uNID Account Life Cycle
uNID Account Life cycle
(OIT - 2006)
Creation
When Administrative Computing Services (ACS) issues a StudentID or EmplID, the account is created. Accounts for incoming freshmen and new employees at the University of Utah are created automatically.
Active Phase
Once a user resets their password in the CIS system (http://gate.acs.utah.edu), their account is activated and their email store and user home directory are created. The account provides the owner access to OIT services and resources such as email, campus modem pool, Web space for personal home pages, etc. For a list of services available with your uNID, see www.it.utah.edu/services/connected/unid.html#services. Your initial email address is (your) uNID@utah.edu. Visit https://unid.utah.edu to set a preferred e-mail address.
Transition
When students, faculty, or staff member leave the University system, their account enters a transition period. This includes students who have graduated or transferred to a new university, faculty or staff who have left the University or retired, etc. Accounts remain active throughout the transition period, unless termination is requested or the account is used in a manner not compliant with University policy. During this time, users should obtain a new email address and actively inform correspondents to use the new address. Preferences can be set for email to be forwarded to the new address during the transition period. Personal backups of files should also be made at this time, since the account will not be accessible to the owner after the transition period. Extensions may be granted in some circumstances. The transition period for faculty and staff is six months. For students this period is two semesters. Summer sessions are counted as part of the spring semester. Therefore, students who do not return for the spring semester will continue to have active accounts unless they fail to enroll for the following fall semester.
Lockdown
After the transition period ends, the account is locked and can no longer be accessed. The purpose of the lockdown is to effectively terminate the account, but allow for quick restoration in the event that the owner returns to the University system. All files in the account are preserved during the lockdown period. For faculty and staff this period is six months. For students this period is one semester with summer sessions counted as part of the spring semester. Extensions to this period may be granted in some circumstances.
Termination
After the lockdown period the account is deleted along with all files in the assigned home directory. No archive is made -- all data is permanently and irretrievably lost. Extensions to this period may be granted in some circumstances.
Other
If a department needs employee access to OIT services (UMail, wireless, VPN/Dial up) disabled sooner, they should contact the Campus Help Desk and let them know the date that services need to be disabled.
In cases where the employee is still a University of Utah student, OIT can only remove departmental aliases and access to departmental resources. Based on the current policy set by Student Affairs, students are eligible for email accounts as long as they meet one of the following criteria:
- They have been admitted to the University for the current/upcoming term.
- They have been enrolled in a course within the last 3 semesters.
- They are currently enrolled.
For More
To contact the Campus Help Desk, call 581-4000 option 1, or email them at helpdesk@utah.edu.
