If you have received an email informing you that your Maths account is due to close please do not ignore it even if you think it is an error. Receiving such an email unexpectedly may be perplexing, worrying or annoying but please read through the relevant Q&As to understand why you may have received this, and how to change it if appropriate.
If you need to set up a collaboration or are continuing as a visitor the questions below will tell you what to do to ensure this is correctly set up with the resources you need for the work you are doing.
Glossary used in this document:
Academic - those who can authorise collaborations.
(List: DAMTP, and DPMMS )
BOM - Business and Operations Manager. Contact dpmmssec@dpmms (.cam.ac.uk) and damtpsec@maths (.cam.ac.uk).
BOM used to be known as Department Administrator or Department Secretary.
HoD PA - Head of Department PA.
What is my end date in the faculty database?
Your entry in the faculty database has an end date (also known as a review date).Long term collaborations and visits are reviewed every three years.
You can check what this is by
a/ Looking at your record
b/ Asking your group or pavilion secretary (DAMTP), or the head of department PA (DPMMS) if they could check your record.
Who to contact?
General queries: Your or your host's pavilion/group secretary. (In DPMMS the HoD PA).
- Academic collaborator in DAMTP ask the person you are working with to contact their group or pavilion secretary.
- Have access for teaching contact Deputy DA for teaching, UGO or PGO office.
- Summer Placement Students contact the person they are working with. Who in turn contacts the Deputy DA for teaching or the summer placements coordinator. *
- Staff:
- For queries on end date contact the maths HR office.
- If you are leaving and still working on a project ask the academic who the project is under to send an email to their secretary (or HoD PA in DPMMS) to start off the setup of a collaboration.
- If you are leaving, not working on a project but have a reason to keep access to the system then contacct the BOM.
- If you are a research student or mphil
- For queries on end date contact the maths postgraduate office.
- If you are leaving and still working on a project ask the academic who the project is under to send an email to their secretary (or HoD PA in DPMMS) to start off the setup of a collaboration.
- If you are leaving, not working on a project but have a reason to keep access to the system then contacct the Deputy Department Administrator (teaching).
Please do not contact IT.
The system is automatic based on your database entry. IT cannot 'hold' your account open while your database entry is being updated. If you urgently need a record extension then the people to contact are your head of department PA or BOM PA. Copying in your group or pavilion secretary is helpful.
My contract (or visit or collaboration ...) was extended. Your email has the wrong date.
It can happen that our emails are sent out just as you are arranging an extension.
It can also happen that you've heard of an update but it has not happened yet.
We advise if the date in the email is incorrect that you check it out. See who to contact above.
All the group and pavilion secretaries as well the the HoD PAs, HR office, PGO office and Undergread office can check your record for you.
How do I set up or extend a collaboration?
Academic collaboration: This is a collaboration to carry out research.
Procedure
1. The academic whose project is is or who its under authorises the collaboration. The onus is on you or the postdoc you are working with to ask them to do this.
2. This academic emails their group/pavilion secretary (DAMTP) or HoD PA (DPMMS). DAMTP HoD PA can be contacted if the DAMTP secretary is away. This email contains
- their authorisation for you to have a login on the maths system (known by some as a crsid).
- how long access is for (maximum three years at a time).
- start date for access.
- what you will be working on - project title suffices.
- which research groups the academic is authorising you to be in.
The email must be received from the academic. Statements to say the academic agrees are not accepted.
If the academic needs you to have more than just a login in maths they also need to contact the DAMTP or DPMMS Head of Department to make a case for which other resources you need out of:
- Raven
- University Email (@cam address).
- Department alias redirect (@department alias) While you are in the department this usually redirects to your University Email account. For collaborators it can be set up to go to an external address.
- Web Profile Page
- User web page.
Please use the same terminology as is on this page. And ask the academic to do likewise. Otherwise delays creep in when the wrong service is authorised.
Do not rely on the academic to ask you what you need beyond the standard login. If you, as the collaborator, need any of these extra resources then the onus is on you to discuss with the academic.
