Account Expiry Policy

This policy describes the process for deleting accounts of staff and students who have left The University of Edinburgh

The Policy is available below in HTML format; and is also available as a PDF - Account Expiry Policy 

 

Once a computer access account reaches its end date a process begins whereby the account moves through 3 stages: expiry, suspension and finally deletion.

Access to services is maintained while the account is expiring.

Following expiry the account will be suspended and users will lose access to most services, but no data is deleted until this period is complete.

The table below sets out the account expiry and suspension periods for different types of affiliations. Users who have more than one affiliation (for instance an Undergraduate starting a Postgraduate course) will continue to have access to the services for their continuing affiliation.

30 days prior to the 30 day suspension period users will receive an email advising them that their University account will close shortly. Staff, Visitors, Student withdrawals and Applicants do NOT receive the email notification.

Account Expiry Periods
Account TypeExpiry Period (Days)Suspension Period (Days)Total (Days)
Undergraduate Students15030180
Postgraduate Taught Students15030180
Postgraduate Research Students24030270
Student Withdrawal303060
    
Staff3090120
Applicants 3030
Visitors 3030

Accounts of successful Applicants are converted into Student accounts.

Students that withdraw from their studies will have an expiry period of 30 days. However any student who completes at least 12 months of study OR achieves an award prior to their withdrawal will become an alumni and receive appropriate service entitlements (https://www.ed.ac.uk/alumni/services). 

Account Suspension

In special circumstances computer access accounts may be suspended with immediate effect. This is normally as a result of non-payment of fees or as part of a disciplinary process.

Where the suspension is part of a disciplinary process this request must come in writing from the Head of School/Organisational Unit involved who should contact the USD Head of Operational Services or the Director of USD in their absence.

Contact information for User Services Directorate

They can then complete the following form to initiate the suspension process:

https://edin.ac/DIS-Account-Suspension-Form

Death In Service

We can help if you're handling a Death In Service situation. We realise that these times can be difficult, so we've created a process to help you navigate the tasks you need to do in relation to your colleague's IT services.

HR Death In Service process

After reviewing the above process, the Head Of School / Organisational Unit can initiate arranging the suspension of the account, backup & sharing of any data required, and adding an auto-reply to the account via the following form:

https://edin.ac/DIS-Account-Suspension-Form

Student Account Expiry Trigger

The expiry trigger is the same for all students. It is the final end date that appears on their record in EUCLID when a student is either awarded or withdrawn.

Usually, this will match up with the expected end date of their programme of study (assuming they haven't been withdrawn earlier than that or had an extension added for resits later on), so this will be always be a date before the student's graduation ceremony date.

Email address forwarding

Please see the University's Policy on email addresses for ex-staff should you wish to set up forwarding on your Uni email address to a personal one.

Policy on email addresses for ex-staff

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