Northwestern Offboarding Process

Northwestern Offboarding Process#

Northwestern researchers will be offboarded from Nightingale on their project end date.

The project end date is whichever of the following is soonest:

  • The last date the research group needs access to Nightingale, provided by the PI

  • The date access to controlled-access data expires, as outlined in the data use agreement (DUA)

  • The date access to Nightingale expires if researchers fail to renew

RCDS will work with your research team and the NCSA staff to organize any required data transfers and the removal of your project and its data from Nightingale. All data will be removed from Nightingale 30 days after the project end date.

Completion of Research Project#

When your research project has been completed and you no longer need access to Nightingale, the PI should email nightingale@northwestern.edu with the following information:

  • The end date of the project (the last day you would need access to Nightingale)

  • The name of the project on Nightingale

  • A list of all users associated with the project

  • Whether you will be moving data off of Nightingale

RCDS will work with your research team and the NCSA staff to organize any required data transfers and the removal of your project and its data from Nightingale. All data will be removed from Nightingale 30 days after the project end date.

Data Access Expiration#

Access to controlled datasets is rarely indefinite. Make sure you are aware of the end date or renewal date of your data use agreement (DUA) as that will also be used as your project end date on Nightingale if your DUA is not renewed.

Information about renewal or close out of dbGaP projects can be found on the NIH How to Request and Access Datasets from dbGaP page .

Nightingale Access Expiration#

Nightingale access must be renewed yearly for all users. This includes providing HIPAA and CUI data training certifications completed within the past year, which can be uploaded following the instructions on the onboarding page. The renewal deadline is November 1, annually.

If an individual fails to renew their access to Nightingale, they will be removed from the system and their home directory will be deleted.

If all individuals in a research project on Nightingale fail to renew their access, the project storage and software directories will also be deleted.