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Policy and Procedures
Information
Resources Acceptable Use Policy
The primary mission of Lee College is to provide quality instruction
for its students. Through a variety of programs and services, Lee College
prepares students for success in higher education or employment. Lee
College also provides a broad-based program of extension courses, adult
education, community education and services. It is the policy of Lee
College District to apply the highest ethical standards to all members
of the college community including the Board of Regents, administration,
staff and faculty in achieving its mission and in managing its resources
efficiently and effectively to reach its goals and objectives.
Faculty,
staff and student (hereinafter users) are expected to promote efficient
use of network resources, consistent with the instructional, research,
public service and administrative goals of the College. Refrain from
engaging in any use that would interfere with work or disrupt the intended
use of network resources. It is not responsible to use disproportionate
amounts of electronic resources. Examples of disproportionate uses generally
include activities such as serving MP3 music, streaming media at high
bit rates or serving a multi-user game or host.
Lee College relies heavily
on networked computers and the data contained within those systems to
achieve its missions. Users are notified that electronic information
is not private and remains the property of Lee College. This Acceptable
Use Policy is to protect these resources in accordance with the State
of Texas laws, Federal laws and Lee
College Board Policy. All users (administrators,
faculty, students and visitors) granted access to Lee College Information
Resources must follow the acceptable use policy below.
Acceptable Use of College Information Resources
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- Lee College Information Resources are provided for faculty, staff
and students to use in the pursuit of the teaching, educational
and service mission of the college.
- Lee College email is to be used to enhance and facilitate teaching,
learning, scholarly research, support academic experiences and
to facilitate the effective business and administrative processes
of the College.
- Acceptable use of Lee College network resources should be used
for electronic dissemination of information, including the establishment
of web sites, publishing web documents, and creating web applications
as well as the distribution of bulletins, memoranda, newsletters,
reports, and committee communications; instructional use specifically
to enhance communications between students and instructors, facilitation
of distance learning and support of Lee College scholarly activities;
business and service activities of faculty and staff and uses as
are consistent with the traditional academic freedom accorded to
faculty members.
- Administrative activities that are part of the support infrastructure
needed for instruction, scholarship, and institutional management
of the member institutions.
- Research, scholarship, or instructional applications engaged
in by students, faculty and staff.
- Communication and exchange for professional development, to maintain
currency, or to debate issues in a field or sub-field of knowledge.
- Applying for or administering grants or contracts for research
or instruction.
- Fundraising, solicitation, or public relations activities related
specifically to the mission, strategic plan, and development of
the institution.
- Announcements of new products or services used in research or
in instruction.
- Administrative, academic, and research-related discussion groups
on a wide variety of topics.
- Users are expected to be knowledgeable of, and to perform their
duties in compliance with, federal, state, and local laws and college
policies, including the provisions of the Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act designed to protect the confidentiality of data
and the privacy of individuals.
- Users are expected to access information that is needed in the
context of the performance of their normal duties and to exercise
good judgment in the use of such information. In particular, confidential
or demographic data, which pertains to students, employees, or
college operations, must be used in a manner that protects rights
of privacy and limits personal and institutional liability. In
general, employees are expected to avoid situations in which they
either provide or interpret to others information which is outside
the scope of their expertise or job responsibilities.
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Data Protection Copyright |
- All confidential information transmitted over external networks
or saved on system servers must be encrypted, must not be sent
or forwarded through non-Lee College email accounts (like Hotmail,
Yahoo mail, AOL mail, etc.), and must not be knowingly transmitted
via wireless to or from a portable computing device unless approved
wireless transmission protocols and security techniques are utilized.
- Users of Information systems must not attempt to access data
or programs contained on systems for which they do not have authorization
by the system owner.
- Staff must not copy or reproduce any licensed software except
as expressly permitted by the software license, use unauthorized
copies on college-owned computers or use software known to cause
problems on system computers (approval from the Office of Information
Technology).
- Any critical Lee College data stored on Lee College workstations
must be backed up in their home directory or external media in
the event of a disaster or loss of information.
- Users may not use the Internet for activity prohibited by federal
law. Some material on the Internet may be protected by federal
copyright laws (see generally Title
17, United State Code).
- Unauthorized reproduction or distribution of copyrighted materials
is illegal, except as permitted by the principles of "fair
use." Generally, fair use of copyright materials is limited
to copies made for personal use, private study, scholarship, or
research. If the use of copyrighted material does not fall within
fair use, permission from the copyright holder to use the material
must be obtained before any such use. If in doubt about whether
or not your use may infringe on material protected by a copyright,
ask the copyright owner for permission to use the protected material.
