ACCEPTABLE USE OF CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY

Consistent with College Mission  

Information Technology at Howard Community College is provided to facilitate the educational process and the administrative efforts in support of instruction, business, and research for faculty, staff, and students of Howard Community College. The use of all information technology facilities must be consistent with the mission of the college and with facilitating the exchange of knowledge and information, while encouraging resource sharing and collaborative projects in education and research.

Compliance with Appropriate Laws  

The college recognizes that all members of the college are bound by local, state, and federal laws relating to copyrights, security, and other statutes regarding electronic media. Faculty and staff will take a leadership role in implementing and maintaining these statutes, as well as any Howard Community College policies and procedures that apply.  

SERVICES

Eligibility for Access  

Eligibility for Access to the college’s information technology facilities is provided to registered (credit and noncredit) students, faculty, staff and others designated by the college. Access  to college information resources may  be granted, limited or withdrawn by  the college based on the following  factors: relevant policies, procedures  and guidelines, laws and contractual  obligations, the requester’s need to  know, the information’s sensitivity, the  risk of damage to or loss by the college,  and the person’s previous history of  use. The college reserves the right to extend, limit, restrict, or deny privileges and access to its information resources.  Individuals other than college faculty, staff, and students may be permitted access to information as long as such access does not violate any license or contractual agreement, college policy, or any federal, state, county, or local law or ordinance.  

Standards of Acceptable Use

The following standards of acceptable use will apply to the operation of Howard Community College’s information technology systems.  Violation of the policy may lead to disciplinary action as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct. This policy is located in the Howard Community College Student Handbook. Users are responsible for the following standards:  

Users will not transmit any communication in any form (e.g.  Text, images, and sound) where the content, meaning, transmission, and/or distribution of the message would violate any applicable law or regulation.  Use will be consistent with all college policies and procedures and particularly with those governing the use of college property, ethical standards, and employee conduct. This means that the following actions are among those which are prohibited by college policies and procedure although prohibitions are not limited to these:

1. Users will not use HCC’s information technology resources for private financial gain.

2. All software found on HCC systems is licensed by HCC and as such may not be copied for personal use, transferred to non-HCC equipment or modified in any unauthorized manner.

3. Users will respect the rights and property of all others and will not improperly access, misappropriate or misuse the information/files of other users.  

4. Users will promote efficient use of the network to minimize, and avoid if possible, creating congestion within or upon the networks thereby interfering with the work of other users of the networks. It is prohibited for users to interfere with or disrupt network users, services, or system resources. Disruptions include,  but are not limited to, distribution  of unsolicited advertising, creation  and/or propagation of computer  viruses, transmission of slanderous  and/or harassing materials, chain  letters, and using HCC facilities to  gain unauthorized entry to any other  facility, whether they are internal or  external to the HCC network.  

5. Users may not abuse, disrupt, or threaten the viability of any system, including those at the college and those on networks to which the college’s systems are connected.  Access to information resources  without proper authorization from the data owner, unauthorized use  of college facilities, and intentional  corruption or misuse of information  resources are direct violations of the  college’s policies and procedures as  outlined in the Howard Community  College Student Handbook.  

6. Users may not download any applications onto college computers without prior authorization by the lab management staff. Examples of applications, which will not be authorized because of security risks, include file sharing applications (such as music sharing programs), chat room software, and instant messaging applications. Any  computers in either labs or  classrooms found with any of the  above applications installed or  applications that are otherwise not  permitted because of its potential  negative effect on the computer  hardware or college network will be  repaired by a computer technician  without question as to how the  application was downloaded on to  the computer. If a student is found downloading prohibited software on multiple occasions, disciplinary action will be taken as outlined in the Student Code of Conduct policy of Howard Community College.  

In accordance with the above policies, the following general rules apply to all computer classrooms and labs. These labs include the Student Computer Lab, Math/English/Foreign Language Lab, Art Lab, Music Lab, all Science Labs, Library, Office Technology Lab, Learning Assistance Center, English as a Second Language Lab, as well as any classroom where computers are used to enhance the learning experience. Each department may have more specific rules based on their academic computing needs.

· If the lab is full, students who have paid a special fee to use the lab will be given priority. In some cases, you may be asked to move to another computer.

· Minimize idle conversation so that others are not distracted.  

· Do not use cellular phones in classrooms or labs. Please turn your ringer off or on silent (vibrate) mode.  If you receive a call, please leave the lab or classroom so that other students are not disturbed by your conversation.  

· Eating and drinking is prohibited in computer classrooms and computer labs.  

· If you experience a problem with the computer hardware or printer, please notify the lab monitor. Do not try to resolve the problem yourself.  

· Viewing of pornographic material (recreationally) is prohibited. If you are required by an instructor to research material that may be deemed pornographic, please contact the Computer Lab Manager ahead of time to make arrangements to do your research in a private location.  Notification of this need should be verified by your instructor.  

· Because of safety issues, minors are not allowed in the computer classrooms or labs unless they are officially registered for a credit or noncredit class. Proof of registration may be required in certain computer labs.  

If there are any questions regarding  the Acceptable Use of Information  Technology policies, please contact the Technology Help Desk at 410-772- 4444 or helpdesk@howardcc.edu.