Acceptable Use Policy

April 8, 2022

Security and Acceptable Use Guidelines for Salem Community College Computing Resources

Purpose

The computing resources at Salem Community College support the educational, instructional, research and administrative activities of the institution and the use of these resources is a privilege that is extended to members of the College community. As a user of these services and facilities, you have access to College resources, sensitive data and internal and external networks. Consequently, it is important for you to behave in a responsible, ethical and legal manner.

In general, acceptable use means respecting the rights of other computer users, the integrity of the physical facilities and all pertinent license and contractual agreements. If an individual is found to be in violation of the Security and Acceptable Use Guidelines, the College will take disciplinary action, including the restriction and possible loss of privileges. A serious violation could result in more serious consequences, up to and including suspension or termination from employment or expulsion. Individuals are also subject to federal, state and local laws governing many interactions that occur on the Internet. These policies and laws are subject to change as state and federal laws develop and change.

This document establishes specific requirements for the use of all computing and network resources at Salem Community College.

Scope

These guidelines applies to all users of computing resources owned or managed by Salem Community College. Individuals covered by these guidelines include (but are not limited to) SCC staff, faculty, adjuncts, visitors, students, alumni, external individuals and organizations accessing network services via SCC’s computing facilities.

Computing resources include all College-owned, licensed or managed hardware and software, and use of the College network via a physical or wireless connection, regardless of the ownership of the computer or device connected to the network.

These guidelines apply to technology administered in individual departments, the resources administered by central administrative departments (such as the Library and the Information Technology Department), personally-owned computers and devices connected by wire or wireless to the campus network, and to off-campus computers that connect remotely to the College’s network services.

Rights and Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of Salem Community College to maintain a computing environment that promotes ethical conduct by staff and students. It shall be a violation of these guidelines for any employee, student, or other individual to engage in any activity that does not conform to the established purpose of these guidelines. Within these guidelines, SCC recognizes its legal and ethical responsibility to protect the well-being of its employees and students. In order to do so, Salem Community College retains the following rights:

To log network use and to monitor fileserver utilization by users, and assume no responsibility or liability for data loss due to any reason, including system malfunction or user error.
To disable or remove a user account on the network for any reason and without notice.
To disable access to removable media (portable hard drives/flash drives) for any reason and without notice.
To monitor the use of activities while using College-owned resources and/or personal devices connected to College-owned networks. This may include real-time monitoring of activity and/or maintaining a log of activity for later review, without notice to the user being monitored. This is not standard practice and often prompted through malware alerts or legal investigations. Employees and students should expect a certain degree of privacy when using SCC computing resources.
To provide internal and external controls as appropriate and feasible. Such controls shall include the right to determine who will have access to College-owned equipment and, specifically, to exclude those who do not abide by the Security and Acceptable Use Guidelines or other guidelines governing the use of institutional facilities, equipment, and materials. Salem Community College reserves the right to restrict online destinations through software, content filtering or other means.
To provide guidelines and make reasonable efforts to train staff and students in acceptable use of technology and online communications.

Staff Responsibilities

Staff members who supervise students, control electronic equipment, or otherwise have occasion to observe student use of said equipment online shall make reasonable efforts to monitor the use of this equipment to assure that it conforms to the mission and goals of Salem Community College.
Exercise good judgement in the use of institutional technological and information resources.
Exercise vigilance and caution when utilizing the SCC email system in order to mitigate the introduction of malware into the SCC network and/or server systems.
As a representative of Salem Community College, you are expected to respect the institution’s good name in your electronic dealings with those outside the institution.
Those with access to social media platforms are expected to post responsibly, monitor for inappropriate posts and report any abuse observed.
Abide by all federal, state and local laws, as well as SCC policies.
Abide by all applicable copyright laws and licenses.

Student Responsibilities

Use of the electronic media provided by Salem Community College is a privilege that offers a wealth of information and resources for learning. Where it is available, this resource is offered to students, and other patrons. In order to maintain the privilege, users will agree and comply with all of the provisions of these guidelines.
Abide by all federal, state and local laws, as well as regulations as distributed in the SCC Student Handbook.
Exercise responsible posting habits when utilizing social media platforms in relation to Salem Community College.

