News

The R: drive is moving to an upgraded platform on Friday, March 13th at 5pm.  Nexus computers will automatically handle the change, but if you have a macOS or non-Nexus Windows computer, you'll need to take action to update your drive mapping after that date.  Head over to our website for instructions on how to map the R: drive on your computer.

The University is implementing a 90-day retention policy for Microsoft Teams Chat messages starting August 19th, meaning private 1:1 chats, group chats, meeting chats, and chats with yourself will be automatically deleted 90 days after being sent or received. This change does not affect Channel posts or shared files, and aligns with the University policy to manage information risk. You can use the UW Teams Message Export Tool to save a copy of your exchanges. 

IST will be discontinuing the existing SPSS licence due to relatively low usage starting in January 2026.

Faculty, researchers, and students can purchase SPSS from one of the following sources:

• StudentDiscounts.com – SPSS Student and Teacher Discounts on Gradpack
• University of Waterloo | Academic Software Discounts (OnTheHub)
• Other vendor options from IBM are listed at: Gradpack and Faculty Packs - IBM SPSS Statistics
• Note: Some faculties are exploring Download JASP - JASP - Free and User-Friendly Statistical Software as an alternative

IST is providing Information Sessions and IT Professional Development (ITPD) training courses for employees through the Spring term to learn more about the Microsoft 365 storage and platform changes. Please visit the IST Events page and the ITPD course brochure for session links. You can also view our page, Microsoft 365 Data Storage Changes - Information Sessions, Training, and Support for more details about the topics, dates, and times offered. 

Additional resources and support:

Please visit the M365 storage quotas and information page to learn more. If you would like assistance with managing your storage, please contact Science Computing or IST. 

Since May 18, 2025, MathWorks (MATLAB) is experiencing a degradation to some services, including preventing users from creating new MathWorks accounts and possible accounts being compromised due to a ransomware attack. Some users who have not signed in since October 11, 2024 will be unable to. MATLAB Online and MATLAB Mobile should be working for those who already have an account. 

If you have a MathWorks (MATLAB) account with your University of Waterloo e-mail address, please login to WatIAM to change your password.

To learn more, you can check out the MathWorks status page.

IST is enabling sensitivity labels to all employees with an A3 or higher license in our Microsoft 365 environment starting on May 12, 2025. Existing files will automatically be labelled as "Confidential". These labels will be enforced on files stored in SharePoint, Teams, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, and on emails sent through Outlook. Users without an employee A3 or higher license will not be able to apply sensitivity labels. However, they may still see the sensitivity label icon and description in the M365 applications. Please see IST's KB article for more details. 

Learn more:

Understanding the different confidentiality classifications (policy 46)

How to adjust the sensitivity labels 

There is a power outage scheduled for Thursday, March 13, 2025 starting at 2am until 6:30am for metering installation in the machine room. The power outage was originally scheduled for Wednesday, March 12, 2025, but the contractor provided the wrong date. The machines will be left down for today and they will be restored tomorrow. Apologies for the inconvenience. Please e-mail sci@uwaterloo.atlassien.net if you have any questions or concerns. 

The University's central WebEx service, uwaterloo.webex.com, will be discontinued on Wednesday, April 30th, 2025. Please start using alternative solutions like Microsoft Teams and Zoom. If you have WebEx boards and recordings, please see IST's announcement for more details and instructions.

Effective November 27th, 2024, new WatIAM password requirements will be in place. Existing users' passwords do not need to be changed, but new passwords must comply with the new rules. Please see IST's announcement for more details. 

WatSAFE has been deactivated. Regroup Mobile is now the sole emergency notification system at University of Waterloo. For instant safety notifications, please download the Regroup Mobile app.