Technology Usage Policy

Columbia College Ethics Code for Computer Users

Computer facilities operated by Columbia College are available for the use of students, faculty and staff. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to use these facilities for research and instruction. In order to make it possible for everyone to have access to computing resources on campus, it is necessary to establish fair-use guidelines. Use of Columbia College computer facilities is a privilege and all users are expected to adhere to the following ethical guidelines when using Columbia College computing resources.

General Principles

1. Respect for intellectual labor and creativity is vital to academic discourse and enterprise. This principle applies to works of all authors and publishers in all media. It encompasses respect for the right to acknowledgment, right to privacy, and right to determine the form, manner and terms of publication and distribution.
2. Because electronic information is so volatile and easily reproduced, respect for the work and personal expression of others is especially critical in computer environments. Violations of author integrity, including plagiarism, invasion of privacy, unauthorized access, and trade secrets and copyright violations, may be grounds for sanctions against members of the academic community. ¹

¹ Columbia College endorses this statement and intellectual rights developed by EDUCOM, a non-profit consortium of colleges and universities committed to the use and management of information technology in higher education.

Ethical and Responsible use of Computers

1. The College provides computing equipment and facilities to students, staff and faculty for purposes of work (business), instruction and research. It is a violation of College policy to use College computers for commercial purposes.
2. When working in College computing labs users will be aware of and follow rules posted for fair use.
3. Use of College computing resources for academic objectives takes precedence over use of those facilities for personal reasons.
4. Computer communications systems and networks promote the free exchange of ideas and information, thus enhancing teaching and research, as well as enabling employees to work more efficiently and productively. Computer users must not use electronic communications systems of any kind to send material that is obscene, illegal, discriminatory, or intended to defame or harass others, or to interfere with their work on the computer.
5. Students, faculty and staff who use the computers have the right to security of their computer programs and data. Computer users must not access files or information that belong to other users or to the operating system, without permission. Employees, students and anyone associated with Columbia College should note that electronic communication (media) and services provided by Columbia College are the property of same and their purpose is to facilitate business, teaching and research.
6. United States copyright and patent laws protect the interests of authors, inventors and software developers and their products. Software license agreements serve to increase compliance with copyright and patent laws and to help insure publishers, authors and developers of a return on their investments. It is against federal law and College policy to violate the copyrights or patents of computer software. It is against College policy and may be a violation of state or federal law to violate software license agreements. Students, faculty or staff may not use programs obtained from commercial sources or other computer installations unless written authority has been obtained or the programs are within the public domain.
7. Security systems exist to ensure that only authorized users have access to computer resources. All passwords are confidential and should not be given out for others to use. The College prohibits the use of another person’s password or identity to access confidential information and files. Computer users must not attempt to modify system facilities or attempt to crash the system, nor should they attempt to subvert the restrictions associated with their computer accounts, the networks of which the College is a member, or microcomputer software protections.
8. Abusers of computing privileges will be subject to disciplinary action. Violators will be subject to Columbia College’s disciplinary procedures as detailed in the catalog, up to and including termination or expulsion. The computer systems administrator reserves the right to examine user computer files and messages to resolve complaints and/or grievances to ensure reliable system operation.
9. Abuse of the networks, or of computers at other campuses connected to the networks, or of personnel who assist in the labs, will be treated as abuse of computing privileges at Columbia College.
10. Computer users shall cooperate in any investigation of violation of responsible use.
11. Damage to or destruction of any Columbia College computer or computer equipment will subject the offender to disciplinary action up to and including termination or expulsion and financial repayment to the College.

Examples
The following are examples of ethical or responsible use of computers:

• Using electronic mail to correspond with colleagues at other colleges or universities.
• Sharing files of programs or data with team members working together on a research project.
• Copying software placed in public domain.
• Using computing equipment for grant supported research with approval from the Vice President for Adult Higher Education.
• Reporting nonfunctional computing equipment to lab assistants or technical services repair staff, or Residential Life staff for residence hall equipment.

The following are examples of unethical or irresponsible uses of computing resources:

• Using computer facilities for work done on behalf of a commercial firm.
• Sending or showing electronic files, such as mail messages or images, containing material offensive to others who may see the file.
• Copying a file from another computer user’s account without permission.
• Copying copyrighted computer software for use on another computer.
• Unplugging or reconfiguring computer equipment to make it unusable or difficult to use.
• Installing software on College computers without permission of Technology Services.
• Downloading materials from the internet and submitting them for credit as one’s own work.
• Downloading or displaying obscene images or messages.

