Summary

This article outlines best practices and governance expectations for using SharePoint Online at USNH. Along with general guidelines and best practices, it includes guidance on site naming, ownership responsibilities, sharing and permissions, and lifecycle management, helping ensure SharePoint sites are used securely and in alignment with institutional policies. Site owners are expected to maintain compliance with institutional policies related to data protection, retention, and responsible collaboration.

Sites containing student education records (FERPA) or protected health information (HIPAA) require special security and governance measures, including consultation, required approvals and sensitivity labeling. See SharePoint: Requesting and Managing Sites for FERPA or HIPAA Data

Content

Storage and Quotas
Site Organization and Best Practices
Site Navigation and Content Organization
Site Naming Conventions
Site Ownership Requirements
Sharing and Permissions
Sensitivity Labels
Site Lifecycle Management
Monitoring and Compliance
 

General SharePoint Usage Guidelines

Use of SharePoint Online and other Microsoft 365 services provided by USNH is governed by the same policies that apply to all university-managed resources. These guidelines are designed to support security, compliance, and effective collaboration.  
 

Storage and Quotas

• Standard Quota: All new SharePoint sites are provisioned with a 100GB quota. This default limit encourages proactive data lifecycle planning and aligns with Microsoft 365 best practices.
   
• Quota Increase Requests: Requests for SharePoint quota increases are granted only in exceptional cases and must demonstrate a compelling business need. To request an increase, you must submit a request through USNH IT support that includes a detailed justification and a description of the data lifecycle, including expected retention duration, ownership, and review frequency. All requests are subject to review and approval by the SharePoint Administration team and will only be approved if the need cannot be met through existing data management practices such as cleanup or reorganization.
   
• OneDrive vs. SharePoint: Use SharePoint for collaborative, department-owned, or long-term institutional content. OneDrive is intended for personal storage and is subject to deletion once your association with the university ends.
  See: M365: Sharing and Storing Files FAQ and OneDrive for work or school: Information
   

Site Organization and Best Practices

Effective site organization supports clarity, content discoverability, long-term maintainability, and collaboration. The following best practices help ensure SharePoint sites are structured to meet business needs while remaining scalable and sustainable.

Site Purpose and Planning

Before creating a site, clearly define its purpose:

• Is the site for a project, department, committee, or general collaboration?
• Who are the intended contributors and audience?
• What kind of content will be stored or created?

Use this information to determine if a standalone site is needed, or if the content would be better housed in an existing site or hub to avoid site sprawl.

Use of Communication vs. Team Sites

• Team Sites are designed for collaboration among a specific group of people. They are typically connected to a Microsoft 365 Group, which brings integration with other M365 services such as Teams, Planner, Outlook, and OneNote.
  • Use a Team Site when:
  • You need a shared workspace for a project team, committee, or working group.
  • Members of the site need to co-author documents, track tasks, or manage lists together.
  • You want to integrate with Microsoft Teams for persistent chat, meetings, and shared files.
     
• Communication Sites are designed for one-to-many communication. Their primary purpose is to share information with a wider audience rather than support collaboration among a large group of contributors.
  • Use a Communication Site when:
  • You need to broadcast information such as announcements, internal news, or policies.
  • You want to publish content that’s mostly read-only for most users.
  • You are building a portal or homepage for a department, office, or service unit.

Plan carefully as a Team site cannot be converted into a Communication site and vice versa. Avoid creating multiple similar-purpose sites unless there’s a clear business need. Duplication creates sprawl and confusion.
 

Hub Sites

Subsites in SharePoint will soon be fully deprecated, and are not recommended. Instead, Hub sites provide a flexible way to organize site collections under a shared structure that reflect your organizational structure, function, or service offering:

• Enable shared branding, navigation, and search across associated sites.
• Sites can be associated with only one hub at a time.
• Though not enabled by default, if desired Hub sites can synchronize their permissions with associated sites, allowing for consistent access across the Hub.
• Request your site be converted to a Hub

Site Navigation and Content Organization

A well-structured site supports discovery, ease of use, and long-term content management. Consider the following best practices when planning your SharePoint site:

• Plan and maintain intuitive, top-level navigation: Clear and consistent navigation helps users quickly locate key content. Group related pages and libraries logically, and avoid cluttering the main menu with too many links.
   
• Use hub navigation to promote cross-site consistency: Sites associated with a hub inherit the hub's top navigation, making it easier for users to move between related sites and find shared resources.
   
• Avoid deep folder nesting within document libraries: Deeply nested folders can obscure content, break links, and exceed path length limits. Instead, use metadata, views, or separate document libraries to organize files in a way that supports both usability and governance.

For detailed guidance on organizing SharePoint content effectively, visit: M365: Naming Conventions and Best Practices for Files and Folders
 

Site Naming Conventions

Please use the USNH institutional naming format when creating new SharePoint sites. This improves organization, searchability, and reporting.

