NET+ Google Workspace for Education

Welcome

Welcome to the NET+ Google Workspace for Education (GWE) wiki. GWE Plus includes all the productivity and collaboration tools of G Suite for Education (e.g. Gmail, Docs, Meet), plus premium tools and enhanced security controls. 

Detailed information about the three paid editions of Google Workspace for Education is listed below:

1. Education Plus
2. Teaching & Learning Upgrade
3. Education Standard

GWE Plus (GSEfE at that time) entered into the NET+ Service Evaluation in May, 2020 and an agreement was signed in June 2021.

Amplified IT and Burwood are the two NET+ GWE Resellers that have been selected via a Request for Information process led by Internet2 with participation from the Service Evaluation institutions.

We covered the NET+ GWE offering during a webinar held on June 22 and the recording along with the presentation slides are available to anyone interested in learning more about it. Detailed information about eligibility and the NET+ Google Workspace for Education offering can also be found in the Frequently Asked Questions document. 

This Fall we held a webinar series focused on several aspects of the NET+ Google Workspace for Education. Visit this blog post for more information and the recordings of the virtual sessions.

Participate in our Subscriber Community

Email discussion list and Slack

Institutions participating in the NET+ Google Workspace for Education program may take advantage of our email discussion list and Slack channel to communicate with peer institutions, receive curated program updates and participate in other activities and events. 

Users of Google Workspace for Education are encouraged to join the Google Workspace for Education Community Group offered by EDUCAUSE.

Join the Google Workspace Storage Management Workgroup (Open to all community members):

Users of Google Workspace for Education are encouraged to join the Cloud Storage Management workgroup. The group meets bi-weekly and tackles topics surrounding tools and storage management in general. Contact Dana Voss dvoss@internet2.edu if you have an interest in joining the group.

Service Advisory Board (limited to subscribers to the NET+ GWE program)

We are in the process of forming the NET+ Google Workspace for Education Service Advisory Board. The the kick-off meeting will be scheduled in January.

Typically, the work of the Advisory Board focuses on these areas: 

• Ongoing service advisory mechanisms through which the higher education community may continue to validate the tailored aspects of the service, inform the product roadmap, and be aware of industry trends in software architecture and other aspects

• A community of practice around each service including support for events, online collaboration, knowledge/how-to sharing and other activities

• Support for potential subscribers with the procurement of the services

• Favorable pricing and terms, including consistent and transparent pricing for higher education subscribers; predictable annual pricing changes; discounts based on the aggregate spend of higher education subscribers; full/complete “base” bundle of subservices/features and minimization of add-on pricing

• Service configuration and legal terms tailored to meet the particular needs of higher education, delivered through the work of higher education peers and the service provider, facilitated by Internet2  

• Support for the InCommon Federation and enablement of InCommon SSO access to offered services

• Compliance with industry standards, notably applicable laws and regulations, data ownership, security

For Google Workspace in particular, we'll also also focus on the storage management tools to ensure they meet the needs of the higher ed community.

Please contact Dana Voss dvoss@internet2.edu if you have an interest in serving on the Advisory Board.

Service Evaluation

Eight geographically diverse, public and private universities, completed the evaluation of a number of aspects of the GWEP offering, with a focus on capabilities provided in the enterprise offering and priorities identified by the service evaluation team. These areas included:

• Reviewed enhanced security features in GWEP
• Developed a business model that helps institutions manage budgets and the current economic climate
• Streamlining the management and usage of collaboration tools at institutions
• Supporting institutional teaching and research needs
• Integrating with other enterprise applications and services
• Building scalable higher education specific contractual terms and pricing
  

Service Evaluation Status