UW Google and Youth

Last updated: October 11, 2024

Overview

UW Google is not specifically designed or configured to be appropriate for those under the age of 18.  Additionally, UW has entered into a contract with Google which will eventually have a per student cost. The funding model for the service has not been fully developed, so there is the potential that some programs may eventually be charged for use of the services. 

UW Google Workspace “core services” may not be compliant or appropriate as the UW tenant is set to “Higher Education” rather than “Primary/Secondary Education” as K-12 organizations would be configured per Google’s support page: Select your organization type for Google Workspace for Education. UW Google is only FERPA compliant for the following “core services”: 

  • Gmail 
  • Google Calendar 
  • Google Drive and Docs (with Docs, Sheets, Sites, Forms, and Slides)
  • Google Meet
  • Google Hangouts (and Chat when eventually enabled)
  • Google Jamboard 
  • Google Tasks 
  • Google Keep
  • UW Groups that have been Google enabled
  • Google Classroom and Assignments, but these are specifically disabled at the UW and they are not expected to ever be enabled.

Policies and Compliance

Any use beyond students directly enrolled in University of Washington, Continuum College, or programs with specific contractual languages and policies placing them entirely under UW policies and governance, is not likely to meet compliance standards such as FERPA.

Additional key articles and guidance provided by the UW Office of the Youth Protection Coordinator and UW Privacy Office to review:

Configuration Considerations

Here are some additional configuration details you may want to consider when determining if the UW Google service is appropriate for your program. 

  • Due to significant changes being made by Google, there are significant impacts coming to the UW Google service that will make it more difficult to maintain business continuity of data and will not allow the services to be used in some ways it has historically been used. Please see the UW Google Changes Project for details and updates.
  • UW Google services do not currently offer a “Core Service” only account configuration as you would typically find in a K-12 organization. UW Google services enables access to a significant number of consumer services known as “Additional Services” in Google’s documentation, which are not covered by any privacy or data security contracts between the University of Washington and Google. Instead end users must personally agree to the End User License Agreement and privacy terms when they first access the service. (See Appendix A)
  • Because UW Google enables the “Additional Services”, we do not auto activate services for users.  All UW users must first enable services from https://uwnetid.washington.edu/manage/?google . This must be done before users can access Google Forms or sharing with the account via Shared Drives, which causes frequent support issues.
  • Because UW Google enables the “Additional Services”, you must make sure your program has implemented a mechanism for appropriately gaining parent or guardian consent for those under 18.
  • Google Cloud Compute has been enabled for UW identities, but is not configured to be appropriate for a K-12 environment.
  • Google Cloud Compute, Google Pay, and other services allow users to enter personal credit card information for billing.  The UW is not able to provide any assistance with billing disputes and services may become lost or difficult to cancel when the UW Google services are removed from an account.
  • UW Google is not configured with any sharing or communication restrictions that you would typically find in a K-12 environment and there is limited or no logging of interactions with outside users.  (The latter is why most K-12 have restrictive sharing and communication settings.)
  • UW Google service do not provide and Chromebook, Jamboard, or device management features you would typically see in a K-12 environment.

Appendix A

The End User License Agreement and privacy terms new users of the UW Google service agree to when signing up for the service.

UW’s “Manage UW NetID Resources” page:

Step 1: Agree to Appropriate Use Guidelines

To use this service you must agree to:  

  • Follow UW computing rules.  
  • Be aware of special restrictions in those guidelines on use of UW Confidential Data, such as Protected Health Information (PHI), Personally Identifiable Information (PII), or Export-controlled data.  
  • Report any inappropriate use upon discovery.  
  • Acknowledge that UW data is the property of the University and that you will return, upon request, any UW data that you place in a cloud service or other external repository.  
  • Be aware that UW G Suite accounts may not be ready to receive email for up to 24 hours after creation.  

I agree to and understand the UW G Suite appropriate use guidelines.

Google’s “Welcome to your new account” page:

Welcome to your new account: testemp3@uw.edu. Your account is compatible with many Google services, but your uw.edu administrator decides which services you may access using your account. For tips about using your new account, visit the Google Help Center.

When you use Google services, your domain administrator will have access to your testemp3@uw.edu account information, including any data you store with this account in Google services. You can learn more here, or by consulting your organization’s privacy policy, if one exists. You can choose to maintain a separate account for your personal use of any Google services, including email. If you have multiple Google accounts, you can manage which account you use with Google services and switch between them whenever you choose. Your username and profile picture can help you ensure that you’re using the intended account.

If your organization provides you access to the Google Workspace core services, your use of those services is governed by your organization’s Google Workspace agreement. Any other Google services your administrator enables (“Additional Services”) are available to you under the Google Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy. Certain Additional Services may also have service-specific terms. Your use of any services your administrator allows you to access constitutes acceptance of applicable service-specific terms.

Click “Accept” below to indicate that you understand this description of how your testemp3@uw.edu account works and agree to the Google Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy.

Google’s “Administrator Terms of Service” for “Additional Google Services” page:

Terms of Service This service is not covered by the Google Workspace Agreement.  

If you do not have the requisite authority to bind the customer or End User to these terms, please disable the service.

Support

If you need further assistance, please contact UW-IT at help@uw.edu or 206-221-5000.