How to Run the End-of-Year Audit in Google Workspace for Education

KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR SCHOOL ADMINS

▪️ The year-end audit of Google Workspace allows admins to evaluate compliance, online safety and security, detect potential risks, and address them before the school returns to full operations. ▪️ Only external auditing and management tools, such as GAT Labs, provide admins with detailed insights into the domain beyond the Google Admin Console reports.

In 2025, 5 TB of sensitive data was leaked internally at the University of the Philippines due to a human error. 

Thousands of Drive files containing student addresses, IDs, medical records, and other personal information were shared with every user because the file permissions were set to “Anyone in your organization can search and find the item”.

The hard truth is that this and many other security vulnerabilities could be easily spotted with the right tools and a little spare time.

Take control of your Google Workspace before hidden risks grow during the summer. We’re sure you don’t need any additional work after students are back at school. 

Shall we start our auditing then?

Why We Recommend a Year-End Google Workspace Audit

Now, when classes finish and school staff is less busy, it’s a perfect time to audit the Google Workspace for Education you’ve relied on over the past year.

A comprehensive review of your management platform will help ensure a safer, more productive learning and teaching environment when the school’s doors open again.

• Identify and Remove Security Risks: Audit active and inactive user permissions, third-party app privileges, and file shares to detect security blind spots and prevent sensitive data leaks and phishing attacks.
• Report on Compliance and School Policies: Review implementation of data privacy requirements across the last year. Automate their monitoring and reporting for audit readiness at any time.
• Improve Student Online Safety: Audit students’ online activity. Identify risky behaviors, harmful online content accessed, and suspicious user actions. Update school safety policies accordingly to prevent them.

Comparison: Google Admin Console Audit vs. GAT Labs Audit  

To audit Google Workspace for Education effectively, relying on as much data as possible is crucial.

If any critical information is missing, admins may overlook vulnerabilities and make incorrect decisions that affect the security and safety of the entire school.

While the Google Admin Console is the first-choice tool for collecting data on the Google Workspace environment, its admin log -based insights are limited. For a complete overview of all activity in your domain, you need a more powerful solution, such as GAT Labs.

	Google Admin Console Audit	GAT Labs Audit
Domain visibility	Incomplete insights, often missing crucial data	Full overview of every activity across the domain
Data accessibility	Information spread across different sections	All information accessible from a single dashboard
Audit automation	Only partial when collecting data; reports have to be filled out manually	Scheduled reports that automatically collect and analyze data
Risk monitoring	Reactive, allowing for admin action after reporting a risk	Proactive, real-time risk detection and alerting based on user activity tracking

End-of-Year Google Workspace for Education Auditing Step-by-Step

A complex audit requires a multi-layered approach to cover the full scope of critical activities in Google Workspace. 

We recommend reviewing the following areas to maximize visibility on hidden risks and mitigate them efficiently. Think of it as a starting point for further investigation and enhancement of your domain’s management.

1. User Offboarding & Audit

The primary task to ensure a smooth and secure transition between the previous and the new school year. It should cover:

• User Offboarding: Manage accounts of former students and school staff members, including their access to Gmail, Drives, files and folders, classrooms, apps, calendars, school devices, etc. 
• Inactive Accounts Cleanup: Identify other Google accounts and large files stored on the school’s Drives that haven’t been used for a long time.
• Scheduled Deletion: Suspend inactive accounts and schedule the removal of accounts and large files after a retention period.

This task can be automated with GAT Flow’s workflows for a safer, quicker, and less stressful offboarding process.

2. Access Control Audit

Reviewing the current access permissions for active and inactive accounts helps you identify potential hidden security gaps. That applies to:

• File Sharing: Review both external and internal shares, including files shared from outside into your domain.
• User Access Permissions: Check current settings and restrict permissions to the minimum required user access level.

3. Compliance & Online Safety Audit

This is a crucial step for creating and maintaining a safe and compliant learning environment for students throughout the entire school year.

• Online Safety Policies Review: Evaluate safe-browsing policy violations and update them accordingly, including key online risks for child safety.
• DLP Policy Update: Strengthen data security by restricting access to sensitive files and monitoring user activity on them.

4. Third-Party & Browser-Based Apps Audit

Many classrooms rely on external digital tools, sometimes inadvertently giving them access to user personal information.

• Third-Party Apps Privileges Assessment: Evaluate which apps have been used, whether they are safe, and what data they can access.
• AI Apps Usage Monitoring: Identify AI online tools your users have used, logged in to, or installed and evaluate their security.
• Third-Party Apps Banning Policy: Restrict users from granting permissions to specific apps you find unsafe or harmful.

5. Security Audit & Real-time Monitoring

That’s an ongoing admin responsibility, but a regularly scheduled audit helps tighten security measures and improve incident response strategy.

• Annual Security Overview: Report and analyze cybersecurity parameters and incidents in your school and other schools. 
• Real-time Monitoring: Update your security policies to include automated alerts when a rule is violated and scheduled reports.

Closing Thoughts 

Google Workspace for Education has been a great assistant for many teachers and students throughout the school year. With multiple users in charge, admins need to audit this interconnected network of apps regularly and in depth to ensure their security.

Gain visibility, control, and peace of mind with GAT Labs auditing. Review all key metrics precisely to enhance your safety policies, protect sensitive data, and ensure effortless collaboration.