Computer and Network Use

North Central State College computer and network resources are privileges provided to conduct the legitimate business of the College and to support the missions of the institution. The purpose of this statement is to establish policies and procedures that promote the security and integrity of the College's computer systems and the information contained on those systems and that provide a framework for responsible access to computing resources. The President of the College and the Vice President for Academics and Student Services, deans, or instructors may elect to impose additional requirements or restrictions. North Central State College extends these principles and guidelines to systems outside the College which are accessed via the College's facilities. Computing or network providers outside North Central State College may impose their own additional conditions of appropriate use, for which users at North Central State College are responsible.

Legitimate Use: Computer resources of North Central State College are privileges provided solely for legitimate use by the following: currently registered students; authorized faculty, staff; and authorized agents of the College performing activities for the benefit of or with respect to the instructional or administrative missions of the College.

Legitimate uses of these computer and network resources are limited to: college-related instruction, independent study, research, and official work of College administration, staff, students, campus organizations and agencies of the College, and such other specific uses as are expressly authorized by the President of the College or the President's designee.

The computer and network resources may not be used for personal, commercial, or for-profit purposes without the written approval of the President of the College or the President's designee.

Consistent with the College's Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action policies, the computer and network resources may not be used to store, transmit, or receive any text, image, audio, or video materials that are discriminatory, abusive, profane, threatening, harassing, or sexually offensive.

Ownership and Copyright: All College-provided computer resources are licensed from vendors or owned by the College. Users have no rights of ownership to these computer resources.

Each user shall comply with all licensing agreements for College-provided software. Each user shall comply with all copyright laws. (If you need more information on copyright laws please visit the U.S. Copyright Office's website)

Responsibilities of the User: Utilization of any College information technology facility constitutes acceptance of the terms of this Computer and Network Resources Use Policy. Users acknowledge they have read and understand this Computer and Network Resources Use Policy and they shall be personally responsible for their acts or emission in connection with utilization in violation of this policy.

These computer privileges shall not be transferred or extended by the College's students, faculty, staff or administration without the written approval of the President of the College.

The user shall maintain considerate and ethical behavior in the use of College computer resources.

The user shall not willfully create, copy, or disseminate computer viruses nor threaten to install or to infect the College's computer resources with any virus.

Any unauthorized use, access, alteration, addition, destruction, duplication, or deletion of the computer or network resources, or the information contained therein, is prohibited.

The user shall avoid wasting computer resources by activities beyond the scope of legitimate administrative or instructional requirements.

The user shall be sensitive to the public nature of all computing facilities. All networks, network message traffic, and computer systems, including individual workstations, are subject to review for compliance with existing College policies.

The user shall determine the licensing status of any software or data prior to copying or transferring the product.

The user shall have prior written approval from the appropriate dean, supervisor, or administrator and the Information Technology Division before installing on College computers or networks any software not provided by the College. The user shall be responsible for the registration and license compliance for any software not provided by the College. Only lawfully acquired software may be installed on College computers and networks.

The user must insure the integrity of all foreign software, disks, or hardware before installing, or using such software, disks or hardware on College computers or networks. "Integrity" in the context of this policy, includes assurance of compatibility with existing software, disks, or hardware, as well as freedom from contamination by any type of computer virus. "Foreign" computer software, disks, or hardware includes any computer software, disks, or hardware which: (1) have not been provided by the College, or (2) have been removed from and then returned to the campus, or (3) have been used on the campus in, or in connection with, any computer software, disks or hardware not provided by the college.

The user shall obtain, from the appropriate College authority, prior written approval for the planned installation and proposed applications of any type of computing 'server' device, or 'server' software. All information or material placed on any type of computer server device shall comply with all applicable College policies and practices and all laws governing the use of computer, network devices, and the Internet.

The user shall access only those computing resources, and those accounts authorized by the appropriate College authority. The user must protect the integrity of personal files, personal data and personal passwords. The user shall respect the privacy of the College's and other users' resources.

The user shall not access the Internet through the college telephone system without written approval from the President of the College or the President's designee.

North Central State College World Wide Web Pages: North Central State College's World Wide Web pages provide an online publication about North Central State College for World Wide Web audiences. These pages provide easy online access to information about NC State's programs, administrative services, informational and support services, and the faculty, staff, and students at North Central State College. This policy governs information to be contained in any North Central State College Web page. Failure to comply with this policy will result in a refusal to upload documents to NC State servers or a removal of documents from the servers.

All pages contained within the North Central State College web server must conform to the specifications and guidelines set forth by the North Central State College Web Style Guide. This information is available online at the following URL: www.ncstatecollege.edu/web_style_guide.htm.

Documents on the North Central State College servers must not contain:

Copyrighted or trademarked materials in any form without written permission of the person who created them or owns the rights.

Images (i.e., photographs, drawings, paintings, or other derivatives thereof), audio, videos, or movies of people without their written consent. Talent releases are available for this purpose from the Institutional Advancement Office or the Webmaster.

Commercial activities or advertisements not related to the instructional or administrative missions of the College.

Any information, confidential or otherwise, pertaining to other individuals who do not want the information included.

Any images or data that are discriminatory, abusive, profane, harassing, or sexually offensive. When a complaint regarding discriminatory, abusive, profane, harassing, or sexually offensive material is received by North Central State College, the matter will be turned over to the appropriate dean, office, or committee.

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. Developers of web pages agree to all portions of this policy. The use of any technology resource at North Central State College implies acceptance of these and all other current operational policies. With the evolving nature of the web medium, specific changes or additions to these policies and guidelines may occur from time to time.

Authors of documents and those who store resources on NC State servers are responsible for what they allow users to access. Infringement of copyright laws and obscene, harassing, or threatening material on NC State servers can be in violation of local, state, national, or international laws and can be subject to litigation by the appropriate law enforcement agency.

All web sites on NC State servers are publicly accessible and may be reviewed for compliance with all North Central State College Policies and procedures.

Penalties for Violation. Violation of this policy may result in revocation of utilization privileges, administrative discipline, or immediate termination of the violator’s relationship with the College and could lead to criminal and civil prosecution. The College is authorized by anyone utilizing its information technology facilities to cooperate with government and civil authorities in the prosecution of any criminal and civil matter against any person who violates this policy, including disclosure of any records, information, data, images, communications, recordings, or other evidence in the custody of, or accessible by, the College.