- Exchanging digital copies of music files, often in the "MP3" format
has become popular. Posting on the network, or in any other
way (streaming server) exchanging copies of songs from commercial
music CD's is illegal.
- Students should be aware that certain aspects of their privacy
relating to academic records are governed by the Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Details of that law are available
in the Lee College Catalog. Refer to the following link:
http://www.lee.edu/catalog.asp.
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Virus Protection |
- All computers connecting to the Lee College network must run
current site-licensed virus prevention software.
- Centrally provided virus protection software must be ran on all
computers connected to LEENet.
- With the exception of installation of software, or other special
circumstance or procedure that requires the temporary disabling
of virus prevention software, such software must not be disabled
or bypassed.
- If deemed necessary to prevent viral propagation to other networked
devices or detrimental effects to the network, computers infected
with viruses or other forms of malicious code shall be disconnected
from the network until the infection has been removed.
- Users must perform regular backups. Virus infections often destroy
data on an individual's computer. Without proper backups, recovery
of destroyed files may be impossible.
- Periodically check your computer and be certain that the virus
protection software is running correctly and that system security
patches are applied. OIT regularly remotely downloads up-to-date
security patches (DATs) to computers that are able to accept the
update.
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E-mail
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- The following email activities are prohibited by policy:
- Using email for purposes of political lobbying or campaigning.
- Posing as anyone other than oneself when sending email.
- Reading another User's email unless authorized to do so by
the owner of the email
- Using email software that poses high security risks to Lee
College Information Resources.
- Sending unsolicited messages, except as required to conduct
Lee College business.
- Sending excessively large messages or attachments unless for
office College business.
- Sending or forwarding email that is likely to contain computer
viruses.
- Email messages may not include any user’s identification
number (e.g., social security number), should include only unique
identifying information that is pertinent to the message being
conveyed and should not reference any student's academic record
or confidential employee information.
- Altering electronic communications to hide one's identity or
to impersonate another individual is considered misrepresentation
and/or forgery and is prohibited under this policy. All email,
news posts, chat sessions, or any other form of electronic communication
must contain the sender's real name and/or email address.
- Initiating or forwarding "chain letters" or email
is prohibited on the college email systems and the Internet as
a whole. Chain email can be identified by phrases such as "please
pass this on to your friends" or similar inducements that
encourage you to forward the message.
- User should avoid opening messages or attachments received
from unknown senders or responding to instant messages or other
peer to peer technologies from strangers. Messages and attachments
can carry viruses. IM (instance messaging and peer to peer
technologies) are often used by intruders with malicious intent.
Non-business related Instance Messaging should be avoided.
- Address messages to recipients who “need to know.” Messages
sent unnecessarily to a long list of recipient’s lowers
system performance.
- You may not be paid, or otherwise profit, from the use of any
College-provided computing resource or from any output produced
using it. You may not promote any commercial activity using College
resources. Use of email for profit-making activities (sales or
distribution of commercial products or services for profit, etc.)
including product advertisement and mass mailings or use by for-profit
companies is unacceptable unless otherwise authorized by the
President of Lee College.
- The use of email or any college system for harassment or criminal
activity may result in criminal penalties, including fines and
imprisonment.
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Use of Information
Resources |
- Storage of any non-work related email messages; voice messages,
files and documents within the Lee College email system must be
nominal (less than 5% of a User's allocated mailbox space) unless
stored on the hard drive or external media.
- Use of personal software and hardware on College computers is
prohibited without authorization by the Director of Information
Technology. Software is subject to licensing and all license provisions
(including copyright, use, duplication, simultaneous use, etc.)
must be honored.
- Non-work related files may not be stored on network file servers.
- Any files, messages or documents residing on Lee College computers
may be subject to public information requests and may be accessed
in accordance with this policy.
- Commercial network resources and software that are licensed by
Lee College for internal use only may not be used outside the College
network.
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Internet Use |
- Users shall not use the Internet connection to perform any act
that may be construed as illegal or unethical, including attempting
to gain unauthorized access to the network.
- To insure the best overall network performance, network
traffic will be monitored. OIT will take appropriate action
if any computer causes traffic problems that interfere with the
business of the Lee College. If, in the course of monitoring network
traffic, information which may have adverse legal implications
for Lee College is discovered, it will be reported.
- Both personal and commercial advertising must not be posted on
Lee College web sites.
- Users shall not engage in activities that relate to material
involving the sexual exploitation of minors as defined by Federal
Code Title 18, Part I, Chapter 110, Sexual Exploitation and other
abuse of children or other criminal acts.
