Staff accounts - including email and storage - will be automatically deactivated upon the employee's termination date. Inactive student and employee accounts are deleted each November.

Resource versus Access

A resource could be email, storage, high-speed networking, parking (through employee or student purchase plans or in a designated contractor space), an office space, an employee or student ID card, etc. Think of access like a key. Rice may provide access but not resources to vendors so that they can work on equipment and infrastructure. Guests can be sponsored by faculty members for access to collaboration systems and spaces, but they don't get resources like email accounts. Temporary or complimentary positions are usually provided both access and resources. Where applicable, Rice provides contractors with access to restricted spaces and systems through authentication credentials, such as a NetID login. This access is only good while they have a contract with Rice. Once the contract is terminated the access is removed

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: When are staff accounts deactivated?

A: Staff accounts are deactivated when an employee is terminated (via receipt of a termination form by Human Resources) or 30 days after their last job/position has ended and not been extended (via timely receipt of personnel action form (PAF) by Human Resources). Messages regarding the deactivation of an employee's account are NOT distributed by IT because account deactivation is part of the termination process.

Q: When are faculty accounts deactivated?

A: Faculty positions are not included in the automated account deactivation and deletion process at this time nor are they currently planned to be included in the process in the future. Accounts and data for adjunct faculty positions may be removed during the normal account clean up/deletion period each year if the employee position is coded as complimentary in the Banner system. The annual account clean up/deletion period is typical during November each year and notifications are sent out to the account owner's email address well in advance to warn of the impending deletions.

Q: Will this change retirees retaining email?

A: At this time and based upon the Rice policy 422-98, retirees retain access to their Rice email account, but all other accounts are deactivated.

Q: What accounts are included in this process?

A: Accounts that are included in this automatic deactivation process include:

• Regular staff positions
• Complimentary positions (includes Adjunct Faculty)
• Temporary and casual/on-call staff positions
• Postdoctoral Research Associates/Fellows
• Research Scientists
• Research Technicians & Assistants
• Non-Rice employees with complimentary appointments

Q: What about Student Employees?

A: Rice guarantees email, storage, and other IT services for current students barring any disciplinary actions, so any Termination Form that ends employment for a student will not affect their accounts. However, departments should ask the Help Desk to remove student access to shared departmental storage and other department-related tools to which the student was granted access when s/he was hired.

Q: No exceptions?

A: There are no redirects for email addresses and no workaround to exempt former employees from the deactivation process. Security measures to protect university resources and data require strict adherence to termination date-related account deactivation.

Q: Can I get my old @rice.edu address forwarded to a non-Rice address after my inactive status begins?

A: No. Access to all Rice systems, mail, accounts, and applications ceases for inactive employees. For graduated students, you can create an alumni rice email account. 

Q: What if a mistake is made and we need to re-activate an account?

A: Please contact HR at extension 2232 to discuss this process.

Graduated Student Employees

Department Coordinators: If you hired a student who will graduate in May or who recently graduated in May, their Rice email account will be locked on their last day of employment.

Rice students who graduate in May typically receive a 3-6 month grace period to set up a non-Rice email account and notify all their contacts of their new address. If your student employees graduate but continue working for you during the summer months and then lose access to their Rice email accounts when their employment ends, please have them contact the Help Desk so we can manually re-activate their graduated student status to give them a few more months to notify their contact list of the new, non-Rice email address.