Transfer Ownership of Google Drive Files Owned by Someone Who Left U-M

Environment

U-M Google, Drive

Issue

• Is there any way to transfer ownership of Google files/folders from an individual who is no longer with the university to an actively affiliated individual?
• Some of my Google Drive files were owned by another individual who left the university. I need them transferred to me/another individual at U-M. What should I do?

Resolution

It is critical that your department/unit works with the departing individual as part of offboarding to have ownership of university business-related files/folders transferred to another individual at U-M or, preferably, a Google shared drive owned by your unit before they leave. If this has not happened and ownership still needs to be transferred even though the individual has already departed, follow the suggestions below based on the specific situation.

Important: The following suggestions require you to know whether the departed individual still has access to their U-M Google account or not. You can check their affiliations by searching for their name or uniqname in the MCommunity Directory and viewing their profile. If they still have affiliations, such as alum, retiree, or a remaining role in a different unit, then follow the suggestions in the “has access” section below. Otherwise, follow the suggestions in the “doesn't have access” section.

The individual still has access to their Google account

The departing individual may still have access to their Google account if they are a U-M alum or retiree (who keep their Google accounts when they leave) or have other remaining roles which grant them access to their account (such as a sponsorship in a different unit). 

If this is the case, the best course of action is to ask your department/unit to reach out to the individual who owns the files and request that they transfer ownership themselves.

Follow the steps in Article ID: 9248 for instructions on gathering a list of links to files that need to be transferred to then share it with the departed individual. Ask them to refer to Transfer Ownership of Files in Google Drive for instructions on how to transfer ownership of files to another individual within your team and/or to a Google shared drive owned by your team.

ITS recommends using Google shared drives for storage of university data (specifically Google file types, like Docs) to ensure your department/unit does not lose access to or ownership of important files/folders when an employee leaves. Instructions for transferring ownership of data to a shared drive are provided in the documentation referenced above.

The individual doesn’t have access to their Google account (i.e., suspended)

If the individual no longer has access to their Google account, there are two possible methods for transferring ownership to your department/unit.

Option 1

One option is to make copies of each file to which you need to retain access. When making the copy, you should remove everyone, including yourself, from sharing on the original file owned by the departed individual (to avoid confusion). You will do this by not checking “Share it with the same people” in the copy prompt. You can then choose to reshare the copy with those who need access AND/OR move the copy into a Google shared drive.

Option 2

The second option is to use a Google shared drive’s membership to move the file into the drive.

Important: Only use this option with individuals who have no remaining roles at the university. (You can check their affiliations by searching for their name or uniqname in the MCommunity Directory and viewing their profile.)

1. Create a new Google shared drive (or use an existing one)
   1. You must be a Manager of the shared drive to complete these steps
2. Add the departed individual to the shared drive and assign them the Content Manager role
   1. Their information may not auto-populate when entering their uniqname into the sharing field
   2. You may have to type their full @umich.edu email address and press Enter despite their information not populating

Note: If someone has no remaining university roles, their Google account is suspended, and they no longer have access to it, so adding them to the shared drive is not a problem. However, if someone has remaining university roles, they likely still have access to their Google account. Adding them to the shared drive would give them temporary access to the drive while you are completing this process.

3. Move the files owned by the departed individual into the shared drive
4. Remove the departed individual’s access to the shared drive once all applicable files have been moved

Additional Information

Review Leaving U-M for additional information on processes that occur when someone leaves the university.

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.