LITS guide for departing and retiring faculty and staff

Overview

Use this guide to help prepare yourself as you leave MHC. This article covers information you should know and steps you should take prior to your departure with regards to your MHC Account, file ownership, and College-provided equipment. 

In this article

• Understand how your MHC Account access will change
• If you have lead time, set up a temporary out-of-office email reply
• Manage your Google Calendar before departure
• Transfer Google Group ownership
• Review file storage locations
• Set an outgoing voicemail message
• Return LITS equipment and materials

 Understand how your MHC Account access will change 

As a general rule, employees no longer have access to their MHC Accounts once they leave employment at the College. To get specifics for your role, please review the relevant knowledge article:

• MHC Accounts for faculty
• MHC Accounts for staff
• MHC Accounts for contingent workers

If you have lead time, set up a temporary out-of-office email reply

If you are aware of your departure with some time to spare, you can set up an out-of-office reply a week or so early and it will continue to function until your account is suspended (details in the previous section about when to expect that). This can be useful for letting your colleagues and other contacts know about your departure and who to contact going forward. 

Google's instructions for setting up an out-of-office reply

 Manage your Google Calendar before departure

Transfer ownership of an entire Google calendar

If you manage Google calendar(s) that other MHC community members will continue to need after you leave, add ownership of the calendar(s) to an appropriate colleague. Once you’ve added the appropriate owners, unsubscribe from the calendar. This will effectively transfer ownership to them.

Considerations: 

• You cannot transfer ownership of your primary Google Calendar to anyone.
• You cannot transfer ownership of any calendar to someone who doesn’t have a mtholyoke.edu email account.

Transfer ownership of individual calendar events

If you’re the owner of an individual or recurring calendar event that will continue after you depart the College, you can follow these instructions for transferring ownership of that event. Note that the new owner needs to accept the transfer of ownership of the event by clicking a link in an automatic email. Until they accept, you’re still the owner.

 Transfer Google Group ownership

If you are an owner of an MHC Google Group(s) that will continue to be used, transfer ownership of the Google Group(s) to an appropriate colleague.

Not sure if you’re an owner of an MHC Google Group? See all the groups you own.

 Review file storage locations

Make sure your colleagues retain access to important shared files you created

Before you depart the College, save any files that your colleagues will need to continue using in a shared location. 

• In Google "My Drive": Important shared files should be moved into a Google Shared Drive that includes the appropriate colleagues. Files in Google Shared Drives will remain accessible to everyone who has access to that Shared Drive after you leave. If an appropriate Shared Drive doesn’t exist, please discuss with your supervisor before creating a new Shared Drive. 
  • When your Google account is disabled, files in your Google "My Drive" will be labeled "Pending Deletion" and collaborators will have 60 days (or until July 31, 2027—whichever is later) to move them to a shared drive before they are automatically deleted. More details.

• On your computer's hard drive: Important shared files should either be added to a Google Shared Drive or saved in shared folders in MHCDrive depending on the type of information they contain. If you need help figuring out where to store your files, review the College's Data Handling Procedures or contact the LITS Technology Help Desk. 

• Files already in Google Shared Drives or MHCDrive do not need to be moved.

Saving your MHC Google account data

• Faculty and staff are NOT permitted to use Google Takeout or Google Transfer to bulk download/transfer files from their MHC Google accounts. This violates the College's Data Handling Procedures. 
  • Faculty who have personal academic research materials are authorized to manually download and save their own work, but Google Takeout and Google Transfer are not authorized in order to enforce FERPA requirements. 
  • Staff data is considered the property of the College.

Set an outgoing voicemail message

If you have an individually-assigned campus telephone extension that people use to contact you directly on a regular basis, set an outgoing voicemail message to let callers know you're no longer at the College. When your extension is reassigned, that will be cleared out.

This is not necessary if you primarily receive calls to a shared department number that your colleagues will continue answering after your departure.

Return LITS Equipment and materials

 Computers and accessories

How to return

• Laptops and accessories for on campus employees should be be dropped off at the LITS Technology Help Desk.  
• If you have bulky computer equipment or are a remote employee, request support with returning IT equipment.

Policy details

• Per the College's Acceptable Use of Information Technology policy, departing employees MUST immediately return to LITS all computers assigned to them at the end of their employment.
• All computers purchased with College funds — including LITS funds, grants and endowed, departmental, research or special funds —  are considered College property and must be returned at the time of an employee's departure. This policy applies to retiring faculty with emeritus status as well.
• At the request of a Department Head, LITS can backup and share the files stored locally on  the computer(s).
• Computers of departed employees cannot be re-assigned to other employees without being processed first by LITS.
• In special circumstances, LITS may allow up to 30 days for the return of any equipment (such as remote employees or hybrid use). After that time, LITS may use available tools to lock, wipe, and/or remove MHC-licensed software while awaiting return.

Prior to departure, review the Personal-use computer and software discounts available to MHC employees article to take advantage of discounted pricing on computer hardware and software. Emeritus status faculty continue to have access to most of these services post retirement; however, all other departing staff and faculty will lose access once their MHC email is deactivated. 

 Library materials 

Return all library materials to the Circulation Desk or the 24 hour drop box outside the main entrance facing Clapp Laboratory.

 Media equipment 

Return all borrowed media equipment to Media Services.