What Is OneDrive?
OneDrive for Business is online storage that GVSU gives to all students, staff, and faculty through Microsoft. You can use it to save your files and access them from any device with an internet connection.
To log in, go to https://onedrive.live.com/login and use your GVSU email and password.
What Can You Store in OneDrive?
You can save most file types in OneDrive, like:
- Word documents
- PDFs
- Pictures
- Presentations
It also keeps old versions of your files in case you need to go back to a previous version.
Important note: Do not store personal or sensitive information in OneDrive. This includes files containing G-Numbers, passwords, education records, and lists of physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.
How to Use OneDrive
OneDrive is a great place to keep your personal work files. With OneDrive, you can:
- Open your files from any computer, tablet, or phone
- Edit documents in your web browser using Microsoft Office apps
- Share files with others, even outside of GVSU
If you’re using a GVSU computer, OneDrive is already set to back up your Documents, Desktop, and Pictures folders. Files in those folders are saved to OneDrive automatically.
You can also:
- Move other files into the OneDrive folder to back them up
- Change which folders are backed up in the OneDrive app under Manage Backup
How Do Files Get Backed Up?
Once OneDrive is set up, it automatically backs up your selected folders. As long as you're connected to the internet, files are saved to the cloud in real time.
When Should You Use OneDrive?
Use OneDrive when you:
- Want easy access to your files from anywhere
- Need to work on documents with other people at the same time
- Are storing regular work or school files that don’t need to be saved forever
When NOT to Use OneDrive
Avoid using OneDrive for:
- Files that are owned or shared by a group—use a shared drive or request an Office 365 Group instead
- Personal or sensitive data—OneDrive retains deleted files for 30 days, providing a recovery window for accidentally removed data.
- Hosting large or high-performance files like virtual machines—OneDrive has limited input/output speed
Storage Limits
Your storage amount depends on your GVSU Microsoft license:
- A5 License (most users): 1 TB
- A1 License: 100 GB
A5 licensed users include Full Time Employees, and Adjunct Faculty. All other employees receive an A1 license.
Eligibility
All current GVSU students, staff, and faculty are eligible to use OneDrive for Business.