4.1.8 Responsible Use of Technology Resources Policy Statement

The College provides the campus community with technology resources for the purposes of teaching, learning, scholarly research, and administrative tasks. Available resources include, but are not limited to, software, hardware (including telephones, computers, and media equipment) either owned or leased by the College, and the expertise of staff in Information Technology and other institutional offices. The following policy applies both to users of College equipment and to owners of personal equipment that is connected to the data or telecommunications infrastructure of the College.

The use of technology resources provided by the College for purposes other than teaching, learning, scholarly research, and the institution’s administrative functions may be terminated if it interferes in any way with those primary endeavors.

Many of the College’s technology resources are shared with the entire campus community. Individuals using those resources should be considerate of the needs of others and do nothing to impede others’ use of the same. Examples of such impediments include, but are not limited to:

• Activities that obstruct usage or deny access to others
• Activities that compromise privacy
• Activities that could be considered harassing
• Activities that could be considered libelous
• Attempts to hack into any computer either at the College or elsewhere
• Activities that violate copyright laws
• Activities that violate College policies and procedures
• Destruction or alteration of data or information belonging to others
• Activities that violate local, state, or federal laws
• Unauthorized use of computer accounts
• Impersonations of other individuals
• Creating, using, or distributing virus programs or programs that attempt to explore or exploit network security and/or other vulnerabilities
• Attempts to capture or crack passwords or break encryption protocols
• Allowing anyone else to use one’s account(s)
• Extensive use of resources for private or personal use
• Use of College-owned technology resources for personal gain

Identification

Individuals who wish to provide information on College-supported information systems—including, but not limited to, the Campuswide Information System (World Wide Web), USENET, and e-mail—or through connections to the institution’s data or telecommunications infrastructure must comply with the following requirements:

1. All information must contain either the name or electronic mail address of the person making the information available. Anonymous use of technology resources is not permitted. For example, in the case of active information, such as e-mail, the “From:” field must contain the e-mail address of the person sending the mail. Passive information, such as that found on the Web, must contain the e-mail address of the author, owner, or sponsor of the page at the bottom of the page.
2. All information must carry a date indicating when the information was made available. For information made available actively, as in the case of e-mail, the date would appear in the “Date:” field. For passive information, as in the case of the Web, the date would appear at the bottom of the page, preceded by an indication that this is the posting date.
3. Web space provided by the College and using its domain name (lclark.edu) and any other College-owned technology resources must not be used for fund-raising, advertising, or running a for-profit or not-for-profit business.

The Information Technology staff are dedicated to the implementation of new technologies and enhancement of existing ones in support of the College’s mission. It is not a monitoring agency. Nevertheless, files, e-mail messages, and other information that use or are stored on College-owned technology resources should not be considered private or secure. Such information may be subject to legal subpoenas, search warrants, or audits. In the course of maintenance, systems administrators are expected to treat information they encounter as confidential. If, however, they encounter information or files that suggest illegal activity, they are required to report such discoveries to the appropriate authorities. When electronic files are accessed or viewed by systems administrators, the owner will be notified except when a violation of law is suspected.

Engaging in any activity that violates this policy can result in an immediate loss of access privileges. If such activities also violate other College policies, including the academic honor code or local, state, or federal laws, they may be reported to the appropriate campus office for resolution. Such cases may result in consequences as serious as suspension or dismissal from the College as well as prosecution by outside authorities.

With the evolving nature of resources and load, specific changes or additions to these policies may occur from time to time. These changes will be made available via the Responsible Use of Information Technology section of the Information Technology website. It is the responsibility of each individual who uses the technology resources of the College to be familiar with and abide by all current operational policies.

The use of any technology resource of the College implies acceptance of all current operational policies.

Procedure

Violations of this policy should be referred to the chief technology officer at extension 7020.