E-610.1 Computer and Network Use

The College's computer and information technology (IT) networks are its sole property. No person may use them without the proper authorization of the College. The computer and IT networks are for college instructional and work-related purposes.

This Procedure applies to all Students, Employees, and others granted use of college IT resources. It refers to all college IT resources, whether individually controlled, shared, stand-alone, or networked. It applies to all IT resources owned, leased, operated, or contracted by the College, regardless of whether they are used for administration, research, teaching, or other purposes.

CONDITIONS OF USE

Individual units within the College may define additional conditions of use for IT resources under their control. These statements must be consistent with this Procedure but may provide further detail, guidelines, or restrictions.

LEGAL PROCESS

This Procedure exists within the College’s District Board Policy framework and state and federal laws. A user of college IT resources found to have violated any of these policies will be subject to disciplinary action, including but not limited to loss of IT resources privileges, disciplinary suspension or termination from employment or expulsion, or civil or criminal legal action.

COPYRIGHTS AND LICENSES

Computer users shall comply with copyrights and licenses to software and other online information.

Software: Software must be procured in compliance with Policy D–554 – Procurement and installed and used under Procedure E-610.2 – Software Licensing and Installation on college computers.

Copying: Software protected by copyright may not be copied except as expressly permitted by the copyright owner or as otherwise permitted by copyright law. Protected software may not be copied into, from, or by any college system except under a valid license or as permitted by copyright law.

Copyrights: Besides software, all other copyrighted information (text, images, icons, programs, etc.) retrieved from computer or network resources shall be used in conformance with applicable copyright and other laws. Copied material shall be attributed appropriately. Plagiarism of computer information is prohibited, and plagiarism of any other protected work is prohibited.

INTEGRITY OF INFORMATION RESOURCES

Computer users shall protect the integrity of computer-based information resources.

Computer Security: When logged onto the College computer network, computer users are responsible for ensuring the security of the computer resources, including not providing access to unauthorized users and ensuring that workstations are not left unsecured.

Academic Privilege: In recognition of the unique requirements of specific educational programs, some Employee desktops/laptops are imaged with the default setting, allowing certain elevated administrative rights. Settings on those Employee computers may enable the following privileges, rights, and functions at the local desktop/laptop level.

• Installation and modification of programs, including those supporting peripheral and systems devices on the local hard drive.

• Ability to configure and connect to various computer resources, including printers, scanners, fax machines, date, time, power options, and other mobility resources.

• Ability to stop and start system services not started by default on local machines.

• Install programs that do not modify operating system files or install system services on local machines.

The College will not support any hardware or software that is self-installed/loaded per the elevated administrative rights noted above. Employees exercising the above administrative rights are responsible for all backup and recovery of locally stored files, programs, and settings. The above rights do not alleviate Employees’ responsibilities to ensure that all software is licensed correctly and stored in the Information Technology Services (ITS) department. If the exercise of the above rights results in a computer malfunction, interferes with everyday work-related tasks, or results in a loss of performance to the College network, ITS may re-image the Employee’s computer to eliminate the offending software or settings.

Employees are responsible for any self-installed/loaded software that may be removed during this process.

Modification or Removal of Equipment: Computer users shall not attempt to modify or remove computer equipment, software, or peripherals others own without authorization.

Unauthorized Use: Computer users shall not interfere with others' access to and use of College computers. This includes, but is not limited to, the sending of excessive spam messages, either locally or off College Premises; printing excess copies of documents, files, data, or programs; running denial-of-service attacks against college systems; unauthorized modification of college systems; attempting to crash or tie up college computers or IT networks; or damaging or vandalizing college computers, IT equipment, software, or computer files.

• Computer users shall not knowingly access, create, save, view, print, or download defamatory, abusive, obscene, pornographic, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive, or any biased, discriminatory, or illegal material not explicitly related to an approved work activity.

• Computer users shall not encrypt files or take other steps to block access to files unless specifically required to protect confidential or sensitive information related to a College activity or requirement. Computer users shall not probe, scan, capture data, or test security. Unauthorized possession or use of special tools for cracking security is prohibited.

Unauthorized Programs: Computer users will not intentionally develop or use programs that disrupt other computer users, access private or restricted portions of the system, or damage the software or hardware components of the system. They must also ensure they do not use programs or utilities that interfere with other computer users or modify customarily protected or restricted portions of the system or user accounts. Using any unauthorized or destructive program will result in disciplinary action as provided in this Procedure and may lead to civil or criminal legal proceedings.

