Returning to Oxford

Introduction

A person who returns to Oxford after a period away will be allocated the same username that they had originally. If the gap between leaving and returning is less than five months and 30 days for undergraduate or postgraduate students (card types UG, GR or GT), or less than 30 days for staff and other students, the mailbox will be restored. If the gap is longer than this a new empty mailbox will be created.

There is special provision for students who are due to finish but have an offer on a course in the next academic year.

Returning students

The accounts of students who will potentially be starting a new course in the next academic year are extended until the end of week 2 of Michaelmas term.

Please note that University card finish dates are not changed. If a returning student needs a current card over the summer, they should be issued with an Academic Visitor card. If a physical card is required for door access etc., the simplest solution is for the student to request a library card. Note: Do not ask students to request a Cardholder card - that will cause their mailbox to be removed

The process is as follows:

• IT Services receives student records with an offer (conditional or unconditional) for the next academic year from the Student System.
• Before the end of June, the project times of Single Sign-On (SSO), Nexus365, VPN and Remote Access accounts belonging to returners will be set to the end of week 2 of Michaelmas term. This prevents account expiry warning and card expiry warning messages being sent to returning students.
• An email message is sent to potential returners informing them of what was done - see below for the text.
• When students return their contract, their records will be automatically updated.
• Students who don't take up their offer will be warned in the usual way that their accounts will expire. As with all leavers, their SSO accounts only, will be extended to twenty-three months after card expiry. Their email accounts will be disabled at the end of week 2.

Text of email sent to returning students

Dear $Firstname/$KnownAs $Lastname ($username),

We are writing to update you about your Oxford email and other online access over the long vacation and before your new course begins next academic year.

Your Oxford email and other online accounts are currently due to expire before the start of Michaelmas term, however, as you are continuing at Oxford on a new course, these have been automatically extended until <Date>. If you fully accept your offer to continue your studies, your accounts will then be further extended to your new course end date.

If you are changing college, you will keep your Oxford email account, but will be assigned a new email address once your University Card is updated. If you are starting a postgraduate course, you will also be assigned a departmental email address.

Please note, you will not be issued with a new username, so you should continue to use your existing details: ($username).

For further information about your Oxford email and other online accounts, visit the self-registration page https://register.it.ox.ac.uk/ .

If you choose not to accept your place on your course next year, you will not be able to access your Oxford email after <Date>.

If you have any questions, please contact the Central IT Service Desk, https://www.ox.ac.uk/staff/it/get-support.