Leaving Wake Forest

Are you a faculty or academic staff member leaving WFU?

WFU will disable your accounts, including Google accounts, when you leave the University at the end of your term of employment.. As I understand it, the particular disable date is based on the dates in your letter of appointment and/or employment contract on file. If your contract says you are employed until June 30, then I would expect the account to be disabled on June 30 or July 1. Once the account is disabled, you can not access material in those accounts. Some time shortly after the account is disabled, it will be deleted permanently.

Here's what you need to do prior to leaving. Start early! This could take some time.

1. Remove your WFU email address from any outside services or accounts

Did you use your wfu email address the official address (or login) for Amazon.com, iTunes, some journal, or some other site or service? Remember, your wfu email address will ultimately go away.

You will want to go back to companies, sites, or wherever you used it. Change it something else like a personal gmail address or some other email address. Remember, when you try to recover a password or make changes to an account, companies will often send confirmation emails to the address on file.

2. Get any data out of WFU Google services that you want to take with you

Dec 5, 2013 Update: Google now lets you directly download Gmail and Calendar data from your Account page. See the blog announcement. With this update, Steps 1 and 3 may not be relevant for most people any more.

Most of you are concerned with email and contacts, but don't forget about Docs, Sites, Picassa, and other google services tied to your WFU account.

  1. I've created WFU-specific instructions for getting your WFU Gmail and Contacts imported to a personal Gmail account using the POP server method. I would highly recommend taking the time to empty spam & trash folders and delete all the messages that don't really need saving/backing up (all the "yeah, me too" type emails) before doing the POP download.
  2. Alternatively, you could open another web-based email like a Microsoft Live account, a GMX account, or Yahoo to access and download your emails
  3. Here are instructions for exporting your Google Calendar.
  4. Google Takeout lets you download data from several services into a single archive.
    1. Services at this point (Apr 2013) includes: +1s, Buzz, Circles, Contacts, Drive, Picasa Web Albums, Profile, Stream, Youtube, & Voice.
  5. Notes on Drive:
  6. You can't simply add a personal Google account and switch ownership. Google only allows transfer of ownership within the same domain (only to another @wfu.edu google account). If you share your WFU Google Docs with a personal account, they will show up in the personal account, but they would disappear once the WFU Google account is deleted.
  7. If you are the owner of docs that need to continue at WFU after you leave, you have to transfer ownership of the docs to another WFU user
  8. You can select specific Docs and bulk download (or download all) directly from the docs interface. Look under the [More] button on the Docs homescreen.

The Data Liberation Front provides good, general information for getting everything out of Google. If you choose to follow their Gmail advice, I would highly suggest using Thunderbird and the POP server method as opposed to the IMAP method

4. WFU provided services like Sakai or Qualtrics

You will need to go into each service and export/save/download the iformation you want to keep. That data is not maintained forever.

5. Backup local data

Back up all of your local data on your ThinkPad. Use the method of your choice - web storage, external hard dive, DVD-R, emailing yourself.

Note on browser bookmarks: Before starting your backup, it is probably worthwhile to open the browser(s) you use and manually export the bookmarks in the format of the browser's choice (.json, .html, or whatever). Personally I use and love Xmarks to sync my bookmarks on all my browsers. Then I don't have to worry about importing and exporting. Just remember to use a personal email address.

6. Return your WFU issued ThinkPad (including the power adapter, network cable, and modem cable)

That equipment is returned to the Information Systems Service Desk at the Bridge in the ZSR Library (the Help Desk). There is paperwork to be signed and a receipt you need to get to prove that you have returned the equipment and are no longer responsible for it.

Do not leave your ThinkPad with an Instructional Technologist, Administrative Assistant, or another colleague.

7. Return any equipment or supplies issued by your department to your department

If you got it from an admin or an ITG, return it to the same person