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Learn about where university files live at NCU — what belongs in your OneDrive, what belongs in Microsoft Teams, where files shared in chats and meetings actually end up, and what happens to them when someone leaves.
Two homes for university files
Every university file belongs in one of two places. Which one depends on a single question: does this file belong to you, or to the department?
OneDrive
Your working files — drafts, notes, and anything only you need.
Tied to your account. Closes when your account does.
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Microsoft Teams
Department and official university files — anything someone else will need now or later.
Stored in SharePoint. Owned by the university and stays put when people change.
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If you're unsure, put it in Teams. A file in the wrong OneDrive is the one that goes missing.
Where files end up
Microsoft 365 quietly decides where a file is stored based on how you shared or saved it — not where you were looking at the time. This is where things actually land.
When you… |
The file is stored in… |
It belongs to… |
Save or upload a file to OneDrive |
Your OneDrive |
You |
Post or upload a file in a Teams channel |
That team's SharePoint site, in the channel's folder |
The team |
Share a file in a Teams chat (one-on-one or group) |
The sender's OneDrive, in a folder named Microsoft Teams Chat Files |
Whoever sent it |
Record a channel meeting |
That team's SharePoint site, in the channel's Recordings folder |
The team |
Record any other meeting (calendar invite, chat call) |
The meeting organizer's OneDrive, in a Recordings folder |
The organizer |
Add materials to a Canvas course |
That Canvas course |
The course |
Anything marked in red belongs to one person. Others can open it only as long as that person's account exists and they keep sharing it.
Group chats are not file storage
Don't run ongoing work or shared files out of a group chat
A group chat looks like one shared space, but it isn't. Every file shared in it is stored in the OneDrive of the person who sent it. A five-person chat that runs for a year has its files scattered across five different OneDrives.
When any one of those people leaves NCU, their files leave with them — and there is no practical way to know which files lived where until someone goes looking for one that's gone.
Group chat is fine for
- Quick questions and short conversations
- One-off files nobody will need later
- Coordinating something that wraps up in days
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Use a team channel for
- Ongoing projects and recurring groups
- Any file someone else will need later
- Anything that should outlast the people working on it
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If your group doesn't have a team or channel yet, ask the team's owner to add a channel, or submit a request through the Microsoft Teams service page.
AI tools are not file storage
AI tools can help you draft, edit, and analyze — how to use them is covered by the Using AI at Work policy. What they can't do is hold onto your work. Whatever you produce with AI is a university file and belongs where every other university file goes.
Keep the finished work in OneDrive or Teams — not in the chat
- A conversation isn't a file. If the only copy of a document lives in a chat history, nobody else can find it, and it's gone when the history or account is. This applies to Microsoft Copilot too.
- Uploading isn't storing. A file you give an AI tool is sent to that provider. With public tools, it can't be recalled or deleted. Check the policy's data rules before uploading anything.
- AI-assisted work is still university work. The university owns what you create for your job, with or without AI. Don't leave it in a personal AI account.
When someone leaves NCU
This is why the two homes matter. Turnover is when misplaced files turn into lost files.
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Files in their OneDrive
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Files in Teams
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- Close along with their account
- Shared links stop working, including every file they sent in a chat
- Meeting recordings they organized go with them
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- Stay exactly where they are
- Everyone else on the team keeps access
- Nothing has to be found, moved, or recovered
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Don't wait for a departure. When a file in your OneDrive becomes something the department relies on, move it into the right team.
Not a home for university files
Under the Information Security policy, anything you create as part of your job is university information, no matter what device or account you used to create it.
Prohibited for university files
- Personal cloud storage — Google Drive, Box, Dropbox, iCloud, or a personal Microsoft OneDrive
- Personal devices — your own computer, tablet, or phone
- Personal USB drives and other removable storage
- Consumer messaging apps for sending university files
- AI meeting assistants other than Microsoft Copilot — Otter.ai, Fireflies, Fathom, and similar tools store recordings and transcripts outside NCU
If a university file ends up on a personal device or account, move it to OneDrive or Teams right away and permanently delete every copy left behind.
Allowed, but where files get lost
- Your NCU computer only — files saved only to the Desktop or Downloads folder aren't backed up, aren't visible to anyone else, and are lost if the device fails or is replaced
- Your email inbox — attachments aren't a filing system; save anything worth keeping to OneDrive or Teams
Working with people outside NCU
Share links, not attachments
- Sending files out: share a link from Teams or OneDrive. For department files, share from Teams so the link keeps working after you're gone.
- Collecting files in: use OneDrive's Request Files feature instead of asking people to email attachments. See How To: Request a File using Microsoft OneDrive.