• Computer users may not install personal security software or password protection schemes that prevent ITS technicians from accessing installed software on the network or local machines.

UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS

Computer users must not seek unauthorized access to information resources or assist others in gaining unauthorized access. Unauthorized use of equipment or data or suspected violation of college computer usage policies and procedures should be reported to the IT Director.

Abuse of Computing Privileges: Users of college IT resources will not access computers, computer software, computer data, information, or networks without proper authorization or intentionally enable others to do so, regardless of whether the computer, software, data, information, or network in question is owned by the College. For example, abuse of the networks to which the College belongs or the computers at other sites connected to those networks will be treated as an abuse of college computing privileges.

Reporting Problems: Any defects discovered in system accounting or system security must be reported promptly to the appropriate system administrator so that steps can be taken to investigate and solve the problem.

Password Protection: A computer user authorized to use a password-protected account may be subject to civil and criminal liability if the user discloses the password or makes the account available to others without the system administrator's permission.

Usage: Computer users shall respect the rights of other computer users. Attempts to circumvent these mechanisms to gain unauthorized access to the system or another person’s information violate college policies and may violate applicable law.

Unlawful Messages: Users may not use electronic communication facilities to send defamatory, fraudulent, harassing, obscene, threatening, or other messages that violate applicable federal, state, or other law or college policies or constitute the unauthorized release of confidential information.

Commercial Usage: Electronic communication facilities may not transmit commercial or personal advertisements, solicitations, or promotions (see Commercial Use below).

Information Belonging to Others: Users shall not intentionally seek or provide information on, obtain copies of, or modify data files, programs, or passwords belonging to other users without their permission.

Rights of Individuals: Users shall not release any individual’s (Student or Employee) personal information to anyone without proper authorization.

User Identification: Users shall not send communications or messages anonymously or without accurately identifying the originating account or station.

Political, Personal, and Commercial Use: The College is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization and, as such, is subject to specific federal, state, and local laws regarding sources of income, political activities, use of property, and similar matters.

Political Use: College information resources shall not be used for partisan political activities.

Personal Use: College information resources should not be used for individual activities unrelated to College functions except in a purely incidental manner.

Commercial Use: College information resources shall not be used for commercial purposes. Users are also reminded that the .edu domain on the Internet has rules restricting or prohibiting commercial use, and users may not conduct activities not authorized within this domain.

NONDISCRIMINATION

All users have the right to be free from any conduct connected with the use of college IT networks and computer resources that discriminates against any person based on sex or gender, national origin, religion, age, gender identity, gender expression, race, color, genetic information, sexual orientation, disability, military and veteran status, pregnancy and other protected class established by applicable state, federal, or local law.

No user shall use the College IT networks and/or computer resources to transmit any message, create any communication, or store information that violates any College Policy regarding discrimination or harassment, which is defamatory or obscene or constitutes the unauthorized release of confidential information.

DISCLOSURE

No Expectation of Privacy – The College reserves the right to monitor all use of the College IT networks and computers to assure compliance with these Policies. Users should not expect privacy when using the college IT networks and computer resources. The College will exercise this right only for legitimate college purposes, including but not limited to ensuring compliance with these policies and the integrity and security of the system.

Possibility of Disclosure – Users must be aware of the possibility of unintended disclosure of communications.

Retrieval – Information entered on or transmitted via computer and communications systems can be retrieved, even if a user has deleted it.

Litigation – Computer transmissions and electronically stored information may be discoverable in litigation.

Dissemination and User Acknowledgment

All users shall be provided copies of this Procedure and be directed to familiarize themselves with it.

A “pop-up” screen addressing the e-mail portions of these Procedures shall be installed on all e-mail systems. The “pop-up” screen shall appear before accessing the e-mail network. Users shall sign and date the acknowledgment and waiver in this procedure, stating that they have read and understand it and will comply. This acknowledgment and waiver shall be in the form as follows:

Computer And Network Use Agreement (Sample Language)

I have received and read a copy of the College Computer and Network Use Procedures and this Agreement and recognize and understand the guidelines. I agree to abide by the standards set in the Procedures for the duration of my employment or enrollment. I am aware that violations of this Computer and Network Usage Procedure may subject me to disciplinary action, including but not limited to revocation of my network account up to and including prosecution for violation of state or federal law.