Blackburn College Technology Services

Technology Services

Computer and Networking Resources	Computer Center
Internet Access	Acceptable Use Policy

Policy for the Acceptable Use of Information Technology

Blackburn College provides information technology for educational, research, and administrative applications by its students, faculty, and staff. This Acceptable Use Policy stems from Blackburn's more general policies and procedures governing faculty, students, staff, and facilities. With only a few exceptions, the present policy simply applies these larger policies and procedures to the narrower information-technology context. It balances the individual's ability to benefit fully from information technology and Blackburn's need for a secure and reasonably allocated information-technology environment.

Definitions

College Information Technology: Any computer, networking device, telephone, copier, printer, fax machine, or other information technology which is owned by Blackburn or is licensed or leased by Blackburn is subject to College policies. In addition, any information technology which connects directly to Blackburn data or telephone networks, uses College network-dialup facilities connects directly to a computer or other device owned or operated by Blackburn, and/or otherwise uses or affects College information-technology facilities is subject to College information-technology policies, no matter who owns it.

*Users:*	Three broad classes of potential users have different privileges:
	Regular Users, who are entitled to use all or most College technology and services, in general, only current undergraduate students and current faculty and staff of Blackburn. This status does not extend to family members or colleagues who are not themselves Regular Users.
	Special Users, who are entitled to use specific limited services for specific purposes under specific conditions, to whom Blackburn provides a limited subset of College information technologies and services. Library patrons, persons at Blackburn for a seminar or other special event, retired faculty and staff, volunteer workers, software contractors and consultants are all examples of special users. The Director of Technology Services authorizes special-user classes and individual special users, under the authority of the President. Special users are subject to all regular user policies, may also have other restrictions, and implicitly relinquish their right to use Blackburn technology resources when they leave the campus.
	Excluded Users, who are not entitled to use College information technology. These are all individuals or organizations that are not Regular Users or Special Users.

*Applications:* Here again three distinct categories are important:
	Core applications support College instruction, research, service, and administration. Classroom use, computer-based assignments, research applications, communication among faculty, students, and administrators, administrative applications, access to College-related information, and similar applications all are Core applications.
	Restricted applications, those clearly unrelated to Blackburn's core purposes, or which violate general College policies, jeopardize its tax-exempt or other circumstances, or otherwise interfere with core applications, including:

those that threaten Blackburn's tax-exempt status, such as certain kinds of political activity and those whose purpose is to generate profit or other personal gain for individuals,
those that are illegal, such as fraud, harassment, copyright violation, and child pornography,
those that deprive other users of their fair share of College information technology or interfere with the functioning of central networks and systems, such as mass mailings, chain letters, unauthorized high-bandwidth applications, or denial-of-service attacks, and
those that violate more general College Statutes, Bylaws, and policies.

Ancillary applications, which are those neither explicitly permitted nor explicitly restricted, and with one other essential attribute: they are invisible to other users, to network and system administrators, and to other College offices. The Windows Solitaire game is an example of this class. Ancillary applications consume only resources that would otherwise go to waste, and never require any action or intervention by anyone at Blackburn other than their user. As a rule, Ancillary applications that become visible to others or burden systems are ipso facto no longer Ancillary, but Restricted.

Where definitions of user or application status are unclear, or where patterns of use appear to be out of compliance with this policy, the Director of Technology Services provides interpretations or direction as appropriate on behalf of the President and Blackburn. Where necessary, the Director of Technology Services consults the President, other Officers of Blackburn, and the Technology Users' Group for further advice and guidance.

Blackburn College supports networked information resources to further its mission of research and instruction and to foster a community of shared inquiry. All members of the Blackburn community must be cognizant of the rules and conventions that make these resources secure and efficient. Users of College information technology take responsibility for:

Using resources efficiently, and accepting limitations or restrictions on computing resources - such as storage space, time limits, or amount of resources consumed - when asked to do so by systems administrators;
Protecting passwords and respecting security restrictions on all systems;
Backing up files and other necessary data on their computers regularly, since these are not part of the College’s system of backing up data on file servers;
Preventing unauthorized network access to or from their computers or computer accounts;
Recognizing the limitations to privacy afforded by electronic services;
Respecting the rights of others to be free from harassment or intimidation, to the same extent that this right is recognized otherwise on campus; and
Honoring copyright and other intellectual-property rights.

When any use of information technology at Blackburn presents an imminent threat to other users or to Blackburn's technology infrastructure, system operators may take whatever steps are necessary to isolate the threat, without notice if circumstances so require. This may include changing passwords, locking files, disabling computers, or disconnecting specific devices or entire sub-networks from College, regional, or national voice and data networks. System operators restore connectivity and functionality as soon as possible after they identify and neutralize the threat.

Use of information technology that violates this Policy and rules based on it may result in disciplinary proceedings and, in some cases, in legal action. Disciplinary proceedings involving information technology are the same as those for violations of other College policies, and may have serious consequences. Unauthorized use of College information technology by Excluded Users may result in police intervention or legal action.

Proposed by the Technology Users’ Group--October 2002.

Ratified by the All-College Assembly—February 2003.

Modeled after the Eligibility and Acceptable Use Policy posted on the University of Chicago’s Web site.