(If you are a staff/student member who is leaving in 2023 then UIS will give you a month's grace with the option to extend this by a further two months. Please use that in preference to asking for HoD extensions. If you need access beyond the date UIS give then first fill out the UIS extension form first. This takes a lot of pressure off people at the busy time of the year (September/October) as you'll have access to December/January and be able to arrange for the extra after the busy start of year period. UIS will email you shortly after your contract end date. )
3. . When the authorisation email is received it is passed by the academic's secretary to the HoD PA office. If the academic has also emailed HOD about an extra resource they will wait to hear back before processing.
If the academic knows they are not going to ask for an extra resource they can state this in their authorisation email. That will speed up processing.
4. . If HoD agrees to Raven or University Email then your date of birth is required to proceed.
Putting this in the initial authorisation email can speed matters up.
5. Once the HoD PA has all the information they need they will process the record. As part of that processing the academic's secretary will set up your research groups.
6. Your pavilion / group secretary contacts you or the academic to say all is done.
Postdocs
If you need a collaboration that gives you the same access to Raven and Email as you had as a postdoc here then the BOM may be able to directly assist you if you are continuing on the same project. This will be quicker than the above process but both are routes to the same thing.
Non Academic Collaboration, PASS staff, and academic collaborations which have no academic sponsor.
* Contact the BOM (damtpsec@maths, dpmmssec@dpmms as applicable).
* Make your own case for access.
* State clearly what you will need access to and why you need it. For email we need to know why you cannot manage with an external email address .
My visit or collaboration is extended do I need to do anything?
If you had any extra resources listed on the previous question (how to set up or extend a collaboration) and you continue to need access to them then you need to follow the process above. They do not automatically extend.
If permission is granted for you to receive one of these resources then you should receive a confirmation email from someone. If you do not then please check. Allow a week to arrange and setup.
Your host's secretary can check this for you.
I am changing from staff to emeritus
In maths if you retire and need to keep access to the department IT then
- If you are an academic who is becoming emeritus please contact the maths HR office.
- Otherwise please discuss your case with the BOM for the department.
I am just finishing my PhD, I need to keep my account open for a bit longer. What do I do?
Please contact the Post Graduate Office. They may be taking care of this already but do check with them. If you are finished your PhD then follow the how to become a collaborator procedure - above.
I am a research student. My PhD is all done and I am leaving but my supervisor wants me to do more research
Please ask your supervisor to set up a collaboration. The procedure for how to do this is above.
Where are the staff and student leaver forms and what are they
Summer 2023: These are out of service.
If you need continued access to your department alias or login and its not a collaboration please direct your query to the BOM. Your group or pavilion secretary can give you your account's close date.
If you want an auto reply put on your department alias for after your email alias closes contact your group or pavilion secretary. If you are making this contact from an external email address they will need to do extra checks to verify you are who you say you are. See the email question for more information on when a department alias closes.
I need access for teaching purposes
Please contact the Maths Undergraduate Office (undergrad-office@maths.cam.ac.uk)
I am a College Research Fellow, College Teaching Officer, Visitor, Visiting Student, Summer Student or Collaborator
Find the list of who to contact above.
If you are a college research fellow, junior research fellow or college teaching officer the secretary you contact may need to contact the Maths HR office to get a record update. Please allow time for this.
I am leaving a department research position but staying as a college research fellow
If you will be continuing in the department you will either be a college research fellow status, college teaching officer or visitor status. The person to advise you is your PI or the BOM.
If you go down the College Research Fellow, college teaching officer route your PI contacts the Maths HR office.
If you are changing to visitor or collaborator they contact their secretary and follow the collaborator process in a question above. That question also works for visitors.
Extra resources do not apply to college research fellows or college teaching offices. Their college is responsible for their raven and university email.
If your college is closing these then you are a visitor on our sytem and if you need continued access to Raven or Univeristy Email you follow the extra resource procedure which is explained in a question somewhere above this.
I am a visitor and will be returning in nine months for another three month visit. Can I keep my account open.