Guidance:

• Include Your Campus: The name of your college or campus should be part of the Site name to help distinguish it from similarly named groups across the system.
   
• Be Clear and Concise: Choose a name that accurately reflects the purpose of the Site while keeping it as brief as possible. 
  • Sites with "test" in the name may be renamed to align with naming standards.
  • Sites named after individuals may be reviewed and renamed to reflect their purpose more clearly.
     
• Use Respectful Language: Site names must not contain offensive or inappropriate language.

Note: Sites created via Teams will follow the Team name, so apply your naming conventions at creation.

Site Ownership Requirements

Every SharePoint site must have at least two active site owners. This ensures continuity in management, especially if one owner leaves or changes roles. Having clear site ownership ensures accountability, promotes responsible data management, and supports the long-term usefulness of the site.

Site owners play a critical role in the oversight and stewardship of content. They are responsible for:

• Managing membership and permissions: Ensure only appropriate individuals have access to the site. Owners are responsible for granting and removing permissions, managing group membership, and ensuring that users have the correct level of access for their role.
   
• Maintaining relevant and accurate content: Site owners must keep site content organized, up to date, and aligned with departmental needs. Outdated or abandoned content can lead to confusion, data sprawl, or noncompliance with retention policies.
   
• Reviewing sharing activity and external access: Regularly audit who has access to your site and its documents - including guest users and shared links - to reduce the risk of unintentional exposure of university data.

Note: Orphaned/unowned or inactive sites may be flagged for removal or reassignment.

Sharing and Permissions

USNH SharePoint sites are part of the university’s internal intranet. While it’s possible to share content with specific external collaborators, SharePoint sites cannot be made publicly accessible for anonymous viewing (i.e., they cannot function as a public-facing website).
 

Default Settings:

• SharePoint site sharing is set to “Specific People” by default. External collaborators can be invited individually.
• Anonymous sharing links are disabled by default across the USNH tenant to protect institutional data and ensure compliance with our information security policies.
  • These links may be enabled by exception, only through a support ticket with a clear business justification.
  • Requests are reviewed by the SharePoint administration team and may be escalated to security or compliance as needed.
  • When permitted, expiration dates and view-only restrictions are recommended to mitigate risk.
     

Sharing Best Practices:

• Share documents with the fewest people necessary (Principle of Least Privilege).
• Use the SharePoint “Manage Access” pane to monitor and adjust sharing.
• Avoid granting full control unless necessary.
• Grant access based on roles or groups, not individuals, whenever feasible.
• Regularly audit sharing links and group memberships.

External Sharing

Owners are responsible for monitoring and removing external guest access that is no longer needed. Sites with sensitive or confidential information should not allow external access unless approved and protected with appropriate controls.

Sensitivity Labels & Site Classification

SharePoint Online supports sensitivity labels to classify and protect content. These labels apply site-wide and can enforce restrictions such as:

• External sharing controls
• Access conditions
• Data handling expectations

For more information or to request a label for your site, visit SharePoint: Requesting a Sensitivity Label for your SharePoint Site

Site Lifecycle Management

Effective site lifecycle management helps reduce clutter, control storage usage, and maintain a well-organized SharePoint environment.

To support a healthy and efficient digital workspace, site owners should:

• Delete sites that are no longer in use: Inactive or abandoned sites contribute to unnecessary data growth and make it harder for users to find current, relevant information. If a site is no longer needed, consider deletion.
   
• Clean up outdated document libraries, pages, and lists: Regularly review and remove or consolidate unused libraries and content. This helps users navigate the site more easily and supports compliance with data retention policies.
   
• Review site usage and storage trends periodically: Use the built-in SharePoint site usage reports to assess activity levels and storage consumption. This insight can help guide decisions about restructuring content or retiring old sites.
   
• For M365 cleanup tips, see: M365: Cleanup Tips for OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams

Monitoring and Compliance

USNH SharePoint Administrators may monitor usage, access, and content in alignment with institutional policies. Sites or documents that violate acceptable use policies or contain inappropriate material may be removed.

Policy Updates

These guidelines may be updated as needed by USNH SharePoint Administrators to reflect changes in policy, Microsoft platform features, or security practices.

Need additional help?

For assistance concerning site creation, content sharing, file synchronization, or other common SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, or Office app activities, we recommend our Microsoft 365 Learning sites:

• USNH M365 Learning Pathways: On-Demand Online Walk-throughs, Tutorials, & Guides for M365 Products
  https://universitysystemnh.sharepoint.com/sites/M365LP/
• SharePoint Success Site: Learn How to Plan, Build, Launch, Share, & Manage Your Sites
  https://universitysystemnh.sharepoint.com/sites/SharePointSuccessSite/

Learn more about the great tools our Microsoft 365 Learning sites offer!

Visit the Technology Help Desk Support page to locate your local campus contact information or to submit an online technology support request.  For password issues you must call or visit the Help Desk in person.