On February 4, 2026, Washington State University will reduce storage quotas across Microsoft 365 services due to a reduction in storage supplied by Microsoft. If your storage is above the new quotas by that date, you may lose the ability to send or receive email, upload or sync files, or create and share new content. WSU will send early notification messages beginning in November 2025 for anyone exceeding the new quotas.
New quotas effective February 2026:
Service | Faculty/Staff | Students | Affiliates |
| Outlook Mailbox | 10 GB | 1 GB | 500 MB |
| OneDrive | 10 GB | 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Teams/SharePoint | 4 GB per site or team | – | – |
To reduce the immediate impact of the quotas on CAHNRS faculty and staff, CAHNRS has prioritized developing timely alternatives to ensure faculty and staff have reliable, secure, and cost-effective storage options.
How CAHNRS Operations & IT is Responding
While some internal CAHNRS offerings have been retired in the past—such as the “Home Drive” solution when OneDrive was adopted at scale, and the reduced use of the CAHNRS collaborative file service with the shift to Microsoft Teams—CAHNRS has continued to invest in reliable, centrally managed storage. These investments place us in a strong position to respond to the Microsoft storage reductions.
Our environment is designed for sustainability, with built-in security controls, routine backups, and managed access. Building on this foundation, CAHNRS IT is preparing support and service options for faculty and staff:
- “MyDrive” Next Cloud Individual Storage Service: Available for use in late November, this service will provide 100 GB of storage per faculty/staff user at no cost. It will offer OneDrive-like features, including syncing across devices, off-campus access, and secure file sharing.
- Departmental File Shares (existing): Centrally managed departmental shares are available for collaborative and research needs. These are reliable, backed up regularly, and cost-effective at $7.60 per 100 GB per year.
What Happens next?
Beginning November 2025, CAHNRS Operations is contacting your onedrive folder is nearing or over the February 2026 quota. Faculty and staff are also encouraged to reach out early to plan migration into a CAHNRS solution or approved third-party services. We fully intend to support migration efforts and aid any individual requiring support for data migration and access. Individuals can take steps to reduce their Microsoft storage with these self-help guides:
We encourage you to reduce your storage to avoid service interruption. Please see the list of self-help options:
- Delete Files from OneDrive
- Compress Files and Folders
- Move OneDrive Files to Local Storage on a WSU System
- Monitor Your Microsoft Storage Use
Please do not delete any items without proper backups if you require the file or message in the future. Also, please refrain from storing any WSU data on any personal device, or 3rd party storage solution (GoogleDrive, DropBox, etc.) Be aware of WSU data retention guidelines when permanently deleting items.
Need help or have a question?
For technical requests and questions please submit a ticket online through our web support portal or email to cit.support@wsu.edu.
Please visit the following link for Frequently Asked Questions.