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I am a member of staff leaving the University. When will my IT Services account close?

This information is for staff only.   If you are a leaving student, please see FAQ 5.

Your departure from the university triggers the eventual closure of your IT Services account.  The account closure sequence for staff is described further below, but first please take a moment to read our recommendations on what to do with your email and files.

WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR FILES and EMAIL

If you want to keep any of your files or mail folders, you must copy them to a portable medium of your own (such as a USB memory stick, CD or whatever) before you leave, and in any case before your account closes.   For information on taking copies of your Sussex email, see FAQ number 753.

FORWARDING YOUR EMAIL

To set up forwarding of your incoming Sussex email to another email address,  please follow the instructions in the My Accounts Email Options Guide. You can also set up an autoreply message at the same time, but note that the autoreply and mail forwarding will stop when your account is removed from the system.  IT Services is unable to provide an extended email forwarding facility for leavers.

Please note that you must not forward your email to another person because this could break the Data Protection Act, if the email is personal or confidential and nothing to do with your work.  Instead, set up an autoreply (see below) with instructions to send work-related email to an alternative contact address.

The account closure sequence starts when the appropriate Staff Systems officer updates your record in the central database so as to record you as a 'leaver'.  This triggers the eventual automatic closure of your IT Services account.

ACCOUNT CLOSURE SEQUENCE FOR STAFF

In normal circumstances, after you have left the university an email will be sent to your Sussex address about 14 days after your leaving date, advising you that your account will close in 30 more days time. Let's follow the example of an imaginary staff member, Ann Other:

All dates shown here are for example only.

1. Ann Other leaves the University on 30th April.
2. 14 days later (14th May), an email is sent automatically to Ann's Sussex email address, warning that her Sussex account is to close.
3. 30 days later (14th June), Ann's account closes.  Ann can however continue using her Sussex email for the next 30 days.
4. A further 30 days later (14th July), Ann's email and files are archived and Ann will no longer be able to use her account.  Any email forwarding and autoreplying stops at this point.
5. A further 30 days later (14th August), Ann's Sussex account and files are completely removed from the system.

IF YOU NEED TO ACCESS YOUR ACCOUNT AFTER IT HAS CLOSED

If you need to access your Sussex account after its scheduled closure date, please contact IT Services to let us know.   We may be able to reopen your account for a limited period, but only if the account has not already been archived and removed from the system (as in steps 4 and 5 above).  If you need access to your account for a longer period, please discuss your needs with your Section Head or your School Administrator.   This is because they may be able to arrange for you to be made an Associate for a limited period of time, which would allow your account to stay open.   You need to have a current 'role' (whether Student, Staff, Associate or Emeritus) at the University for your account to remain open, but IT Services cannot make role changes.