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Information Management Systems and Services
IMSS  /  Services  /  Accounts, Passwords & Access  /  Account Termination  /  Graduating Students

Graduating Students

The graduating student accounts are deleted annually in the fall. You will be notified multiple times in this multi-step process.

Access to all associated services which use access.caltech account credentials will be discontinued when the account is removed from our systems. This includes:

  • Email and Office365, ssh login, Box, VPN, Caltech site-wide software, Caltech Library databases, and the access.caltech web portal.
  • The only service we offer past that point is email forwarding, subject to annual renewal.
  • Students who would like to transfer their Box license to a personal account may also opt to do so by replying to the account termination notification message.

Account Termination

First Notice

Do not ignore account termination notices from IMSS!

We compile our lists of account termination candidates and then send out our first round of notification email messages about the impending removal, four weeks prior to the termination date. These messages contain complete information and instructions on what to do if your account has been identified incorrectly for termination, as well as how to request email forwarding if desired.

Second Notice

Two weeks later we send a second notification, with identical information.

Account Termination

On the termination date, we disable the accounts and they are removed from our systems shortly thereafter.

  • If we have mistakenly classified your account as a termination candidate, read the notification message carefully and reply to it according to its instructions.
  • Also please note that our account termination notifications do not require you to log in or "verify" your credentials. Simply reply to the message if you have questions or believe you were contacted in error.

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Alumni Account Request Email Forwarding Request
Alumni Account Request Email Forwarding Request

Alumni Email Accounts

If you are graduating and would like an alumni account, a request can be submitted at https://www.alumni.caltech.edu/alumni-email-faqs.

  • Student accounts will be disabled sometime in the fall, with advance notice given.
  • The content of your @caltech account will be automatically moved to your @alumni account as long as your alumni account was created and you have logged in to it.
  • For email forwarding information, please read below. Alumni email account FAQs may be found at https://www.alumni.caltech.edu/alumni-email-faqs.

Email Forwarding

If there is an email forward in place at the time of your account's deletion, it is by default continued for one year from the date of the account's removal, and subject to annual renewal thereafter.

To set up an email forward, please contact the Help Desk before your access.caltech account's deletion date.

Submit a request at https://help.caltech.edu (request type IMSS > Email & Calendar > Forwarding Email (Add\Remove\Update) Request Form).

When the year is up, IMSS will send you a notification that your email forwarding service is expiring. If you wish us to continue forwarding your mail, simply reply to the notification and request that we continue forwarding.

Archiving Your Account Files and Email

IMSS recommends that you download a copy of your account files (Office 365 and stored email) well before you leave the Institute.

Transitioning Your Website

When your account is removed from our systems, you will lose access to any personal site you host at Caltech. You should move your web content to another server. 

We do not automatically redirect web traffic but you can set up redirects so people (and search engines) will be directed to your new website's URL during the few months between your Commencement and the autumn when your account is removed from our systems.

Instructions:

Hosted Accounts

If you are in charge of an account for a club or class, you should transfer hosting duties to a current Caltech host before you leave campus, and notify IMSS via email to accounts@caltech.edu so that we can update our records about the club or class account for the new host. If the records for the account haven't been updated, the new host will not be able to claim ownership of the account for purposes of password reset or configuration assistance.

If you cannot remember which club or class accounts you are responsible for, we can go through our records and let you know those accounts for which you are listed as host.

Staying On At Caltech

If you have graduated but will remain at Caltech (as staff, volunteer, graduate student, postdoc), please advise us of your change in status by sending email to accounts@caltech.edu. Please include as much information as you can about your new status so that we can reclassify your account properly, and so we can let you know what to do to keep your current access.caltech account.