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Portable and
Remote
Computing |
- All computers and/or portable-computing devices using Lee College
Information Resources must be password protected and be changed
when prompted according to password authentication policy timeline
of every 90 days or if the password is suspected of being compromised.
- Employees accessing the Lee College network from a remote computer
must adhere to all policies that apply to use from within Lee College
facilities, must conform to the OIT minimum standards for portable
computing, and are subject to the same rules and security related
requirements that apply to college owned computers.
- All hardware that connects to the Lee College network must be
installed by certified Office of Information Technology technicians
and network administrators.
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| Passwords |
- Lee College account(s), passwords, Personal Identification Numbers
(PIN), Security Tokens (i.e. Smartcard), or similar information
or devices used for identification and authorization purposes must
not be shared and are non-transferable. Owners are responsible
for all usage of their assigned accounts, log-ons and passwords.
- Digital certificate passwords used for digital signatures must
never be divulged to anyone.
- Users must not circumvent password entry through use of auto
logon, application “remember password” features, embedded
scripts or hard-coded passwords in client software. Exceptions
may be made for specific applications (like automated backup) with
the approval of the Lee College Information Technology Director. Any
exception situation must include a procedure to change the passwords
and must adhere to security policies for password construction.
- Users may not attempt to evade, disable, or "crack" passwords
or other security provisions. These activities threaten the work
of others and are grounds for immediate disciplinary action. Unauthorized
copying of files or passwords belonging to others or to the College
may constitute plagiarism or theft. Modifying files without authorization
(including altering information, introducing viruses or Trojan
horses, or damaging files) is unethical, may be illegal and can
lead to disciplinary action.
- Users must establish appropriate passwords, change them as required
and never share them with others.
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Telephone
Long Distance
Access Code |
- Users shall not tap phone/data lines or accessing files by
circumventing security restrictions.
- Each individual who is authorized by a division/department
to place long distance calls for Lee College business will be
issued an individual authorization code which can be used to
place calls from Lee College phones.
- Telephone services and wiring may not be modified or extended
beyond the area of their intended use.
- Unauthorized use of an individual's telephone extension number
or voice mailbox and any attempt to gain access
to a voice mailbox other than your own is prohibited. Voice mailbox
passwords should never be exchanged.
- Users are not permitted to
accept collect calls, arrange for third party billing to their
campus telephone extension or place operator assisted calls that
result in a charge to the college. Any campus telephone
extension determined to be accepting or making such calls will
be subject to a fine plus the cost of the
call(s).
- Attempting to place a billable call from any college telephone
without paying for the service may constitute theft. Telecommunications
will levy a fine for investigation plus the cost of the telephone
call(s).
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| CyberSecurity |
- Security programs or utilities that reveal or exploit weaknesses
in the security of a system or that reveal data by circumventing
established authorization procedures and systems should not be
downloaded and/or used, except as authorized by the OIT. For
example, password cracking programs, packet sniffers, wireless
hubs or port scanners on Lee College Information Resources shall
not be used. Users must report any identified weaknesses
in Lee College computer security and any incidents of possible
misuse or violation of this agreement to the Director of Lee College
Information Technology Office.
- Due to the open and decentralized design of the Internet and
networked computer systems, Lee College cannot protect individuals
against the receipt of material that may be offensive to them. Likewise,
individuals who use e-mail or those who make information about
themselves public on the Internet should know that Lee College
cannot protect them from invasions of privacy. It is recommended
that users utilize the network only for business related activities
of the college.
- Do not download and/or use tools that are normally used to assess
security or to attack computer systems or networks (i.e. password "crackers",
vulnerability scanners, network sniffers, etc.) unless you have
been specifically authorized to do so by I.T.
- Each user is responsible for the security of any system he/she
connects to the network. A system seen to be attacking other
systems, e.g. having fallen victim to viruses/worms, will be taken
off the network, generally without notice, until it has been made
secure.
- Users may not operate network services from their computers (BBS,
Chat, DHCP, DNS, anonymous FTP, IRC, NNTP, POP2/POP3, SMTP, etc.).
Users who have a bona fide academic need to operate such services
must obtain written authorization from the OIT Director prior to
activating any such service.
- Users may not conduct port scans on the campus network, or of
outside networks from the campus network, may not operate Ethernet
cards in promiscuous mode, or use any IP address on the campus
network other than those assigned by the College.
- Lee College network services and wiring may not be modified or
extended. This applies to network wiring, hardware, and in-room
jacks. Use of Ethernet switches, network hubs, or wireless networking
technology on the campus network is expressly prohibited and can
impose unnecessary security vulnerability on the network.
