In an effort to improve the lifecycle management and automation of Google shared drives, the process for creating them changed on January 3, 2023.
You can no longer create shared drives directly within Google Drive and may notice the option to do so is grayed out. You will now use a new Google shared drive creation form in the Shared Drive Manager tool, similar to the request form you currently use to create Dropbox Team Folders.
Moving forward, you will also use the tool to change your drive's department prefix, name, and Manager role assignments. If you make these changes in Google outside of the tool, they will be reverted within 24 hours.
Additionally, only active U-M faculty, staff, and students are eligible to create shared drives. Sponsored affiliates, temporary staff, alums, retirees, and Google Shared Accounts cannot create shared drives.
As a reminder, shared drives should be used for collaborative data related to administration, learning, teaching, and/or research at the University of Michigan. Shared drives are not appropriate for storing personal data (SPG 601.07). Data in shared drives are considered to be owned by a group or team rather than an individual.
Refer to Shared Drives in U-M Google for instructions on using the new form to create a Google shared drive, including information on sharing, permissions, and best practices.