Acceptable Use

All use of computing resources must be in support of educational and workplace objectives consistent with the mission of Salem Community College.
You may only use the computing resources for which you have authorization.
You may not use another user’s account, or attempt to capture or guess another user’s passwords.
You must adhere to password complexity requirements and never share your password.
You are individually responsible for appropriate use of all resources assigned to you, including the computer, network access, software and hardware. It is unacceptable to enable unauthorized users to access the network by using an SCC computer or personal computer that is connected to the SCC network.
Salem Community College is bound by its contractual and license agreements with third party resources; you are expected to comply with all such agreements when using such resources.
You must make every effort to protect your passwords and to secure resources against unauthorized use or access. Written passwords kept in desks, Post-It notes and text files are examples of unacceptable practices.
You must not attempt to access restricted portions of the network, operating systems, security software or other administrative applications without appropriate authorization by the system owner or administrator.
You must comply the guidelines for any specific set of resources to which you have been granted access. In the case of multiple guidelines, the most restrictive one always takes precedence.
You must not use SCC computing and/or network resources in conjunction with the execution of programs, software, processes or automated transaction-based commands that are intended to disrupt other computer or network users, or damage or degrade performance, software or hardware components of a system.
You must not use tools that are designed to assess security or to attack computer systems or networks. (e.g., password “crackers”, vulnerability scanners, network sniffers, etc.)
Employees are not permitted to install any software on any campus computer without the express consent of the Information Technology Department.
Employees must not use College computing resources for personal purposes. (e.g., sports sites, Internet radio, iTunes, Netflix, gaming, etc.)
Faculty may utilize College computing resources to conduct research and develop lesson plans, however, computing resources are not to be utilized for personal purposes that transcend the development of educational materials. This includes the College Wi-Fi and Internet services.
Students may utilize College computing resources for the purposes of research and the completion of assignments, however, computing resources are not to be used for personal purposes that transcend performance of educational work. This includes the College Wi-Fi and Internet services.
No one may use College resources for conducting private business or for personal financial gain.
Distribution and viewing of pornography or patently obscene material other than for authorized research or instructional purposes is prohibited. SCC does implement content filtering to block this material. If there is a research-related need, please visit the Information Technology Department in TIL208 for assistance.
Employees are prohibited from copying College files to external storage devices with the intent of taking such files off-campus, regardless of the purpose for doing so. If there is a need to work from home, alternate and more secure methods are available. Please contact the Information Technology Department for assistance.
Employees are prohibited from taking printed materials that pertain to students, College processes, administration and financial information off-campus.
Employees are prohibited from downloading email attachments that contain PII or student data to their home/personal computers or devices for any reason. All remote access to information must be performed using encrypted College-owned equipment.
Employees are expected to comply with all Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) laws in regard to computing resources and student data.
Employees are expected to maintain confidentiality in regard to College information. Any information pertaining to students or staff that an employee might access in the course of a work assignment through a computer, student file or other documentation is to be used strictly to perform job duties and may only be shared with those who are authorized to have such information. Employees may not change, alter, copy or divulge any such information unless it is required to carry out a job assignment. Employees will use secure means to transmit data inside or outside of the College. Email is not a secure method to transmit sensitive information.
Employees are permitted to utilize College email on their cell phones using either the built-in mail application or the Outlook app. In order to do so, the employee must work with the Information Technology Department to have the settings entered. By participating in this privilege, the employee agrees that their phone can and will be remotely wiped in the case of a lost or stolen phone.
College email is accessible through Outlook Web Access (OWA) and is provided to all employees for remote access to email. This is the only approved method for remote access to email, other than use on a mobile phone.

Unacceptable Use

Giving out personal information about another person, including home address and phone number, is strictly prohibited.
Any use of the College computing resources for commercial or for-profit purposes is prohibited.
Use of the network for personal purposes.
Use of College computing resources for product, external organization or religious advertisement or political lobbying is prohibited.
Users shall not intentionally seek information on, obtain copies of, or modify files, other data, or passwords belonging to other users, or misrepresent other users on the network.
No use of the network shall serve to disrupt the use of the network by others. Hardware and/or software shall not be destroyed, modified, or abused in any way.
Malicious use of the network to develop programs that harass other users or infiltrate a computer or computing system and/or damage the software components of a computer or computing system is prohibited.
Hate mail, chain letters, harassment, discriminatory remarks, and other antisocial behaviors are prohibited on College computing resources and social media platforms.
The unauthorized installation of any software, including shareware and freeware, for use on College computers is prohibited.
Use of the network to access or process pornographic material or files dangerous to the integrity of the network is prohibited.
The College network may not be used for downloading entertainment software or other files not related to the mission of Salem Community College.
Transferring College files to a user's home computer, personal computer or other media via any means is prohibited.
Downloading, copying, otherwise duplicating, and/or distributing copyrighted materials without the specific written permission of the copyright owner is prohibited, except that duplication and/or distribution of materials for educational purposes is permitted when such duplication and/or distribution would fall within the Fair Use Doctrine of the United States Copyright Law (Title 17, USC).
Use of the College computing resources for any unlawful purpose is prohibited.
Use of profanity, obscenity, racist terms, or other language that may be offensive to another user is prohibited.
Playing network-based video games is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Information Technology Department.

Disclaimer

Salem Community College cannot be held accountable or liable for the information that is retrieved via the network from the Internet.
Pursuant to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (18 USC 2510 et seq.), notice is hereby given that there are no facilities provided by this system for sending or receiving private or confidential electronic communications. System administrators have access to all email and will observe messages. Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities, or in violation of this policy will be acted upon appropriately.
Salem Community College will not be accountable or liable for any damages you may suffer, including loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, or service interruptions caused by our own negligence or your errors or omissions, or any consequence related to a policy/practice violation. Use of any information obtained is at your own risk.
Salem Community College makes no warranties (expressed or implied) with respect to:
1. the content of any advice or information received by a user, or any costs or charges incurred as a result of seeing or accepting any information; and
2. any costs, liability, or damages caused by the way the user chooses to use his or her access to the network.
Salem Community College reserves the right to change its policies at any time.
All users of Salem Community College computing resources implicitly agree to the terms of this policy through the utilization of such resources.

Signatures

By signing below, I attest that I agree with the above guidelines in their entirety.

Employee Signature Date

Employee Printed Name

HR Director Signature Date

HR Director Printed Name

IT Director Signature Date

IT Director Printed Name

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