Before your account expires, you must transfer ownership of any University files you own on University-provided services. This includes Box, Microsoft OneDrive, Electronic Research Notebooks (LabArchives), Lecture Capture (Panopto), the eSignature Service (DocuSign), and the Online Survey System (Qualtrics). Anyone you've shared files with will lose access once your account expires unless ownership has already moved to another University account.
⚠ Do this before your last day, not after.
Once your account expires, you lose the ability to transfer ownership yourself, and collaborators you shared files with lose access. Start these transfers as soon as you know your departure date.
Quick Reference by Service
University-provided services, self-service transfer availability, and who to contact if you can't transfer it yourself
| Service |
Self-Service Transfer? |
Method |
| Box |
Yes |
Reassign the Owner role on a shared folder |
| OneDrive |
Yes (with a co-owner's help) |
Grant access, then have the new editor move and re-share the content |
| LabArchives |
Yes |
Notebook Settings → User Management → Transfer Ownership |
| Panopto |
Yes |
Drag videos into a folder shared by the new owner |
| DocuSign |
No |
Submit a Help Desk request; an administrator completes the transfer |
| Qualtrics |
No |
Submit a Help Desk request to transfer to your supervisor |
Transfer Instructions by Service
Select a service below to expand its transfer steps.
Box Self-Service
Before you begin, make sure the folder is already shared with the person you're transferring ownership to. You must be the current owner of the folder to complete these steps.
- Select the folder. Collaborators appear in the right-hand pane.
- Select the ellipsis beside a collaborator's name and choose Owner from the dropdown list.
- If a confirmation message appears, select Okay.
Note: Two things to plan for.
Transferring a folder with a large number of subfolders can time out — retry if the first attempt doesn't complete. Once ownership transfers, you can no longer add or remove collaborators on that folder.
Microsoft OneDrive Self-Service
OneDrive has no direct "transfer ownership" action. Instead, you grant a co-owner access, and that person moves the content into their own OneDrive and re-shares it.
- Open your OneDrive file library in a web browser.
- Right-click the folder you want to transfer and select Details.
- Select the Manage Access link in the panel that appears.
- Select Grant Access, search for the person you're transferring to, and select their name.
- Leave the permission set to Can Edit. Optionally add a note explaining the transfer, then select Grant Access.
- The new editor will see the folder in their own OneDrive under the Shared tab.
- Ask them to move the folder's contents into a new folder in their own OneDrive, Microsoft Team, or SharePoint library, then re-share that new folder with everyone who had access to the original.
Electronic Research Notebooks (LabArchives) Self-Service
Departing research staff must transfer ownership of all notebooks to another University account for record-keeping, under the same Guidelines for Research Data Management that apply to other research data. Contact the Technology Help Desk if you're unsure who should receive ownership.
- Select the notebook to transfer from the Notebook Navigator dropdown in the left-hand column.
- Select the menu icon in the upper-right corner and choose Notebook Settings.
- Select User Management on the left-hand side.
- If the notebook isn't already shared with the new owner, select New User in the upper-right corner and add them.
- Select the Transfer Ownership icon next to your name.
- Select the user to transfer to, then select Transfer Ownership and confirm with OK.
Note: Keeping a personal copy.
If permitted, you can also export a notebook to PDF or an offline format to keep a portable copy for your own records.
Lecture Capture (Panopto) Self-Service
- Ask the colleague receiving the video(s) to create a new folder in their own Panopto account.
- Ask them to share that folder with you and set your permission to "can create."
- Log in to your Panopto account and locate the video(s) to transfer.
- Drag the video(s) into your colleague's shared folder, which appears on the left under My Folders.
- Select OK to confirm the transfer.
eSignature Service (DocuSign) Help Desk Required
You cannot transfer ownership of envelopes or templates to another DocuSign user yourself.
- Submit a request to the Technology Help Desk.
- A DocuSign administrator will follow up with you to complete the transfer.
Online Survey System (Qualtrics) Help Desk Required
You cannot transfer ownership of surveys or survey results to another Qualtrics user yourself — ownership can only move to your supervisor, and only through the Help Desk.
- Submit a request to the Technology Help Desk before your last day, naming your supervisor as the new owner.
Troubleshooting
A Box transfer times out partway through.
This is more common with folders that contain a large number of subfolders. Try the transfer again — it typically succeeds after a retry or two.
I need help deciding who should receive ownership of a research notebook.
Contact the Technology Help Desk for guidance before your account expires.
My DocuSign or Qualtrics request hasn't been actioned yet.
Both transfers require an administrator to complete manually. If it's been more than a few business days, follow up on your existing Help Desk ticket rather than submitting a new one.
Note: Still have questions?
Contact the Technology Help Desk at
412-624-HELP (4357) for help with any of the services above.