1.0 Purpose

Account termination refers to the criteria used for determining computer account termination or removal.

2.0 Scope

In accordance with the “security standards” incorporated into the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, account termination must be an integral part of the College of Public Health Information Technology procedures and guidelines. Documented procedures for account termination reduces the risk that key information technology assets are accessed inadvertently or inappropriately by persons without authority.

3.0 Applicability

Account termination procedures are applicable to all College of Public Health departmental administrators responsible for terminating former employees or students. The Office of Information Technology is also applicable as a participant/administrator of computer account termination procedures.

4.0 Guidelines

4.1 Required

In general, it is against University policy to delete any HawkID computer account. Termination requires the account to be stripped of all access controls and rights, while maintaining the account.

4.2 Required

All College of Public Health departmental administrators must understand the importance of computer account termination.

4.3 Required

Good communication between departmental administrators and the College of Public Health Office of Information Technology is required, including account termination and removal of access controls.

4.4 Required

Collegiate departmental administrators must periodically update the collegiate Office of Information Technology on account status, such as account termination.

5.0 Procedures for Account Termination

• Upon the resignation, transfer, retirement, or fire of an employee or student, the appropriate departmental administrator must contact the collegiate Office of Information Technology to initiate the account termination process.
• After notification of termination of an employee or student, the collegiate Office of Information Technology will contact the collegiate Office of Human Resources to verify the termination, as well as the re-appointment status of the individual. In other words, in many cases an employee will be terminated from one grant funded project and re-appointed within the College on a different grant funded project. In this case, specific end-user functionality and resources can be maintained, rather than outright removed. At that time, access controls will be re-evaluated.
• If the individual is terminated, but re-appointed within the College of Public Health, the collegiate Office of Information Technology will NOT terminate the account, but will re-evaluate the individual’s access controls, authority, and privileges correlated with the new appointment.
• If the individual is terminated permanently with no plans for re-appointment within the College, the collegiate Office of Information Technology shall begin the process of stripping the account of all access controls, e-mail, remote access, and all other collegiate IT resources and security groups.
• The account will then be placed in the “No Rights” Organizational Unit within the Public-Health Active Directory Services domain.
• The account will then be added to the “No Rights” security group.
• Once the account has been stripped, it will no longer have the ability to authenticate to any collegiate IT resource and the account is considered terminated or dead.
• According to University policy, the dead account will then be transferred to the Iowa Active Directory Services Domain through automated processes for future plans, such as Continuing Education, Alumni Relations and Fund Raising, and Human Resources Information.
• If other non-HawkID or non-Active Directory computer accounts exist for the individual, they will be deleted immediately upon termination. According to University policy, a single logon ID principle should be implemented across all IT resources, unless there are special circumstances.

6.0 Contacts and Technical Experts

College of Public Health Office of Information Technology (384-3838)
cph-support@uiowa.edu

College of Public Health Office of Human Resources (384-1529)
kay-shie@uiowa.edu
janet-duncan@uiowa.edu