As Cornell employees take on new roles, shift departments, or prepare to exit the university, a variety of CIT teams help ensure smooth transitions for technology and data access. When it comes to RingCentral phone accounts, the Request Fulfillment Team works closely with departmental telecom coordinators to change or deactivate accounts.

Because RingCentral accounts are tied to an individual’s NetID and credentials, every change in staffing has downstream impacts. To support the fiscal goals of Resilient Cornell, CIT is clarifying best practices that help departments manage phone resources responsibly, maintain continuity for callers, and protect institutional data.

Deactivating Accounts When Employees Exit

When an employee leaves Cornell, their RingCentral phone number should be deactivated. This process prevents unnecessary charges to the university while placing a deactivated number in a secure pool for six months before it is eligible for reassignment. Departmental telecom coordinators can quickly initiate this step using a Disconnect RingCentral request form.

Because deactivation permanently deletes the account’s inboxes, CIT encourages employees to review and forward or clear any voicemail messages, chat messages, faxes, or SMS text messages from their RingCentral account before changing to a new account or before departing the university. Also, if someone is the owner of a team within RingCentral chats, they should transfer ownership—if the team plans to continue after the owner’s phone account is deactivated.

Reassigning Shared Lines

Some university numbers—such as main departmental lines—serve wider audiences and may be shared among staff. When a person who helps monitor one of these lines moves to a new role or leaves Cornell, CIT works with department telecom coordinators to ensure accountability for the shared number is reassigned in a timely manner. A quick consultation with the Request Fulfillment Team helps identify next steps.

Supporting Departmental Moves

Employees who transfer between departments can collaborate with both their current and future teams to determine what happens to their RingCentral number. Depending on operational needs, a phone number may remain with the original department, travel with the employee, or be deactivated to support Cornell’s fiscal resilience goals.

Instructions and form links can be found on the RingCentral Phone Number Changes web page. Contact the Request Fulfillment Team by email for additional questions about changing or deactivating RingCentral accounts.