Westchester Community College Computer Usage Policy

Computer & Communications Technology Use Policy

A.	Purpose Westchester Community College owns and operates a variety of computing systems which are provided for the use of Westchester Community College students, faculty and staff in support of the programs of the college and are to be used for education, research, academic development and administrative purposes only. Commercial uses are specifically excluded. All students, faculty, and staff are responsible for seeing that these computing facilities are used in an effective, efficient, ethical and lawful manner. This document establishes rules and prohibitions that define acceptable use of these systems. Fraudulent, harassing, pornographic or obscene messages and/or materials are not to be accessed, sent or stored. Unacceptable use is prohibited and is grounds for loss of computing privileges, as well as discipline or legal sanctions under Federal, State and local laws and Westchester Community College policies.
B.	*Audience & Agreement* All users of Westchester Community College computing systems must read, understand and comply with the policies outlined in this document as well as any additional guidelines established by the administrators of each system or facility. Such guidelines will be reviewed by the appropriate college governance bodies. BY USING ANY OF THESE SYSTEMS, USERS AGREE THAT THEY WILL COMPLY WITH THESE POLICIES.
C.	Rights These computer systems, facilities and accounts are owned and operated by Westchester Community College. Westchester Community College reserves all rights, including termination of service without notice, to the computing resources which it owns and operates. These procedures shall not be construed as a waiver of any rights of Westchester Community College, nor shall they conflict with applicable law. Users have rights that may be protected by Federal, State and local laws.
D.	Privileges Access and privileges on Westchester Community College computing systems are assigned and managed by the administrators of specific individual systems and facilities. Administrators, faculty, staff and students may become authorized users of a system and be granted appropriate access and privileges by following the approval steps prescribed for that system. Users may not, under any circumstances, transfer these privileges to other individuals.
E.	*Responsibilities* Users are responsible for maintaining the following: An environment in which access to all College computing resources is shared according to system and facility policy between users. In meeting this responsibility, users may not plug any peripheral equipment, with the exception of USB memory sticks connected via front-mounted USB ports only, into any computer owned by Westchester Community College. This includes, but is not limited to: trackballs, printers, portable hard drives, and game controllers. An environment conducive to learning: A user who uses the college's computing systems to harass, or make defamatory remarks, shall bear full responsibility for his or her actions. Further, by using these systems, users agree that individuals who transmit such remarks shall bear sole responsibility for their actions. Users agree that Westchester Community College's role in managing these systems is only as an information carrier, and transmission through these systems will never be considered an endorsement by Westchester Community College. An environment free of illegal or malicious acts: The user agrees never to use a system to perform an illegal or malicious act. Any attempt to increase the level of access to which (s)he is authorized, or any attempt to deprive other authorized users of resources or access to any Westchester Community College computer system shall be regarded as malicious, and may be treated as an illegal act. Many of the Westchester Community College computing systems provide access to outside networks, both public and private, which furnish electronic mail, information services, bulletin boards, conferences, etc. Users are advised that they may encounter material which may be considered offensive or objectionable in nature or content. Users are further advised that Westchester Community College does not assume responsibility for the contents of any of these outside networks. The users agree to comply with the acceptable use guidelines and proper etiquette for whichever outside networks or services they may access through Westchester Community College systems. The user agrees never to attempt to transmit, or cause to be transmitted, any message in which the origination is deliberately misleading (except for those outside services which may conceal identities as part of the service). The user agrees that, if someone does transmit, or cause to be transmitted, a message that is inconsistent with an environment conducive to learning or with a misleading origination, the person who performed the transmission will be solely accountable for the message, not Westchester Community College, which is acting solely as the information carrier. A secure environment: Any user who finds a possible security lapse on any system is obliged to report it to the system administrators. Knowledge of passwords or loopholes in computer security systems shall not be used to damage computing resources, obtain extra resources, take resources from another user, gain unauthorized access to resources or otherwise make use of computing resources for which proper authorization has not been given. Users are responsible for backup of their own data, except for data saved on the network.
F.	*Accounts* All accounts assigned to an individual must not be used by others. The individual is responsible for the proper use of the account, including proper password protection.
G.	*Confidentiality* Programs and files are confidential unless they have been made available, with written permission, to other authorized individuals. When performing maintenance, every effort is made to insure the privacy of a user's files. If policy violations are discovered, they will be reported immediately to the appropriate system administrator.
H.	*System Performance* No one should deliberately attempt to degrade the performance of a computer system or to deprive authorized personnel of resources or access to any college computer system.
I.	*Copyright* Computer software protected by copyright is not to be copied except as permitted by law, or by the contract with the owner of the copyright. Illegal copying of copyrighted software is a felony offense under New York State and Federal law.
J.	Peer-to Peer Software To help prevent copyright violations, use of Peer to Peer (P2P), often called file sharing software, is prohibited on college PCs and the college network. This prohibition also minimizes the risk to college PCs and the network from unwanted software and excessive bandwidth use. It is a felony offense to download and/or share any copyrighted materials.
K.	*Violations* An individual's computer use privileges may be suspended immediately upon the discovery of a possible violation of these policies. Such suspected violation will be confidentially reported to the appropriate system administrator. Violations of these policies will be dealt with in the same manner as violations of other college policies and may result in disciplinary review. In such a review, the full range of disciplinary sanctions is available including the loss of computer use privileges, dismissal from the college and legal action. Violations of some of the above, policies may constitute a criminal offense.
L.	*Additional Guidelines*

Information Technology Home Page