You set the exit policies
Historically, Reclaim lets each Domain of One's Own school set exit policies for their end users that are most convenient for their community. Specifically, this means deciding when/if a cPanel account is to be cleared off the DoOO server and removed entirely. For example, a DoOO school might ask their students to migrate or remove their content a week after graduation; another might give their students six months to make the transfer. These deadlines could depend on when your students lose access to their email after graduation, or you might decide on other parameters, like last login date, to point out when accounts should be cleared off. Here's are two example exit policies that some of our schools have adopted:
- Every October: Active cPanel accounts is evaluated internally to see if they are being used; admins come up with a list of users that are ready to be cleared off.
- October 15: Mass Emails are sent out to list of users to let them know their account is going away unless they do X in the next 30 days (reach out to you, login with SSO, etc.) Feel free to add this language in emails as well.
- November 15: As needed, admins adjust list of accounts to be removed; When ready for removal, the list of accounts is sent in a .csv file to Reclaim Hosting to be suspended (taken offline, but still kept on the server)
- December 15: Suspended accounts are terminated in bulk by Reclaim Hosting (data is deleted)
- Every March: Admins work with Institution's Registrar to get a list of expected graduating students.
- March 15: Mass Emails are sent out to list of expected graduating users to let them know their site is scheduled to be removed after graduation, and that they should make plans to take it with them when they leave. Feel free to add this language in emails as well.
- April 15: Reminder email is sent out letting folks know that accounts will be suspended 1 day after graduation, and terminated 30 days after graduation.
- May 15: When ready for removal, the list of accounts is sent in a .csv file to Reclaim Hosting to be suspended (taken offline, but still kept on the server)
- June 15: Suspended accounts are terminated in bulk by Reclaim Hosting (data is deleted)
Migration paths for folks leaving DoOO
1. Staying with Reclaim
Reclaim tries to make the migration process for students simple. Students departing their institution can sign up for a shared hosting account with Reclaim, and then put in a support ticket to have their data migrated. Because Reclaim manages both the institution's server and the Shared Hosting servers, the migration can be completed very easily.
2. Moving away from Reclaim
If students wish to migrate elsewhere, they can do this by taking a full cPanel backup and then contacting the provider of their choice to ask about migration processes.
Feel free to use this language to provide an explanation of the process.
Gathering list of accounts for removal
Perhaps the most common metric and justification for account removal is usage. Logically, if someone hasn't used their account in a while, they're probably a safe bet to remove. However, there's no perfect way to define site usage, and what's considered acceptable usage will look different at every institution.
We have a few guides that can help with this kind of assessment, mainly in the Analytics and Reporting section of our DoOO support doc area. Our Gathering Usage Data for DoOO Accounts should be particularly helpful here.
When you're ready to remove accounts
Once the student’s account has been migrated off the DoOO server, the account can be removed from the server & deleted in WHMCS. You are welcome to do this on your own, but you can also request assistance from Reclaim Hosting.
In the event that you would like Reclaim to help with bulk account termination, send a .csv file with the list of accounts by their email addresses to be terminated. With this information please also inform us if you'd like these accounts to enter into a suspension period prior to official termination. This period typically lasts two weeks - 30 days, but you can adjust that however you'd like. This gives students the opportunity to notice a change in access, and works well for the scenario in which a student says, "My account is suspended, but I wanted to have it moved."
Alternatively, you could also choose to skip a suspension period altogether and move to immediate termination. However you'd like to do it, just let us know.