Question: How to bulk transfer content from one employee’s Box account to another employee’s account (typically because they are separating from the University and the department needs to retain access to certain files).

Context: Box.nd.edu service - for faculty and staff accounts only

Answer: Before an employee leaves the department, make sure to request that their Box content be moved from their account to another employee’s (preferably their manager).

For Box, ownership is associated with folders, not individual files. This makes the transfer of ownership from one person to another a  straightforward process. With Box, you can pick which folders need to be transferred to another account without having to transfer all content at once.

Here is a sample email that the separating employee can send to oithelp@nd.edu:

My name is <your name> and my Notre Dame NetID is <your netid>. I work in <dept> and am leaving the university (or the department) on <date>. I request that all content <or list specific folders> where I am listed as the ‘owner’ in my Notre Dame Box account be transferred to <current employee name and NetID>.

When sending the email, please copy your manager as we will need manager approval to change ownership of your files - even if the transfer is to your manager

Box will not automatically notify you when the transfer is complete. If you need to be notified when the transfer is complete, please include that in your email to the OIT Help Desk and the system admin that completes the process will send you a confirmation.

The separating employee is not removed from the transferred folders and files. Their access remains, but they are now an Editor of the content rather than the owner so the transfer can be done well before the person leaves the University.

If the separating employee does not submit the request above before their last day worked, there are still other options available, but they do take more time to complete. 

When an employee has left the university, but approves the transfer when the department contacts them. In this situation, the separated employee can email oithelp@nd.edu with their personal email account. Make sure to CC: your manager in this circumstance because they will have to verify your identity and approve the transfer for the OIT. Here is a sample email:

My name is <your name> and my Notre Dame NetID is <your netid>. I worked in <dept> and have since left the university.  I request that all content <or list the individual folders> where I am listed as the ‘owner’ in my Notre Dame Box account be transferred to <current employee name>. My manager, <manager’s name> is included in this email thread and can verify my identity and approve the transfer.

If the separated employee cannot be contacted or does not respond to repeated attempt to contact them, then their manager will need to request access to their account by submitting a Request Access to Another Account form. This request will be reviewed by Information Security staff and will require approval from several university leaders. Once the request is approved, contact the OIT Help Desk for assistance in transferring the data, including the case number from the Request Access to Another Account.