail account, Google@SAS offers several advantages:

Your email address will be . Your account will be automatically configured to send mail from your SAS address. You can easily share docs and other Google resources: if you know someone's SAS email address, you know their Google@SAS name (because they are identical)
You can keep your school and personal email accounts separate, but you can easily sign in to both your personal and Google@SAS accounts at the same time, if you choose to do so. Instructions on managing two Google accounts can be found here.
Penn’s agreement with Google provides strong assurances for the security and privacy of Google@SAS email accounts.

Is a Google@SAS account required?

No, Google@SAS is optional. If you do not wish to use Google@SAS, you can have messages sent to your SAS address forwarded to a personal account.

Who is eligible for a Google@SAS account?

All SAS Undergraduate and Graduate students who are actively enrolled in SAS are eligible to use Google@SAS. The only exception is for students in Liberal & Professional Studies who are also Penn employees and already have a Penn email address; those students should continue using their work email address and should not sign up for a Google@SAS account.

Will Google have access to my email, documents and other personal information?

Google is not allowed to show advertising to active Penn students. By contract, Google has no ownership of data stored by SAS students. Google has agreed to protect Penn's private data with the same standard of care in which they protect their own private data. Legal agreements between the university and Google ensure the privacy and integrity of student user data while it is in their care.

What will happen to my Google@SAS account when I graduate?

Your Google@SAS account or email forwarder will not expire. We will be in contact with you regarding any alumni updates and options that become available in the future. If you are interested in moving messages or content from your Google@SAS Account, please see our instructions here.

How can I get help with my Google@SAS account?

If you are not able to find the solution to your issue in our FAQ please fill out the form here for more assistance.

About Google@SAS storage quota limits

Why does SAS impose storage quotas on Google@SAS accounts?

Google has stopped offering unlimited, free storage for Google Workspace for Education. Unlimited storage is therefore no longer available on Google@SAS accounts.

What is the storage quota for Google@SAS users?

Google@sas users have a quota of 100GB.

What counts toward my Google@SAS storage quota?

The following files count toward storage:

Google Drive

Items in Google Drive, which includes PDFs, images, and video files.
Files created or edited after May 2, 2022 in collaborative content creation apps like Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms.
Content in shared drives.
Content in Trash until it's permanently deleted.

Gmail

Messages and attachments, including items in your Spam and Trash folders.

The following content doesn't count toward storage:

Drive shortcuts
Content created with My Maps
Files shared with users. Shared files are counted only for the file owner's storage, not for the users the file is shared with.
Version history for files created in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, unless the user explicitly decides to keep older versions.

What happens if my Google@SAS account is over my storage quota limit?

If your account has gone over your storage quota limit, you will be able to continue to send and receive email.

Once your account is over quota, you won’t be able to sync or upload new files. You will not be able to create new files in your Google@SAS account. Until storage is reduced, owners won’t be able to edit or copy the files affected by the storage quota. Collaborators won’t be able to edit the affected files. Syncs between your computer's Google Drive folder and My Drive will stop.

How can I tell how much storage I am currently using on Google@SAS?

You can navigate to https://drive.google.com/settings/storage to see overall storage numbers in Drive, and Gmail. This narrows the focus to the service that needs the most immediate attention.

How can I make more space in my account?

You can either delete files, or download them and then delete them.

To remove large or unnecessary files in Drive and Shared Drives:

Go to https://drive.google.com/drive/quota
Sort by ‘Storage used’ column to view your largest files
Delete files as needed
Files count toward the overall storage limit of the account until they are removed from Trash in 30 days. To expedite this process, navigate to ‘Trash’ on the file, right-click an individual file / folder and select Delete forever or select Empty trash in the upper right to purge all files / folders. Confirm by clicking Delete forever.

If you want to download your data before deleting it, you can download the files directly from your account to your computer or an external hard drive connected to your computer. You can also use a free trial of the Syncovery app to transfer your Google@sas data to another account or local hard drive. Finally, you can also use Google Takeout to download your Google access Drive contents as an archive. Click here for instructions.

What if I have questions about the my Google@SAS storage quota?

You can reach out to our helpdesk here to ask further questions.

Using Google@SAS

How do I log-in?

You can log into your Google@SAS account by going to gmail.com. Make sure to login using your full SAS email address as your username and with your Google@SAS password.

How do I change my password?

You can make a change to your Google@SAS password here. This works even if you don't remember your current password. You will need to log in with your Pennkey user name and Pennkey password.

How do I change how my name appears?

You can change how your name appears in your Google@SAS account by going here. Click on the link below Full Name that says "Change how your name appears in your account".

I already have a personal Google account. How can I manage two or more accounts?

You can be simultaneously signed in to both a Google@SAS account and personal Google account, then switch between the two accounts. See Google's documentation on Using Multiple Accounts for details.

How do I send as my SAS address from a personal Google account?

We would recommend sending directly from your Google@SAS account. Due to increased email security implemented by Google sending as your SAS address from another address is not possible at this time.

How do I use Google@SAS with a mail program such as Apple Mail?

Instructions for Apple Mail can be found here.

Other mail client instructions can be found here.

Remember to follow the instructions for Google Apps users, which includes using the full email address (e.g., ) as the user name, and the password you selected for Google@SAS.

How do I use Google@SAS on a mobile phone?

Configure your Google@SAS account on your iOS device.

Configure your Google@SAS account on your Android device.

To configure your Google@SAS account in the Gmail App make sure to use your full SAS email address, , and your Google@SAS password. On Android and iPhone/iPad you will want to select "Google" as the account type.

How do I move messages or content from my Google@SAS account to a personal account?

Instructions for moving message or content from your Google@SAS account can be found here.

How do I share documents, calendars and other resources with other Google@SAS users?

You can share Google@SAS resources by using the same general process for sharing resources in ordinary Google accounts. In the "sharing" box, type the name or SAS email address of the person with whom you want share. You'll see that as you are typing, a list of Google@SAS account holders will appear. Select your intended person from the list of available choices. Please note that most SAS faculty and staff do NOT have Google@SAS accounts; for these people, you'll usually need to share to their personal Google account (see below)

See details about how to share Google Docs
See details about how to share Google Calendars

How can I make an adjustment to my delivery destination?

You can make an adjustment to your SAS email account's forwarding by going here.

What is Google Two-Step Verification and how can I sign up?

Two-Step Verification is now mandatory for new Student Google@SAS accounts and many Alumni Google@SAS accounts, and will soon be required for all Alumni accounts. You would have 30 days to enable Two-Step Verfication for your Google@SAS account from the time of the account's creation before the policy is enforced and you are locked out of your account. If you are a Student or Alumni having trouble accessing your Google@SAS account go to https://apps.sas.upenn.edu/rso/email/gmail to take steps to secure your account.

Two-Step Verification adds an extra step and thus provides an additional level of security for your account. When you log in with your password, Google sends you a numeric code that works for about a minute to grant access. The code appears by text message or a mobile app on your phone. Even if a hacker knows your password, they cannot gain access to your account unless they also have your phone.