Information Management Systems & Services

How IMSS Deletes Accounts

IMSS handles account deletions in three different ways, as described below.

Hosted Accounts (clubs/organizations, classes, guests)
Bulk Culling by Group (undergraduate students, graduate students, summer accounts, staff, postdocs, visitors/visiting researchers, faculty)
Terminations Clearances (staff, postdocs, visitors/visiting researchers, faculty)

Hosted Accounts

Hosted accounts (clubs/organizations, classes) are valid for one year, renewable at the request of their host. Periodically we compile a list of hosted accounts whose valid-until date has passed, and contact both the hosted accounts and the hosts themselves about the status of the hosted accounts.

Hosts must themselves be current Caltech staff or faculty members. If a host is departing Caltech, he or she must send an update to IMSS giving new host information, and cc'ing the new host.

Individual Guest or Visitor accounts are also valid for one year, renewable at the request of their host. Please note that Guests must have an up-to-date record in Human Resources that reflects their current affiliation with Caltech. HR records for Guests can be updated using the Guest Data Sheet.

IMSS offers one year of inbound email forwarding to hosted accounts at the time of account deletion. To set up the forwarding, users must log into https://utils.its.caltech.edu/ before their account's deletion date and select 'change email settings' to set up the forwarding.

IMSS recommends that you download a copy of your account files (UNIX, Windows and stored email) and burn them to CD before you leave the Institute. The lab computers in SFL have CD burners available, though you must bring your own blank CDs.

In addition to your home directory on the IMSS Unix Cluster, you may have email in your legacy mail server inbox and on our regular mail system.

To copy your legacy mail server inbox, simply copy the file /var/mail/username on the IMSS Unix cluster, where username is your IMSS username, to the location of your choice.

To copy your regular mail system email (inbox and stored folders), go to the web page https://utils.its.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/get_mail_tarfile. After logging in there and following the instructions, please check to make sure that the resulting compressed tar file has all of your mailboxes in it. If you have any trouble with this procedure, or if the resulting archive seems incomplete or flawed, please notify unix-admins@its.caltech.edu ASAP and we'll assist you.

Bulk Culling by Group

IMSS compares our user accounts lists against both a UID database of who is has official Caltech status, as well as the online Caltech Personnel Directory, periodically for each group.

The following groups are culled in the fall: undergraduate students, graduate students, summer accounts.

The following groups are culled in the spring: staff, postdocs, visitors/visiting researchers, faculty.

We compile our lists of account deletion candidates and then send out our first round of alert email messages about the impending deletion, four weeks prior to the deletion date. These alert messages contain complete information and instructions on what to do if your account has been identified incorrectly for deletion, as well as how to set up a year of inbound email forwarding if your account is correctly scheduled for deletion. Two weeks later we send a second alert, with identical information. On the deletion date, we disable the accounts and they are removed from our systems shortly thereafter.

If we have mistakenly classified your account as a deletion candidate, simply read our alert message carefully and reply to it according to its instructions.

IMSS offers one year of inbound email forwarding to individual accounts at the time of account deletion. To set up the forwarding, users must log into https://utils.its.caltech.edu/ before their account's deletion date and select 'change email settings' to set up the forwarding.

IMSS recommends that you download a copy of your account files (UNIX, Windows and stored email) and burn them to CD before you leave the Institute. The Steele Computing Lab has CD burners available, though you must bring your own blank CDs.

In addition to your home directory on the IMSS Unix Cluster, you may have email in your legacy mail server inbox and on our regular mail system.

To copy your legacy mail server inbox, simply copy the file /var/mail/username on the IMSS Unix cluster, where username is your IMSS username, to the location of your choice.

Note that we've also posted specific information for recent graduates.

Terminations Clearances by Individual Account

IMSS is notified when a terminations clearance is filed. Unless we are instructed differently, we disable the account on the date following the termination date in the clearance, and remove it from our systems shortly thereafter. If there is an inbound email forward in place at the time of account deletion, it is by default continued for one year from the date of the account deletion.

This default behavior on our part reflects the generalization that terminations clearances mean that an employee is leaving the Institute (as opposed to transferring between departments or retiring, for instance) with good standing (for which we extend email forwarding as a courtesy service for one year).

Here is additional important information for administrative assistants and supervisors who file terminations clearances:

Note that a terminations clearance for an employee means that IMSS will close out all access to IMSS computing resources without further notice, which may include but is not limited to email accounts, forwarding aliases, and access to dialup services. There are five exceptions to this situation; please read the following carefully:

If the employee is leaving the Institute in good standing, we do offer one year of inbound email forwarding. If this is appropriate to your employee's situation but they do not already have it set up by their termination date, you may contact accounts@its.caltech.edu providing their full name and their new forwarding email address, and we will set up the forwarding and send them a notification email. If it is not appropriate to extend existing forwarding for one year in your employee's situation, please let us know.
If your employee is retiring, they may keep their IMSS account and related access to computing resources. However, they must come by room 312 Center for Student Services with their official Caltech Retiree ID to retain their account.
If your employee will be continuing as a volunteer after their staff status is over at the Institute, they need to file a Memorandum of Understanding with Human Resources which will also enable them to get an official Caltech Volunteer ID. Once they have that, they may retain their access.caltech account privileges.
If your employee is a Caltech undergraduate or graduate student, the termination of their staff status has no impact on their access.caltech account, which is classified in either our ug or grads categories. They should retain their computing privileges.
Academic collaboration often continues after a colleague has left the Institute. In certain exceptional situations, retaining an access.caltech account is absolutely necessary for such collaboration to continue. If this is the case, the departing individual's record in Human Resources must be updated to reflect their current affiliation with Caltech as a Guest. HR records for Guests can be updated using the Guest Data Sheet. Guest status must be renewed annually.

If your employee is in any of the above situations, you must let us know. Otherwise, we will go ahead with the default terminations clearance account deletion procedure as described above.

Please tell the terminating employee that any files or email left on a Caltech system can be turned over to their supervisor if necessary.