- A computer owned personally by a student, faculty member or staff
member is subject to College policy while it connects to the College
network directly or through a dialup connection. An individual
may not grant access privileges to other individuals on a computer
in violation of the general eligibility policy below, even if that
computer is personally owned. If a computer is connected
to the College network, access from that computer to the rest of
the campus network can only be made available to individuals otherwise
authorized to use the campus network. This includes email, Web
services, file transfer, Internet Relay Chat (IRC), telnet, and
any other network traffic.
- The installation of any type of device that allows the sharing
of a single IP address by multiple devices compromises the operation
of the network and must not occur. This includes proxy servers,
personal routers or any other type of network equipment. It
is expected that each end-user device will be configured with a
single registered IP address from the campus Network Operations
Center.
- The College is bound by its contractual and license agreements
respecting certain third party resources; you are expected to comply
with all such agreements when using such resources.
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Your Rights and Responsibilities |
- As a member of the Lee College community, the college provides
you with the use of scholarly and/or work-related tools, including
access to the Library, to certain computer systems, servers,
software and databases, to the campus telephone and voice mail
systems, and to the Internet. You have a reasonable expectation
of unobstructed use of these tools, of certain degrees of privacy
(which may vary depending on whether you are a college employee
or student), and of protection from abuse and intrusion by others
sharing these resources. You can expect your right to access
information and to express your opinion to be protected as it
is for paper and other forms of non-electronic communication.
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turn, you are responsible for knowing the regulations and policies
of the College that apply to appropriate use of the College’s technologies and resources. You are responsible
for exercising good judgment in the use of the College’s
technological and information resources. Just because an action
is technically possible does not mean that it is appropriate
to perform that action.
- As a representative of the Lee College community,
you are expected to respect the College good name in your electronic
dealings with those outside the College.
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Violations of
AUP |
- Users are expected to notify the Office of Information Technology,
classroom instructor, lab supervisor, or other responsible party,
as appropriate, of intentional or unintentional breaches in access
and data security of which they become aware. In addition, employees
who are aware of serious violations of acceptable use or related
policies and procedures (including malicious tampering, virus infection,
spyware, phishing or “hacking”) are required to report
such activity to their immediate supervisors.
- Policies and guidelines are established to maximize the educational
benefit realized from the considerable investment of resources
necessary to operate and maintain these facilities.
- Users who violate the policy shall be subject to disciplinary
action including, but not limited to, written warnings, suspension
without pay, or dismissal in accordance with the applicable provisions
of the appropriate policy.
- In addition, if a user's conduct violates federal or state laws,
the user may be subject to prosecution under such laws.
- Lee College reserves the right to investigate suspected violations
using all means available.
- Any abuse of Lee College WAN Network (LEEnet) by students, faculty,
administrators or staff should be reported to the Office of Information
Technology.
- Users should be aware that the computer systems are the property
of the College and e-mail messages, internet usage, and other computer
files are subject to review at the discretion of Lee College. In
the case of harassment complaints, illegal violations, or a system
problem--hardware, software, or attacks by hackers--the IT staff
is authorized to review any information or files necessary to investigate
complaints or solve the systems problems to protect the systems
and the information they contain. In this situation, the staff
is obligated to treat any information they might see that turns
out to be unrelated to the problem as strictly confidential. In
addition, e-mail messages may be subject to subpoena or otherwise
discoverable in litigation.
- Users should follow local, state, and federal laws and regulations
pertaining to computing activities. In cases involving fraud,
forgery, extortion, copyright, intimidation, humiliation, etc.,
violators may be legally prosecuted and will be subject to immediate
loss of all computing privileges at Lee College.
- Attempt to alter or obscure your identity or your computer's
identity, including but not limited to IP address and email address,
while communicating on any network.
- Attempts to alter system software, to bypass security protocols,
to introduce viruses, worms, or other malicious or destructive
programs, or otherwise “to hack” are expressly forbidden. Any
member of the Lee College community, including students, who intentionally
breaches security, will be subject to disciplinary action, including
suspension and dismissal and legal proceedings.
- The College District reserves the right to conduct searches when
the College District has reasonable cause to believe that a search
will uncover evidence of work-related misconduct. The College
District may search the employee, the employee’s personal
items, work areas, lockers and private vehicles parked on College
District premises or worksites or used in College District business. Work
areas include technology equipment provide by the college such
as computers and peripherals, servers, laptops, PDAs and telephones/cell
phones. (DHB Local: Employee Standards of Conduct: Searches).
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For more information, see applicable laws and regulations:
Copyright: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode17/usc_sup_01_17.html
FERPA: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode20/usc_sec_20_00001232---g000-.html
January 2006 – Office of Information Technology – Acceptable
Use Policy
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