Change in account sponsorship rules and termination of accounts.

With our new account management system and improvements in how it interfaces with ANL’s HR system, we have made some changes in how account sponsorships are handled.

Previously, we required anyone who was not a regular employee in MCS to have an account sponsor, since we had no way of reliably knowing when employment ended for anyone not fitting that category.

However, with our close ties to ANL’s HR system, we now know of daily changes in status and can change account types accordingly. As such, to reduce the administrative burden across the board, we’re not requiring sponsorships for any accounts with a valid badge. Likewise, anyone with a valid badge can sponsor another account. Unsponsored, or “permanent”, accounts have no set expiration date. They are directly tied to the validity of the badge associated with them.

Unless we are notified otherwise, any unsponsored accounts will be deactivated the as soon as the associated badge is no longer valid. If you know your employment or appointment at the lab is coming to an end, but still wish to retain your account on a collaborator basis, arrange with someone beforehand to sponsor your account and let us know — in most cases we will be able to change the account before termination of the appointment and access to the systems can be uninterrupted.

As before, deactivated accounts will remain on the system (but locked) for 90 days. After 90 days of inactivity, the account is removed from all systems. At any point a user can request reactivation at https://accounts.mcs.anl.gov, however, if it is after the 90 day period, there is to be no expectation of data being retained.

Hope this clears things up, and please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!