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Microsoft 365 Unified Groups

Service Description

Microsoft 365 Unified Groups is a feature of the Microsoft 365 implementation. This service is a FERPA and HIPAA compatible platform that allows you to choose a set of people that you wish to collaborate with and set up a collection of resources for those people to share. It gives you the ability to collaborate with your teammates when writing documents, creating spreadsheets, working on project plans, scheduling meetings, or sending email. Each unified group includes 1 TB of storage space.

Services Offered

Faculty, staff, and students can create and manage their own unified groups to collaborate with a desired audience.

Unified Groups can be used as a "file share" for the users that can be accessed from anywhere using the OneDrive apps on Windows/Mac/Android/iOS devices, or through a web browser using the SharePoint/OneDrive Web Application.

Microsoft 365 Unified Groups email and calendar can be accessed through Outlook clients or via a web browser using the Outlook Web Application (OWA).

To learn more about Microsoft 365 Unified Groups, visit the Microsoft 365 Tutorials page.

Microsoft 365 Unified Groups can be used as an alternative to legacy listserv functionality by requesting the group be made a "mailing group." Some additional settings/options regarding email communication are available with a request to the iTech Help Desk. To learn more about these possibilities, view the Microsoft 365 Mailing Group page.

Usage Recommendations

Group owners are responsible for:
- Managing group ownership and membership
- Properly securing content
  - Be aware of what you are sharing or sending (size, content, etc.) and to whom you are sending it.
- Deleting groups when no longer needed
It is highly recommended to have more than one owner defined for a group. This will allow for continued management of the group if you were to leave the university. Members of an "un-owned" group will receive a warning email each week, for up to 30 days, leading up to a groups' expiration date. Members can respond to the email with who they want to be set as the new owner. If a group goes without an owner, it will eventually expire, and the group is deleted. A group can be recovered for up to 30 days after deletion. After that time, the data is lost.
All content and communications should follow all established University IT Policies and Procedures.