The Information Technology Division announces the discontinuation of the CommonFiles (J: Drive) and Class Files (W: Drive) effective September 1, 2021. As SHU continues to use Microsoft products such as OneDrive, SharePoint, other Office 365 applications, and Canvas for course materials the need for local drives on our network has diminished. We recommend anyone storing data on either drive to back it up to their SHU OneDrive, group SharePoint site or Canvas course. Files and folders from both OneDrive and SharePoint can be shared with individuals from there.
Alternatives for CommonFiles
CommonFiles was used mainly to share documents and folders quickly and efficiently with other members of the Siena Heights community. This can still be done through Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint. For any file in either service, simply click the Share icon and specify who you would like to share the document with. You can share documents with named individuals, anyone with the share link, or share it with members of the SHU community with the link.
For assistance on how to share from the office.com website, please visit this official Microsoft webpage on the topic.
For how to share documents from your OneDrive folder on your PC, please visit this official Microsoft article on the topic.
Alternatives for Class Files
Siena Heights IT creates a Canvas course shell for ALL offered courses where files, pictures, videos, etc. can be stored. IT recommends faculty members upload important course data to the respective Canvas course. Other data can be moved to a OneDrive or SharePoint site as well.
Why the move?
We believe the days of having local shared drives is moving away. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, we noticed many students were left without the ability to access important documents and features from these local drives. Using Canvas, Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint for file sharing ensures anyone with appropriate permissions can access a document regardless of their physical location.
Additionally, the security of CommonFiles is a concern. Anyone who uploads data to CommonFiles will have that data visible to anyone on the network. This means a file can be modified by students, staff, or faculty regardless of who originally uploaded the file. The same is generally true for Class Files except modifications are restricted to faculty and staff.
Student Degree Plans Staying on Class Files until Anthology Integration
The exception to the above information is the Degree Plans folder in Class Files. This folder will remain active until the CMC/Anthology project is implemented and replaces the need for this folder. It is still recommended students save their own degree plans to their SHU OneDrive to ensure access to the file on and off-campus.