Your account will close between the visits. If you and your host need it kept open for active research please arrange for a collaboration. This will hold it open.
Can I keep my account for a little longer - I am not collaborating but need extra time / None of the above apply to me however I'd like to retain my maths login
Staff and student logins generally do not close immediately. They usually stay open for a month after you leave.
If you need longer and are not collaborating please make your request to the BOM.
I have a department alias - what are the arrangements for it after I leave?
Some people use department email addresses. These end in @dpmms.cam.ac.uk, @damtp.cam.ac.uk, @statslab.cam.ac.uk or @maths.cam.ac.uk. These usually redirect into your University email account.
staff and students
We keep these open for a few months after you leave in line with what the UIS do with your university email. (As much as we can - UIS close in batches and we do not).
If you want a redirection you put it in your University Account and on your lookup page.
Your University email address (crsid@cam.ac.uk) is the remit of the UIS. They have their own arrangements for closing that. In particular they (at the time of writing) allow you extend your email for a couple of months. The information is in the email they send you shortly after you leave.
If you want an auto reply on it you need to email the text of it to your group/pavilion secretary along side the date for it to start. When it starts your department alias ceases to function. The UIS will tell you how to set up the auto reply for your University Email. This extra step of emailing in for maths is because we have things set up differently to most departments.
Everyone else
If you have a department alias it will cease to work on the end date that was given to you when you were authorised to receive it. In exceptional circumstances an auto reply can be added. That would be the decision of your host and possibly the BOM/HoD.
What happens to my University e-mail when I leave?
Once an account is cancelled, mail and any data in OneDrive etc will be deleted by Microsoft after 90 days. This was at the time of writing. Always check the UIS email for the exact timings. UIS usually email between one and four weeks after your leave. If you didn't receive an email from them best to contact them directly.
Please move all mail and data before the account is cancelled.
There will be warning an email from UIS to remind you that your access is cancelled. There is a page advising what
actions to take on the UIS site.
For people of status research student and staff and those visitors who have University email: UIS usually send these emails close to after your end date. They send them in batches roughly once every four weeks.
In the email is the date your UIS accounts will be cancelled (including email) and how you can extend that date by ( up to about eight weeks).
If you meant to extend, but forgot and then your UIS accounts are cancelled then UIS may be nice and reopen them for you as if you had remembered.
You need to request that from UIS. Their contact details should be in the email you received from them. (Maths IT have nothing to do with this).
Before your university email is cancelled you can put in a redirect. Also put one on your lookup page. This will give you a few extra weeks of redirection for the time period between cancellation and deletion.
Can I send emails from my department address after I have left?
If you have collaborator access but are not authorised for department email alias you may not send.
If you are in your account close time grace period then you may.
How to add an extra resource after a visit or collaboration is set up?
You make the case to the acadmic who authorised your visit / collaboration. If they academic agree they make the case to their (DAMTP or DPMMS) head of department.
These are the resources that may be requested.
- Raven
- University Email (@cam address).
- Department alias redirect (@department alias)
While you are in the department this usually redirects to your University Email account. For collaborators it can be set up to go to an external address or to University Email. The discretion is with the person you are working with and the Head of Department. - Web Profile Page
- User web page.
If HoD agrees they contact their PA who will set things up.
The academic's secretary is the person who can check for updates. But do allow the HoD PA a few days. Their position is a very busy one.
If your collaboration is not academic in nature, or was not authorised by an academic then make direct contact with the BOM.
If you were a postdoc continuing to work with whatever you were working on when here you can follow either of the above procedures.
HoD / BOM turned down my request for extra resources or academic does not agree that I need extra resource
Correct action:
Ask yourself do you really need them.
If you do then you can appeal directly to HoD.
Heads of Department are busy people. They prefer to hear new reasons. Not a rehash of whatever they said no to.
Wrong action: Emailing the maths IT helpdesk complaining about HoD decision.
What happens to my webpages after I have left?
They stop displaying.
The contents of your user page (personal page) will stay in your home folder when it is archived.
What happens to any role email addresses I own?
