Loss of University Affiliation

Affiliation Loss Policy

When you lose affiliation with the university, such as through graduation or leaving a work position, access to HPC resources will be automatically terminated on the effective date listed in the University of Arizona Records Database.

Unfortunately, we are unable to extend HPC access for those losing affiliation. However, you may regain access by registering as a Designated Campus Colleague (DCC) through Human Resources. Once approved, DCCs can request sponsorship from a university faculty member.

Retirement and Emeritus Faculty

HPC users who retire retain their university affiliation and are entitled to maintain access to HPC resources. However, emeritus faculty are not eligible for Principal Investigator (PI) status. This means:

• They will not be able to sponsor new users.
• They may not request additional storage such as xdisk.
• They must be sponsored by an active university PI or faculty member to maintain continued access the system. To request HPC sponsorship, see the I'm a student, postdoc, staff member, or Designated Campus Colleague dropdown under How to Register on our account creation page.

Note that emeritus faculty will be able to retain their /groups storage space. However, if there is a gap between when their faculty position ends and their emeritus status begins, their /groups allocation may be removed for the duration of their affiliation loss and all associated data deleted. It's important to back up all HPC data to prevent unwanted loss. If any files have been removed, retrieval may be possible if you contact our consulting services as soon as possible. Retrieval of deleted /groups data after 90 days have elapsed is not possible.

Data After Affiliation Loss

Non-PI Users

Home directory data are retained for 90 days following loss of affiliation. If university affiliation is reestablished and HPC access is restored within those 90 days, files will be accessible upon login.

Data stored in shared locations such as /groups or /xdisk persist for as long as the storage location is available (see below) and are not deleted after affiliation loss. However, it should be noted that without access to HPC, data will not be directly downloadable by the user. Users will want to plan ahead of time and retrieve any data they need off the system before they lose access. Otherwise, users will need to coordinate with active group members who may retrieve their data on their behalf. If file permission changes are needed, contact our consultants and they can help.

PIs

Home directory data are retained for 90 days following loss of affiliation. If university affiliation is reestablished and HPC access is restored within those 90 days, files will be accessible upon login.

A PI's communal /groups directory will be removed on the first day of denial of access. PI's should coordinate with their group members to ensure data are moved off the system prior to this to prevent data loss. The exception is if the faculty member is retiring with emeritus status or transitioning to DCC status, provided there is no gap in affiliation between their faculty status and the new role. In this case, they may retain their /groups directory.

Similar to above, a PI's communal directory /xdisk will be removed on the first day of denial of access. The exception is if the faculty member is retiring with emeritus status or transitioning to DCC status, provided there is no gap in affiliation between their faculty status and the new role, then the xdisk will remain until its expiration date. It should be noted that because emeritus faculty and most DCC affiliates are not classified as PIs, once the xdisk expires, a new one cannot be requested.

If a communal directory (/xdisk or /groups) has been deleted and data retrieval is needed, contact us immediately and we may be able to restore your files.