It's important, first, to remember that there is a difference between University of Minnesota Google Apps accounts and personal Google/Gmail.com accounts. They are totally separate from each other, and fall under separate and different contractual agreements, as well as different terms of service. Institutions that use Google Apps for their email, calendar and the other core applications, have individual contracts with Google that define how data is handled and stored.
The University of Minnesota has a separate contract with Google, and Google remains in compliance with the confidentiality and security obligations provided to our domains under this contract. The new privacy policy does not change this contractual agreement between Google and the University, University's core suite of applications, including Gmail (email), Google Docs (word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations), Google Calendar, Google Talk (instant messaging), and Google Sites, are not affected by this new privacy policy.
Please refer to the University's Google Apps support site at www.oit.umn.edu/google for the latest and most complete information about Google Apps for the University of Minnesota.