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CIT Departmental Policy
Deceased Person's Electronic Data

Originally issued: March 2005
Division: OIT/IT Policy

Policy Statement CIT regards electronic data as equivalent to other physical artifacts and WILL turn it over to the relevant office for possible distribution to the executor or administrator of a deceased person’s estate after proper review by the appropriate office.
Procedure A request for access and/or possession of the electronic data of a deceased person should be made to the appropriate office.
  • If the deceased person is a student, requests should be made to the Dean of Students, Office of Student Support at 607-255-3608. These requests may also be made to the Vice President for Student and Academic Services, and the University Registrar.
  • If the deceased person is an employee, requests should be make to the Office of the Vice President of Human Resources at 607-255-3621. 
If approved, university officers may contact the Director of IT Policy who will contact the appropriate custodians of the electronic data for compilation and distribution to the appropriate university office.  The constituent office will be responsible to distribute the material to the estate.
Related CIT/University Forms

Any forms necessary to process these requests should come from the appropriate constituent’s office.
Violations Violations would fall under University Policy 4.12, Data Stewardship and Custodianship.
Definitions University definitions are marked with an asterisk, all others are CIT definitions.
Term Definition
Executor the individual or office responsible for the settling of a deceased person’s estate.
Administrator person or office named by a court to be the executor of an estate. In the case when a person dies intestate, or without a will, the court will often name administrators.
FAQ

My wife was a faculty member and died.  Which office should I go to?

Office of Human Resources, which in this case represents both academic and non-academic employees.
Contacts

Requests for Estates of Students:  Dean of Students, Office of Student Support.  607-255-3608

Requests for Estate of Employees:  Office of Human Resources, 607-255-3621
Policy Clarification Director of IT Policy 607-254-3584