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Leaving the University

Before leaving the university, you have several options when dealing with the content you generated while here at SDSU:

  1. Transfer to another SDSU user -- If you own content that you created in collaboration with others at SDSU, and they are still dependent on it (and they are still eligible to use ArcGIS), then you should transfer the ownership of that content to them. For instance, if you created a StoryMap or Web Map for a faculty member to use in their research or teaching, then you should have ownership of those items transferred to them.

  2. Transfer to an ArcGIS for Personal Use subscription -- This is a fully functional environment, just like you have been using at SDSU, but just for you. You can transfer your content here, and continue to work on it and share it with others, such as potential employers to highlight your skills. It is also a great environment with which to continue developing and expanding your GIS skills, and includes free access to most of Esri’s training materials. It is for professional development purposes and cannot be used in for-profit activities. The cost is $100 per year.

  3. Transfer to another ArcGIS Online organization -- If you will be heading off to a job or enrolling elsewhere, and your new organization has their own ArcGIS Online subscription, you could transfer your content to their organization, if they permit this.

  4. Do Nothing -- You can, of course, delete any content you no longer need. Content will not be stored indefinitely after you leave the University, and eventually will be deleted.

If you need help determining what to do with your content, assistance with the various transfer options, or have other questions about ArcGIS, please feel free to submit a ServiceNow request. Requests default to ArcGIS Online. For support regarding ArcGIS Desktop, Pro, or other GIS software, change the Category to “Software” and the Subcategory to “GIS Support.”

SDSU ServiceNow: Geography Faculty, Staff, and Students
SDSU ServiceNow: General Campus Users


Frequently Asked Questions

Your access is tied to your SDSUid. As long as you have an active SDSUid, either as an active student, staff, faculty, or sponsored affiliate, then you will be authorized to use ArcGIS. Therefore:
  • Graduating students lose access one year from graduation
  • Other students, including those in credential and certificate programs, lose access 90 days after the final day of the last enrolled semester
  • Staff and staff volunteers lose access immediately upon separation
  • Faculty and Lecturer lose access 365 days after separation
  • Volunteer faculty (adjuncts) lose access 275 days after separation
  • Emeritus faculty may choose to retain their SDSUid and should contact HR at (619) 594-6404 for more information
Please submit a ServiceNow request for assistance. See links above.
Ask an SDSU faculty or staff member collaborating with you on the project to sponsor you for access. You may only use your access to ArcGIS as a Sponsored Affiliate for the purposes of working on SDSU projects
You will still be able to access content, if you shared that content publicly with Everyone, even after you can no longer login. You will not be able to access content whose sharing is limited to private or with a group. However, content will not be stored indefinitely. Please see below on retention periods.
Yes, if you shared content with a group, then other members of the group will still be able to access that content as they were before, as long as they remain active members of the University.
Yes, anyone can access publicly shared content without having to login.
Not through SDSU. You can obtain your own ArcGIS for Personal Use organization for professional development purposes, and it includes licensing for Pro and Desktop, as well as other ArcGIS components.
No. If you are using the SDSU Single-Use license with an Esri desktop GIS application, such as ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Desktop, CityEngine, etc., then you have to uninstall that license. You are not permitted to continue to use that license after you leave the university.

You can obtain your own ArcGIS for Personal Use organization for professional development purposes, and it includes licensing for Pro and Desktop, as well as other ArcGIS components.
Please submit a ServiceNow request. See links above. Indicate what content needs to be transferred, and to whom it should be transferred. You can organize your content in a folder in ArcGIS Online to simplify identifying what content needs to be transferred.
See the ArcGIS for Personal Use website for details.
Most ArcGIS Online content can be transferred using ArcGIS Online Assistant, however, one notable exception is ArcGIS StoryMaps. For assistance with content that cannot be transferred via ArcGIS Online Assistant, please submit a ServiceNow request. See links above.
You may need to contact the administrators of the destination organization.

Most ArcGIS Online content can be transferred using ArcGIS Online Assistant, however, one notable exception is ArcGIS StoryMaps. For assistance with content that cannot be transferred via ArcGIS Online Assistant, please submit a ServiceNow request. See links above.
The content you have stored in ArcGIS Online, such as Web Maps, StoryMaps, Feature Layers, etc., will not be deleted immediately when you leave the University.

While we cannot guarantee your content will kept at all after you leave the University, our plan is to only delete content when:
  • Content owner has not logged in during the last 2-years and no one has viewed the content in the last 3-years
  • Content owner has not logged in during the last 3-years and no one has viewed the content in the last 2-years
  • Content owner has not logged in during the last 4-years and no one has viewed the content in the last 1-year
  • Content owner has not logged in during the last 5-years