Handling Accounts Requests

System Logs

• Ignore mails from: 0000-Admin(0000), accounts maintenance software, root, and super-user
  • This is info sent from various server machines to accounts.cs
  • These include debug info, status codes, and system logs

Help Requests

General Process

• Try to find their userid, they may not have sent it from their uw mail
  • Using WatIAM tools for this is useful, or just ask them
  • Make sure to confirm that you have the right id
• Find out who is their point of contact, a reasonable guess is ok too
  • Your supervisor may know who to contact if you are unsure
• Respond

Response Template

Email

General

This is a template, it is not the perfect response to everything forever
It is based off of a successful response to someone who had a concern with Teaching

Hello Person P,

Since you will teach Course Q, Contact R will help you with your problem.
(S)he should get back to you shortly.

Account Expiring ('Your xxxx@student.cs account has expired')

Generally, you will receive an email regarding a person’s account expiring. The email that this person has received will look similar to this:

On Wed, May 01, 2013 at 12:28:22PM -0400, accounts@student.cs.uwaterloo.ca wrote:

> Your account, with userid "xxxxxx" on the server "student.cs" will be disabled on 29 June 2013, and the files removed shortly thereafter. This form letter doesn't answer all the questions that people often have about expired accounts, but here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.

> Please direct unanswered questions and problems to us at accounts@student.cs.uwaterloo.ca

Q: I know it's going away. Why do you have to keep telling me about it?
A: The repeated warnings are sent to make sure people really know that their accounts are going to be deleted. If you are certain you no longer need your account, let us know and we'll remove the account immediately.

---

Use the following steps to determine how to respond:

1. Determine if this person is an undergraduate, graduate, faculty member, or instructor
2. If they are an undergraduate student, check their WatIAM in order to determine whether or not they are a member of the Math/CS faculty
3. If they are NOT a member of the faculty, inform them that their xxxx@mailservices.uwaterloo.ca account is NOT expiring, only the xxxx@cs.uwaterloo.ca account will be terminated

• Be sure to cc: accounts@student.cs.uwaterloo.ca
• Below is an example of the appropriate response email:

---

Original Message-----
From: CSCF Help [mailto:cscfhelp@connect.uwaterloo.ca]
Sent: May-02-13 5:10 PM
To: 'xxxx@uwaterloo.ca'
cc: accounts@cscf.uwaterloo.ca
Subject: RE: Expired Email Account

Hi,

The email that you received only applies to your account on the student.cs.uwaterloo.ca network also known as the CS-Teaching environment. Your account being removed from this CS domain will not affect your Nexus account, your linux.cs.uwaterloo.ca or CS General account(xxxx@uwaterloo.ca or xxxx@cs.uwaterloo.ca).

Students are added to the student.cs.uwaterloo.ca network when they are enrolled in a CS course. The CS domain system automatically removes their credentials after the courses are finished, due to the high number of accounts created each term.

If you have any files on your student.cs.uwaterloo.ca network, you will want to move these before the account is deleted.

Let me know if this clears things up, or if you have any questions.

---

1. If the student IS a member of the Math/CS faculty, they should contact their TA, or be sent to their Instructional Support Group (ISG)
2. If it is an instructor’s account, they be sent directly to Omar Nafees (omnafees) or their technical (CSCF) point of contact (PoC). For a list of PoCs, see here.
3. If it is a TA’s account, they should also be sent to their PoC

* _Note: When a person receives the email informing them of the deletion, it means that someone (usually Adrian Pepper has done the (effective) removal. The files actually remain until the next month end_*

In Person

1. Determine whether the individual is a student, TA/tutor, or instructor.

2. Instructors can be sent directly to Omar Nafees (omnafees) or their technical (CSCF) point of contact (PoC). For a list of PoCs, see: https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/cscf/teaching/contact

CSCF PoCs will mostly aid professors and TAs/tutors with course websites (access to them and updating them), while administrative duties will be handled largely by the instructional support group (ISG).

3. Students will almost always be sent to ISG. If the individual has already seen their instructional support coordinator (ISC), they can be directed to a CSCF PoC. For ISCs, see: https://cs.uwaterloo.ca/resources-services/instructional-support-group-isg

If you are unclear whether a student or TA/tutor should be added to a specific course group, you can contact their ISC before having a CSCF PoC add the user to the group.

Other notes:

The ISG supports mostly 1st, 2nd and 3rd year courses and manages the TAs and tutors. Students may contact their TAs/tutors first before contacting ISG.

Take note of the user's name, where they have been, and whom they have contacted so far. Avoid sending them back to where they have already been.

for Teaching

• teaching points of contact
• Note: requests for changes to Sessional accounts (typically from cs-uops or Caroline Kierstead) should be recorded in the appropriate ST item, e.g. ST#98252 for W2015-S2015. The subject usually starts with "term switch". If it's not obvious, ask accounts@cs.

for Administration

• staff points of contact

for Research

• Lawrence (lfolland) or research points of contact

for Unclear tasks

• anyone in CSCF management