TABLE OF CONTENTS
Proper Use of Computer Resources
Randolph-Macon College makes computing facilities available to students, faculty, and staff for their use in pursuing the educational and research goals of the College. When a community shares any resource, the community needs to adopt a set of principles that determine what constitutes proper use of that resource. Such principles should assure that the resource is put only to uses that are ethical, legal, responsible in terms of preservation of the resource, and considerate of all members of the community. The following regulations are intended to serve as a basic outline of such a set of principles for Randolph-Macon's computing facilities.
Note: Violating these rules, or the principles upon which they are based, constitutes an offense against the Randolph-Macon community and will be treated as such. Punishment for such violation ranges from removal of computing privileges to action under the College's Code of Academic Integrity to prosecution under laws including but not limited to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (as amended), the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986, the Computer Virus Eradication Act of 1989, Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property, the Virginia Computer Crimes Act, and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
TECHNOLOGY REGULATIONS
1. Computer facilities and accounts are owned by the College.
2. Consideration of and respect for the rights, property (whether intellectual, electronic, or material), and time of others are central to the responsible use of computing facilities.
3. Inconsiderate or malicious actions such as stealing or using another's password or data, degrading the performance of the computer system, employing abusive or objectionable language, using more than one machine except where required for class work, and using another person's account are forbidden. These facilities are for use by all Randolph-Macon students, faculty and staff. Any action that interferes with another person's use is prohibited.
4. Computing resources must be conserved. Do not waste them by sending prank messages, printing or downloading large files, sending chain mail, or other frivolous actions. Do not destroy equipment or resources. Since network disk space is limited and is purged at appropriate times, users should keep their files on their own diskettes unless instructed otherwise.
5. All use of computing facilities must be authorized. Unauthorized access to labs outside of posted hours is not permitted.
6. Only authorized software may be used on College-owned facilities. The use of personal copies of software on R-MC equipment without permission is not allowed.
7. Use only legal versions of copyrighted software in compliance with vendor licenses. Piracy of computer software is stealing and is punishable by law. It will not be tolerated at Randolph-Macon College. Public Domain software is for use by the College and is not intended to be passed on to users.
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Unacceptable use of resources includes:
- Using another person's system, User ID, password, files, or data without permission.
- Use computer programs to decode passwords or other access control information.
- Attempts to circumvent or subvert system or network security measures.
- Endangering network resources by purposefully engage in any activity that might be harmful to systems, their security or to any information stored thereon, such as creating or propagating viruses, disrupting services, damaging files, or making unauthorized modifications to College data.
- Using College systems for commercial purposes, such as using electronic mail to circulate advertising for products.
- Downloading, copying or using illegal copies of copyrighted materials in print, audio or video formats; storage of such copies on College systems, or transmit them over College networks.
- Use email or messaging services to harass, intimidate, or solicite another person, for example by broadcasting unsolicited messages, by repeatedly sending unwanted mail, or by using someone else's name or User ID.
- Wasting computing or network resources (e.g., by connecting privately owned wireless equipment {router, bridge, etc.} to the College network, intentionally placing a program in an endless loop, by printing on excessive amounts of paper, or by sending chain letters or unsolicited mass mailings).
- Using the College's systems or networks for personal gain (e.g., by selling access to a User ID or to College systems or networks or by performing work for profit with College resources in a manner not authorized by the College).
- Engage in any other activity that does not comply with the general principles outlined above.
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Policy Enforcement
The College considers any violation of acceptable use or guidelines to be a serious offense and reserves the right to copy and examine any files or information resident on college systems allegedly related to unacceptable use. Violators are subject to college disciplinary action. All current and future policies of the college are applicable and enforceable in regards to network use. These include, but are not limited to, the R-MC policy on nondiscrimination (including harassment), the Code of Academic Integrity, and all policies printed in the student handbook (FishTales), the faculty handbook, and the staff handbook. In addition, copyright and intellectual property laws and all federal and state laws, including those regarding distribution of obscene materials, are applicable.
1. The Role of Privacy on the R-MC Network
While the college respects and encourages each individual's right to privacy, it reserves the right to view all files for the purposes of administering and maintaining the system or to investigate complaints from other users or law enforcement officials. Users of the R-MC network are expected to respect the privacy of other users and are prohibited from breaking into individual, departmental, office, or system files or from using another person's access code in order to obtain or alter information in those files. Remember that college owned equipment and network assets are for activities directly associated with the mission of the institution. College assets are not for personal use for entertainment, social activities outside the college, or for use in personal business transactions (such as sale of personal property, or advertising personal or commercial business transactions, etc.)
2. Compliance With This Policy
Web Documents and Pages
The World Wide Web Committee, under the authority of the president of the college, may investigate documents which do not comply with this policy. Questions about the policy or reports of noncompliance may be addressed to any member of the committee at any time. Upon receipt of a notice of a possible problem, the committee chair will investigate. If, in the chair's opinion, a page is not in compliance with these policies, he/she may temporarily take it off-line, pending a meeting of the World Wide Web Committee to review the problem. In the absence of the committee chair, any member of the committee may take immediate action to shut down a site temporarily, pending further review by the committee. If the committee concludes that a violation of this or other college policies or of state or federal laws has occurred, the violation will be forwarded to the appropriate authority. Violations not covered by existing college policies will be handled directly by the World Wide Web Committee. In addition, where state and/or federal laws have been violated, the college reserves the right to cooperate with authorities of these jurisdictions. This means that any communication or record of any communication is subject to interception or monitoring by the College at any time.
Network Resources and Computers
Issues that deal with suspected illegal or inappropriate use of College network or computing equipment should be reported to the Director of Information & Technology Services (ITS). Upon receipt of a notice of a possible problem, the ITS Director will investigate. If, in the ITS Director's opinion, there is a violation of policy or abuse of network or computer assets, action will be taken to advise the appropriate office of the offense. Student violation/abuse issues will be forwarded to the Dean of Students. Faculty issues will be forwarded to the Provost and staff issues will be forwarded to the affected Senior Administrator for appropriate actions. Punishment for such violation ranges from removal of computing privileges to action under the College's Code of Academic Integrity, and even prosecution in a court of law. Users should note that local, state, or federal laws, such as the Freedom of Information Act, or the USA Patriot Act, may mandate the monitoring and delivery of information technology data to law enforcement or to others without notification to users.
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3. Information Disclaimer
Individuals using computer systems owned by Randolph-Macon College are subject to applicable laws and college policies. Randolph-Macon College disclaims any responsibility and will not honor any warranties for information or materials residing on college systems or available over publicly accessible networks. Such materials do not necessarily reflect the attitudes, opinions, or values of the college administration or its faculty, staff, or students.
These guidelines should not be construed as a limit on any individual's rights under the constitutions of the United States or the Commonwealth of Virginia
4. Copyrighted Materials
The college will assist owners of copyrighted material that is stored in or accessed through the Randolph-Macon's telecommunications network during the investigation and prosecution of individuals who are identified as having obtained or distributed such materials without properly compensating the owners.