Acceptable Use Policy

The computer resources at Columbia College support the academic and administrative activities of the College. Use of resources for academic and administrative objectives takes precedence over personal reasons. Use of any Columbia College (CC) computing resource is considered a privilege, and all users are expected to adhere to the following acceptable use policy (AUP). This policy applies to any person or organization utilizing CC computing resources.

All users of College computing resources must adhere to the following:

• Ensure the security and confidentiality of all College data and information.
• College technology resources shall not be used for commercial purposes unless authorized by the college.
• It is prohibited to use college computing system/network resources to store, access or send material that is obscene, illegal, discriminating, or intended to defame or harass others, or to interfere with their work on the computer. “Computing system/network resources” include but are not limited to all computers, networks, voice, video, email and other applications.
• It is prohibited to share CC login credentials with others. All users are responsible for activities carried out with the use of these credentials.
• Comply with all College policies.
• Comply with all federal, state, and other applicable laws including copyright regulations.
• Intentional unauthorized use is prohibited, including any modification or disruption to computing resources and systems.

Use of any Columbia College computing resource constitutes full acceptance of the terms and conditions of College policies, including the Investigation and/or Monitoring of Employee Electronic Communications or Files policy. Violations of the terms and conditions of this policy could result in revocation of system privileges and may result in further disciplinary actions up to and including immediate student dismissal and employee termination from the College. Columbia College reserves the right to change this policy without notice.

Student Email Policy

(Use of Email for Official Correspondence with Students)

1. College use of email
   Email is a mechanism for official communication within Columbia College. The College has the right to expect that such communications will be received and read in a timely fashion. Official email communications are intended to meet only the academic and administrative needs of the campus community.
2. Assignment of student email
   Official college email accounts are available for all enrolled students. The addresses are all of the form [Name]@cougars.ccis.edu. These accounts must be activated before the College can correspond with its students using the official email system. Official email addresses will be maintained in the Colleague Student Information System and will be considered directory information unless students request otherwise.
3. Redirecting of email
   If students wish to have email redirected from their official@cougars.ccis.edu address to another email address (e.g. @gmail.com, @hotmail.com, etc.), they may do so, but at their own risk. The College will not be responsible for the handling of email by outside vendors or by departmental servers. Having email redirected does not absolve a student from the responsibilities associated with official communications sent to his or her @cougars.ccis.edu account.
4. Expectations about student use of email
   Students are expected to check their email on a frequent and consistent basis in order to stay current with College-related communications. Students have the responsibility to recognize that certain communications may be time-critical. “I didn’t check my email”, error in forwarding mail, or email returned to the College with “Mailbox Full” or “User Unknown” are not acceptable reasons for missing official College communications via email.
5. Authentication for confidential information
   It is a violation of Columbia College policies, including the Student Code of Conduct, for any user of official email addresses to impersonate a College office, faculty/staff member, or student, or to use the College email to violate the Student Code of Conduct.
6. Privacy
   Users should exercise extreme caution in using email to communicate confidential or sensitive matters, and should not assume that email is private and confidential. It is especially important that users are careful to send messages only to the intended recipient(s). Particular care should be taken when using the “reply” command during email correspondence.
7. Educational uses of email
   Faculty will determine how electronic forms of communication (e.g., email) will be used in their classes and will specify their requirements in the course syllabus. This “Official Student Email Policy” will ensure that all students will be able to comply with email based course requirements specified by faculty. Faculty can therefore make the assumption that students’ official @cougars.ccis.edu accounts are being accessed and faculty can use email for classes accordingly.
8. E-mail account activation
   When students receive an email account they will sign an acceptance form which will include the College’s Code of Conduct. Returning students will not have to reactivate their account as long as they have not missed three consecutive terms. Upon graduation, a student may elect to have his/her email account moved to the Alumni email account, or deactivated.
9. Deactivation of account
   Non-attendance for three consecutive terms will constitute reason for revoking the account and the deletion of data pertaining to it. Hardship cases will be handled by the Division of Adult Higher Education on a case-by-case basis.

Social Media

The prevalence of social media on the Columbia College campus can both benefit and inhibit the development of a civil and respectful community of scholars. College staff and faculty may choose to have profiles on various social media mediums. If in the course of normal use of the social media sites a member of the Columbia College community finds information that the College deems concerning, the student may be contacted to meet with the Campus Director or a designee to discuss the scope and nature of the information located online.