SECTION 1100 – INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

 

1102 INTERNET, WWW, AND EMAIL USAGE

 

POLICY

 

Georgia Perimeter College recognizes the Internet as a powerful medium for both collecting and disseminating information as well as distance communication. The college provides access to the Internet to further the institution’s mission of instruction and public service. Communication via the Internet can reflect a negative or positive image of the institution to students, faculty, alumni, benefactors and the general public. Because users of the Internet reflect the values, mores and policies of the college, it is necessary to establish standards of proper Internet use and conduct.  Improper conduct and use of the Internet, WWW and e-mail can reflect detrimentally on the college and result in profound ethical, moral and legal consequences. Consequently, the use of these resources should be consistent with the mission of the college and the policy expressed herein. Generally, each user continues to have the responsibilities discussed in the "Acceptable Computer and Internetworking Use Policy" (Policy 1101 Infra) plus the considerations discussed below as they related to the Internet Tools and Utilities, World Wide Web, and Electronic Mail.

 

A.      Internet Tools and Utilities – Internet Tools and Utilities enable users to access remote computing facilities and services in order to access and transfer information.  The College wants to encourage their use with the following provisions:

 

·         Any attempt to remotely access an unauthorized system --sometimes called "fishing" or “hacking”-- is not condoned.

·         When accessing another site from College owned resources, system users are bound by the policies and restrictions of the site that is being accessed through College owned resources.

·         The college must balance accordingly the resources these tools and utilities utilize with respect to essential academic and administrative Internet requirements against non-essential use.  Limits and restrictions and should established accordingly.  Essential verses non-essential use is determined by individual job demands and requirements.

·         When downloading software, users must comply with all policies relating to the software use.  This policy applies to “public domain” software as well as proprietary software. 

·         All programs must be scanned for viruses before they are run on College equipment or distributed to other users.

·         The college cannot be responsible for any software obtained from sources other than OIT (e.g., downloaded from the Internet, brought in from home, etc.). The Help Desk should be consulted prior to the installation of any software on a college owned PC.

 

B.      World Wide Web – Any individual or group with authorized access to a College-owned computer or computer network may use the World Wide Web to gather information and disseminate information via the World-Wide Web.  Access is subject to the terms of this policy and/or other applicable college policies, and state and federal laws. The following principles are to be established with respect to College Web pages :

 

·         The Web site is an official publication of the college in electronic form.  The Web-site is subject to the same policies and guidelines that govern all other publications of the college.  Policies and guidelines apply to copyrighted material, photographic images, sound prints, substance and style.

·         Web pages are to be classified as to their use and certain responsibilities.  Classification shall be related to frequency of updates, accuracy of content, timeliness of submission and the like and are to be assigned based upon their intended use.

·         Standards and guidelines with respect to the technical aspects of web publishing, such as disk quotas, development tools, scripts, etc. are to be established and maintained.

 

C.      Electronic Mail – The College encourages appropriate use of e-mail to enhance productivity through the efficient exchange of information in pursuit of education and public service. Use of these resources must be consistent with the mission and goals of the college. As a responsible member of the college community, each employee is expected to act in accord with the following general guidelines:

 

·         Electronic mail is not to be considered as an official form of communication for the college. All important correspondence should be sent via memorandum, letter, or other method of hard copy transmittal. Any correspondence that is of an urgent nature should also not be sent via e-mail either. Urgent communications should be set by phone or other appropriate method that is reasonably certain to be acted upon in a timely manner.

·         The college encourages the use of electronic mail and respects the privacy of users. It does not wish to inspect or monitor electronic mail routinely. Nevertheless, electronic mail is not to be considered as private or confidential and there should be no expectation of privacy or confidentiality for any documents or messages sent via e-mail.

·         The sending of chain letters, pyramid letters and any other nuisance or junk e-mail is prohibited.

·         Listservs, such as “Genmail” are to be used for the purpose for which they were intended.    All "GenMail" messages will be sent to College Web Page and a listing of new "GenMails" will be sent to each College email boxes each day.  The Office of Information Technology must approve exceptions for immediate, needed email "GenMails."

·         The sending of e-mail is governed by all other college policies as they relate to such issues as community decency standards, file transfers, copyright, political campaigning, etc.

 

PROCEDURE

 

The college reserves the right to limit or restrict the use of Internet Tools and Utilities for files coming in and going off campus.

 

The Office of Information Technology will prepare and publish (electronically via the college web site) a handbook for Standards and Guidelines for Internet Usage at Georgia Perimeter College. This document will provide additional detail as to the provisions set forth in this policy. This document is to be reviewed and updated annually or more frequently if appropriate.

 

The Office of Information Technology in cooperation with the Public Relations Department will prepare and publish (electronically via the college web site) a Style Guide and handbook for Standards and Guidelines for Web Publishing at Georgia Perimeter College. This document will provide additional detail as to the provisions set forth in this policy. This document is to be reviewed and updated annually or more frequently if appropriate.

 

Electronic mail accounts and web surfing are to be used primarily for academic and school related business purposes. Though personal e-mail and web surfing are not prohibited, system administrators and supervisors may set limits when their use becomes excessive and degrades system performance or detracts from employee productivity.

 

The college reserves the right to limit postings to college listservs, such as “Genmail” to issues related to the purpose of that list.

 

EXCEPTIONS

 

None of the provisions of this policy are intended to interfere with academic freedom or other bona fide administrative or academic activity that is consistent with the institution’s mission, direction and goals.  Accordingly, with the exception of illegal activity and other issues restricted by law, certain policy provisions may be waived. Requests for waiver should be submitted in writing to the Assistant Vice President for Information Technology.

 

Adopted by College Advisory Board, July 27, 2000