Ulster County Community College Technology Policy
(1) Computers and network systems offer powerful tools for communication among members of the Ulster community and of communities outside of the College. When used appropriately, these tools can enhance dialog and communications. The College expects all members of its community to use electronic resources in an ethical and responsible manner.
(2) The College reserves the right to place limited restrictions on the use of its computers and network systems in response to complaints presenting evidence of violations of College policies or codes, or state or federal laws. Once evidence is established, the College authorities responsible for overseeing these policies and codes will be consulted on the appropriateness of specific restrictions, which could include the removal of material posted on a computer and/or limiting access to the College's networks. In exceptional cases, Office of Information Technology (OIT) staff may detect evidence of a violation while performing his or her duties operating or maintaining a system. In such instances, the OIT staff member should contact the Director of Library & Information Services for further guidance.
(3) No one shall use any College computer or network facility without proper authorization. No one shall assist in, encourage, or conceal from authorities any unauthorized use, or attempt an unauthorized use, of any of the College's computers or network facilities. Computers and networks are just like any other College facilities - they are to be used only by people who have permission.
(4) No one shall knowingly endanger the security of any College computer or network facility, nor willfully interfere with others' authorized computer usage. Many of the guidelines outlined here deal with specific acts of this kind. You should not assume that other malicious acts or deliberate security violations are permissible merely because there is no specific rule against them.
(5) No one shall use the College's communication facilities to attempt unauthorized use, nor to interfere with others' legitimate use, of any computer or network facility anywhere. State and federal laws forbid malicious disruption of computers. Ulster County Community College does not tolerate individuals who invade others' privacy, steal computer services, or commit misrepresentation or fraud; nor pranksters who attempt to disrupt computers or network facilities for any other purpose. Also, you should be aware that ability to use a remote computer does not constitute permission. Some computer services are open to the public, and clearly identify themselves as such, but the lack of security measures does not mean that a computer is open to anyone who wishes to use it.
(6) No one shall connect any computer to any of the College's networks unless it meets technical and security standards set by the College administration. The applicable requirements depend on what kind of connection is being made. For example, dialing up with an ordinary asynchronous modem does not require any special authorization, but connecting to the campus-wide Ethernet cable does, because one improperly configured machine on a network can cause widespread disruption.
(7) Users shall share computing resources in accordance with policies set for the computers involved, giving priority to more important work and cooperating fully with the other users of the same equipment. If you need an unusual amount of disk space, CPU time, or other resources, check with the OIT technical director rather than risk disrupting others' work. When resources are tight, work that is necessary to the College's mission must take priority over computing that is done to pursue personal interests or self-training on side topics. Also, no matter how important your work may be, you are only entitled to one person's fair share of the machine unless additional resources are available and appropriate permission has been granted.
(8) The College grants the use of its facilities to numerous organizations whose activities contribute to its mission, such as student organizations. It is improper to use the College's computers for political campaigns, commercial enterprises, mass mailings, or other outside activities that have not been granted the use of the College's facilities.
