How do I know if I have a standard or lite licence allocated to my staff account? 

If you are currently using Microsoft 365 on your desktop, you are not impacted by the licence change. 

How are the licences allocated? 

ICTS and UCT’s HR department are working together to develop a software licence allocation process that aligns with the UCT staff role model.   

What if UCT gave me a UCT laptop? 

There are no changes to the way that you access the Microsoft 365 productivity suite. You can access the applications on your desktop, online, as well as mobile devices. 

Where is my data saved if I have a lite licence? 

All your data is automatically saved on the Microsoft 365 portal when you create files online. This means that you only need to look in one central location for all your files. Alternatively, you can navigate to the specific application online where you created your file (i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and access it from there. 

How do I access documents saved on my computer online? 
  1. Navigate to https://portal.office.com/ and log on with your UCT username (staffnumber@wf.uct.ac.za) and password. Verify your UCT credentials via MFA, if required. 
  2. Once you have successfully logged in, click the App launcher icon  in the top left corner to view the Microsoft 365 productivity suite applications available to you. 
Will I be able to access Microsoft 365 applications online if I don't have internet access? 

No, you will need an internet connection to access these applications. 

Why should I not store emails I want to keep in my Deleted folder?

As part of the storage reduction plan, a change has been made to the retention policy to automatically delete emails that is stored in the Deleted Items, after a certain period. We therefore recommend that you use Archiving for emails that you would like to keep for an extended period of time.

Outlook

Are there any differences to the way I need to access my Outlook mailbox? 

You can perform most of the actions in Outlook no matter what platform you’re using. If you’re new to Outlook on the web, view the links below for guidance on performing some tasks. 

What if I use my own device to do work for UCT? 

Depending on your licence, you may be able to install the Microsoft 365 productivity suite on your device. Alternatively, you can access it via the online portal, or install the applications on your mobile device. 

 

Storage 

What happens once the storage quotas are in place?   

ICTS put the quotas below in place for Microsoft storage options.

  • All UCT mailboxes: 50GB
    Note: email in your online archive does not count towards this quota.
  • OneDrive quotas
    • Staff: 100GB
    • Students:
      • Undergraduate to Honours: 50GB
      • Masters, Doctoral, Post-doctoral: 100GB
  • SharePoint quotas
    • Microsoft Teams sites: 10GB
    • Microsoft 365 Group sites: 10GB

What do you need to do?

Mailbox quota

Check your mailbox size to determine if any action is required from you. 

If your mailbox is currently under 45GB, then you don’t need to take any action at this point.

If your mailbox is 45GB or more in size, you will start to receive warnings that you’re approaching or over the 50GB limit. To reduce your usage, we recommend that you

  • delete emails that are not UCT-related and are no longer required
  • keep the most recent version of an email trail, instead of the whole conversation
  • use the online archive to store emails as this option does not count towards your quota

Find out more about these and other options in the Mailbox cleanup guide.

OneDrive and SharePoint

If your usage is at least 5GB below the new quotas, you don’t need to take any action as yet, instead just manage how much you use.

If you’re close to or over the limit, you need to make every effort to reduce your usage. Failure to reduce your usage may result in your folders and files becoming read-only – as was the case with Google Drive in 2023. Under these conditions, you will still be able to access your content but won’t be able to edit existing files or create anything new.

There is also the possibility that those who are oversubscribed may impact the rest of the university’s usage of Microsoft storage and be held accountable for paying the additional costs associated to their overuse. It is therefore important that you reduce your usage as much as possible.

Why are we being restricted to quotas on Microsoft storage options?  

Microsoft has updated their terms of use for the university’s Higher Education licence. This is a global change affecting all universities that have Microsoft licence agreements.  

Microsoft has significantly increased the prices of its storage offerings and reduced the amount of storage assigned to a licence. ICTS obtained approval to implement a storage reduction plan to standardise and manage cloud storage allocation per user, ensuring alignment with the Microsoft Licence Agreement.  

What is the recommended method to share a document?  
  • If you’re only going to share the document with a specific group of people once-off, and then save the file on OneDrive for Business.
  • If it is part of a project, work group, or collaboration process, and then save it in Microsoft Teams, where it is automatically stored on SharePoint.  
What options are available for collaboration with external individuals?  

Microsoft Teams is the ideal communication and collaboration for engaging with internal and external individuals. View our extensive guide to effectively using Microsoft Teams at UCT.  

What is the difference between OneDrive personal and the UCT OneDrive?

Your personal OneDrive requires access using a non-UCT Microsoft email address (e.g., hotmail.com or outlook.com). OneDrive for Business is linked to your UCT account.

How do I create a personal OneDrive account?

You can create a free account using a non-UCT Microsoft email address. Alternatively, you can use Google Drive, which is part of Google Workspace that you have access to at UCT.

What are the quotas?  
SharePoint
OneDrive for Business
Exchange online

Teams: 10GB  

Microsoft 365 groups: 10GB  

Staff: 100GB  

Students  

Undergraduate to Honours: 50GB  

Masters, Doctoral, Post-doctoral: 100GB  

Alumni: 1GB  

All mailboxes will be 50GB.  

Archives are dependent on licence allocation  
Can I save my data on the G: drive?

The G: drive is still available as a shared storage option for departments and faculties to store UCT-related information.