Ensure that the group which owns them has other people in it. Those group members will own the address when your record closes.
How do I set a contact message on my email? (Also known as auto reply)
Set it up in Lookup if you have access to Raven.
Also if you have advertised your department address externally you want to copy this over to the department system.
Pass the following to your group/pavilion secretary.
i/ When you want the contact message to start. If your department email alias is open it will close when the auto reply starts.
ii/ The email address to use in it.
Please choose a long term email address.
These arrangements are subject to change in 2024 when the university's new email policy starts.
I want to close my account / email early
If you want to close your account or email early contact your group/pavilion secretary (or your host's if you are a collaborator).
What about my @cam email?
The UIS will email you about your @cam address and raven usually shortly after you leave. They have different forms for allowing extensions for different reasons. Please read their email carefully.
Your group/pavilion secretary cannot fill the form in for you.
I need to keep my email (or raven) open. I am not in a collaboration.
Apply to the BOM - business operations manager.
If the request is granted you may be set up as a non academic collaborator.
Be very clear which email service you are speaking about
- Department alias redirect (@damtp, @dpmms, @statslab...)
or
- University Email (@cam) with Raven.
or
- Raven (does not include email).
I use the University's HPC and it needs an @cam address
It is sometimes thought that because the university HPC emails @cam addresses that therefore you need to retain your @cam email in order to continue using the HPC. This is not the case. What the HPC need is to be able to contact you. You need to ensure they have an up to date contact address for you. This could be an external address or alumni address. .
However the service does need you to have Raven. Ensure the academic authorising your access has cleared this with Head of Department.
I need to use the HPC as part of my collaboration
Discuss with the academic who is authorising your access which type of HPC access they are allowing you for the collaboration.
You will need Raven access to have access to the HPC. This must be authorised by Head of Department. The academic who sponsors your collaboration is responsible for arranging this if they agree to your use of the HPC.
I am leaving but need to keep my university email (or raven) how do I do this
Generally speaking this is not permitted beyond the redirection time the UIS allow.
If you have a really good need for it then the steps to take are
(a) arrange a collaboration (see above near the start of this document)
(b) as part of it request the extra service you need. (how to is in same question as above)
Be clear from the onset that if you are not granted permission for the extra service you do not want the collaboration. This will save time and effort.
I am leaving my staff or student position and becoming a visitor not collaborator - are there any other steps.
Yes.
Check out the question on setting up a collaboration (near the top of this document). If you need any of those extra resources then the procedure given there and in the question about how to add on an extra resource applies to you.
Except the extra resource called profile page which you will receive automatically as a visitor.
Why did UIS or HR or CAMSIS or Alumni email me. I have a collaboration
UIS, HR, CAMSIS and other central University Offices do not have access to the maths database. Therefore they cannot see your new status in the maths database.
In addition, even if you have a collaboration, you are still leaving in their eyes so you must read their email and take any appropriate actions.
If you are unsure what to do the best people to advise you are:
Maths HR office (staff(
Maths postgreduate office (research students)
DAMTP BOM / DPMMS BOM (everyone else).
If as part of your collaboration you requested email you may be tempted to ignore the email from UIS. Please read it.
In their email is an extension form. If you need continued access to Raven or University Email you must fill this in.
If you need access for academic reasons for longer than the date UIS provide then follow the collaborator 'Extra Resource' process above AFTER you have received your new account close date from UIS.
The 'after' is important. It moves the pressure off IT at the busy September/October time of year to closer to outside of Full Term as UIS typically allow you two months in addition to their default one months grace you already have. It also keeps the order correct so no one overwrites the other.
I don't use University Email. I have an (old) maths setup and need to keep email after I leave.
If you do not use University Email but you have academic reason to retain access to email after you leave then for the above to apply you must first put your email into the state of someone who does use University Email in the standard way.
To do this remove all redirects down to the maths system. Then let help@maths or your HoD PA know when you have done this. They will then turn your maths email to redirect to your University Email (ExOL account).
Now you can follow our collaborator processes.
