Help Desk - Leaving the University recommendations for HR/Managers/IT Support/Collaborators
Effective January 2018, individuals who leave the University may begin a deactivation process that may change their access to the following services:
Affected IT Services- Office 365
- G Suite
- Box
- Qualtrics
Note: Service-based deactivation will not impact the NetID Login Service.
Table of Contents
- Leaving the University Checklist
- General Recommendations
- Important Notes
- Best Practices when Collaborating with Colleagues
Leaving the University Checklist
The following checklist is available for Human Resources, managers, IT support, collaborators, and other roles to use with individuals leaving the University.
Leaving the University Checklist (pdf)
General Recommendations
What should I do before a UW-Madison faculty/staff/student leaves the University?
Below are recommended steps to take before an individual leaves UW-Madison.
What should I do if I don't know what IT services they are using?
Ask the individual if they used one or more of the affected IT services during their appointment at UW-Madison.
Reflect on what affected IT service(s) you used to collaborate with the departing individual.
Contact the DoIT Help Desk.
- They may be able to provide a list of affected IT services that were used by the departing individual.
What should I do if I cannot access data stored in a former faculty/staff/student's UW-Madison account?
Can you contact the individual directly?
- Yes
- No
If you are still in communication with the individual, you are encouraged to contact them to gain access to data stored in their UW-Madison account(s) for affected IT service(s).
If you cannot get in touch with the individual and need access to their UW-Madison account(s) for affected IT service(s), you are encouraged to contact the DoIT Help Desk and request to have your case escalated to the UW-Madison Office 365 team.
Note: Office 365 OneDrive data is only recoverable for up to 30 days from the date their affiliation status changes. After 30 days, OneDrive data cannot be recovered.
What happens if a former faculty/staff/student returns to UW-Madison? Is their account or data recovered?
If an individual returns to the UW-Madison and has questions about account or data recovery, they are encouraged to submit a ticket to the DoIT Help Desk. Their case will be vetted for recovery options, if possible.
Note: Account or data recovery is not guaranteed.
Important Notes
Human Resources/Managers
Important Links
- Eligibility Timeline - https://kb.wisc.edu/79844
- Notifications - https://kb.wisc.edu/79454
- General Resources - https://kb.wisc.edu/80582
You are encouraged to use a shared repository (e.g., Office 365 Groups, G Suite Team Drives, Box Project Directories) to ensure continued access and appropriate permissions are set to access University data.
If you are a Human Resources representative or manager offboarding a retiring individual, please keep the following in mind:
- Individuals who retire from the University must apply for continuing IT services to continue their access to all affected IT services.
- If the retiree'status is not updated to reflect their continued access to IT services, they will lose access to all affected IT services.
- Learn more: https://kb.wisc.edu/80913
- Individuals who retire from the University must apply for emeriti status to continue their access to affected IT services
- If the retiree's status is not updated to reflect their emeritus status, they will lose access to all affected IT services.
- If the retiree applied for emeritus status, is waiting for their status to change, and is receiving deactivation emails, HR is encouraged to contact the HelpDesk and request their case to be escalated for further assistance.
- Learn more: https://kb.wisc.edu/80907
Retirees
Emeriti
Collaborators
The timeframe when you, as a collaborator, will lose access to the departing individual's files will depend on the service:
Office 365: Lose access 30 days after their status changes to indicate they are no longer with the University.
G Suite: Lose access 270 days into the deactivation cycle.
Box: Lose access 90 days into the deactivation cycle. Co-owners will lose access too.
Qualtrics: Lose access 270 days into the deactivation cycle.
If you lose access to files, please contact the DoIT Help Desk.
Reminder: As a preventative measure, you are encouraged to follow the steps provided in the table above before the individual leaves to ensure continued access to shared files.
Note: Account or data recovery is not guaranteed.
Best Practices when Collaborating with Colleagues
1. Use shared repositories to store UW-Madison data (e.g., Office 365 Groups, G Suite Shared drives, Box Project Directories)
Reduce risk of losing access to shared files.
Prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing University data.
2. Remove departing individual(s) from your Office 365 Group(s)
Individuals who retain access to Office 365 email and calendar after they leave the University (e.g., Former Students, Emeriti, Retirees with IT services) will continue to have access to Office 365 Groups.
Office 365 Groups will allow these individduals to continue to have access to Office 365 Group's OneDrive data.
If you do not want them to continue to have access to your Office 365 Group's OneDrive data, you are encouraged to remove them from your group.
- Reminder: Departing Faculty/Staff will lose complete access to all affected IT services. Former students, Emeriti, and Retirees with IT services will lose complete access to Box and Qualtrics.
3. Inform departing individuals to:
Transition ownership of files to a shared repository or to another individual.
Set an out of office message.
Avoid forwarding their UW-Madison Office 365 email to a third-party email service provider (e.g., Gmail, AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail). Forwarding email may result in failed delivery and/or quarantined messages. Learn more.