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SOUTHERN
UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
Guidelines are
provided to make all SULC technology users aware of
the responsibilities that they accept when they use
SULC technology resources. In general, what is
required is efficient, ethical, and legal
utilization of technology resources on the SULC
campus – use that is respectful of the rights of all
users in the SULC community. The Honor Code and
general school rules for behavior apply. A signature
on the User Agreement Form indicates that the signed
party has read the terms and conditions of use,
understands their significance, and agrees to abide
by the terms.
Guidelines for Acceptable Use of Technology
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Appropriate Use
of Technology Resources: SULC
provides innovative technology resources,
including the Internet, to support the
pursuit of educational excellence by its
students. Within the school environment,
these resources are to be used to conduct
research, support classroom activities, and
to engage in self-discovery activities that
are consistent with the educational goals
and mission of the school.
Uses that
might be acceptable on a user’s private,
personal account on another system may not be
acceptable on this system because of its limited
educational purpose.
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Use of Technology
Resources – a Privilege, Not a Right:
The use of technology resources at SULC is a
privilege, not a right. Users who fail to
adhere to the terms of the Acceptable Use
Policy face cancellation of access
privileges as well as disciplinary or legal
action.
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Unacceptable Uses:
SULC seeks to protect the civil, personal,
and property rights of those individuals
using school technology resources and
regards the following technology use as
unacceptable:
Accessing Information That Does Not Support
Educational Purposes:
§ Sexually
explicit adult sites, hate sites (sites
that promote racism, sexism, or
hatred based on religion, ethnic origin,
or sexual orientation), sites that
promote violence or illegal activities,
sites that provide or sell term
papers, book reports, or other types of
school work
§ Chat
rooms unless specific, written approval
has been granted
Sending, Forwarding, Posting, or Publishing:
§ Communications
containing language that is obscene,
profane, sexually explicit, lewd,
vulgar, rude, disrespectful,
threatening, or inflammatory
§ Communications
containing harassment, personal attacks
(including prejudicial or
discriminatory), or spreading false or
defamatory material about a person
or organization
§ Sending
hate mail or chain letters
§ Spamming
– sending annoying or unnecessary
messages to large numbers of people
§ Personal
web pages that connect student/students
to SULC
§ Using
references to SULC on any unauthorized
web pages
Abusing Technology Resources:
§ Changing,
rearranging, adding, or deleting desktop
and software settings on resources
used by multiple users
§ Downloading
and storing executable or zip files
without specific approval
§ Downloading
files, video clips, graphics, mp3s, or
programs to the hard drive of a
network computer
§ Storing
information, such as bookmarks or Word
documents, in any places other than
those specifically for student data
§ Downloading
and/or storing information not pertinent
to classroom activities on network
resources
§ Wasting
finite resources, i.e., print cartridges
and paper by printing unnecessarily
§ Using
school technology resources to conduct a
business or for other unauthorized
commercial gain
§ Using
the network to engage in illegal
activity
§ Using
the network in ways that disrupts
network use by others
§ Vandalizing,
damaging, or disabling equipment,
software or data
§ Playing
video games (this includes all games,
from online games to Free Cell)
Safety and Security Issues:
§ Failing
to keep personal passwords confidential
§ Failing
to log off when finished using a
workstation
§ Logging
on using the password of another person
§ Disclosing
photographs or personal information,
such as names, addresses, or phone
numbers, online for the school, for
oneself or for others
§ Entering
credit card numbers and purchasing
materials or services online
§ Hacking/cracking
or otherwise accessing accounts and
files of others
§ Creating
or propagating computer viruses or
overloading the school network resources
Copyright Issues:
§ Downloading
or exchanging pirated or illegally
obtained software
§ Violating
software licensing agreements by loading
software illegally
§ Copying,
modifying, distributing, displaying, or
transmitting the work of another
without contacting the owner for
permission [Material on Web sites
is protected by copyright.]
Plagiarism:
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Consequences of
Inappropriate Use:
Access to technology is provided as an
important component of the SULC educational
environment. Users who fail to adhere to the
terms of the Acceptable Use Policy face
cancellation of access privileges as well as
disciplinary or legal action.
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Procedure for
Reporting Inadvertent Inappropriate Use:
If a user inadvertently uses a technology
resource inappropriately, the user is
responsible for immediately notifying a
professor, librarian, or an administrator of
the mistake. Failure to report unintentional
misuse will result in consideration of the
incident as an intentional violation.
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Limited
Expectation of Privacy: Users of
SULC technology resources have the right to
privacy in their e-mail correspondence and
personal files; however, SULC administration
reserves the right to gain access to these
files to investigate unusual activity on the
system or any user believed to be in
violation of acceptable use guidelines.
Although the
Internet is a very worthwhile educational tool,
it poses the risk of exposure to inappropriate
materials. SULC focuses on students’ learning to
make appropriate choices based on school
guidelines and personal values. Campus Internet
use is monitored so that users making
inappropriate choices can be redirected toward
productive use in accordance with school
guidelines.
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Disclaimer:
SULC makes no warranties of any kind,
whether expressed or implied, for the
Internet access services it provides. SULC
specifically denies any responsibility for
the quality of information obtained through
the Internet. SULC denies responsibility for
loss of data resulting in delays,
non-deliveries, miss-deliveries, or
interruptions sustained by users as a result
of system failure. SULC denies
responsibility for financial obligations
arising from unauthorized use of the system
for the purchase of products or services.
SULC accepts no responsibility for damages
incurred by a user’s inappropriate use of
the system.
I,
_______________________________(student)
have read the terms and conditions of use,
understand their significance, and agree to abide by
the terms.
Date:
_____________________
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