Information Technology (IT) Policy

Institutional Purposes

This College-wide policy is intended to allow for the proper use of all Enterprise State Community College information technology, including computing and network resources, effective protection of individual users, equitable access, and proper management of resources.

Use and Access

The use of all IT resources and access to the Internet is a PRIVILEGE, not a RIGHT. All ESCC students and employees are responsible for using these resources in an effective, ethical, and lawful manner. The College’s IT resources (software and hardware) are to be used to advance the College’s mission. The College provides an atmosphere that encourages access to knowledge and sharing of information.

ESCC employees and currently enrolled students may use campus technological resources for purposes related to their studies, their responsibilities for providing instruction, the discharge of their duties as employees, their official business with the College, and other ESCC sanctioned activities. The use of the College’s IT resources for commercial purposes is permitted only by special arrangement with the appropriate officials.

This policy is adopted in order to assure that the technology provided for general College student and employee use is always available for everyone and that no single individual will neither prevent, interrupt, or deter another individual from equal opportunity, nor violate another individual’s rights.

Throughout this policy, an “individual” refers to the College’s students and employees. The “network” refers to the physical wiring, the logical data network and its protocols, the Internet access provided by Enterprise State Community College, stand-alone computers, and any other computer systems attached to the data network. Students and ESCC employees are not allowed to connect their personal computers and/or laptops to the wired network.

Technology resources may be used for legal purposes in accordance with ethical standards of the College.

Illegal Use includes but is not limited to the following:

harassment of other users
libeling or slandering other users
destruction of or damage to equipment, software, or data belonging to the College or other users
disruption or unauthorized monitoring of electronic communications
unauthorized copying of copyright-protected material
the viewing of pornographic material
concealing or misrepresenting your name or affiliation in email messages

Unethical Use includes but is not limited to the following:

violation of computer network security,
setting up servers, routers, and machines that are against the College’s policies or which invite an exceptional amount of network access traffic
unauthorized use of computer accounts, access codes, or network identification numbers assigned to others
use of computer communications facilities in ways that unnecessarily impede the computing activities of others, such as randomly initiating interactive electronic communications or email exchanges, overuse of interactive network utilities, etc.
use of any peer-to-peer (P2P) software or torrents
use of computing facilities for private business purposes unrelated to the mission of the College or to life at the College
academic dishonesty (plagiarism, cheating, etc.)
violation of software license agreements
violation of network usage policies and regulations
violation of another user’s privacy
display or distribution of materials (text, audio, or video) which are obscene, sexist, or racist on any campus location where it may be deemed offensive to other individuals
use of profanity, obscenity, or other language which may be offensive to other individuals

Cooperative Use includes but is not limited to the following:

regular deletion of unneeded files from one’s accounts on shared computing resources
refraining from overuse of connect time, information storage space, printing facilities, or processing capacity
refraining from overuse of social networking sites
refraining from use of sounds and visuals which might be disruptive to others
refraining from use of any computing resource in an irresponsible manner
refraining from unauthorized use of departmental or individual computing resources such as a personal or departmental laser printer, laptop
refraining from initiating or forwarding email “chain letters” or “broadcast” messages

Privacy and Confidentiality

The right to privacy of all individuals is also to be upheld. Enterprise State Community College will do its best to protect the confidentiality of the network and its users; however, individuals must do their best to aid in this process.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Electronic data of any type on the network, including email, is NOT confidential. While the College staff do everything in their power to keep data confidential, the College cannot make guarantees. Individuals should abide by the security restrictions on all systems and information to which they have access. All equipment and the data it contains are the property of Enterprise State Community College, but due to the nature of the Internet no guarantees can be made.

Classroom Information Technology Use

The following standards are intended to preserve academic integrity and ensure that students have optimum environmental conditions for effective learning.

Telecommunication devices may not be displayed, activated, or used during instructional activities unless otherwise specified by the instructor. Instructors may require that cellular telephones and other wireless and electronic devices be left on students’ desks during examinations. Telecommunication devices are defined as but not limited to cellular telephones with or without cameras, walkie-talkies, handheld computing devices, portable electronic or wireless devices capable of storing and transmitting or receiving images, such as cameras or laptops, as well as any new technology developed for similar purposes.

Computer Lab Use

Enterprise State Community College’s computer labs are available to currently enrolled students and employees of ESCC. No lab use is permitted except during scheduled hours; however, those hours may change at the discretion of instructors. Lab hours will be posted on the lab doors.

All of the College’s IT policies pertain to use of the equipment and the behavior of the individuals within the general-use labs on all of the College’s locations. No food, drinks, or tobacco products of any nature, to include e-cigarettes and vapor cigarettes, are allowed within the labs at any time. No children are permitted in labs. No groups are permitted at computers, unless directed by an instructor. A quiet learning environment must be maintained in all labs. Enterprise State Community College staff, student lab monitors, and campus security personnel reserve the right to ask disruptive and non-authorized individuals to leave.

Within the labs, strict policies are followed pertaining to copying files and applications and the installation of any software not licensed to Enterprise State Community College. Copying any application software not already licensed to the College is prohibited without the consent of the Director of Information Technology.

It is also prohibited to turn off any copy-protection software, anti-virus software, or otherwise change the configuration of any machine within the labs, including the removal of any disk/file locking software, without the consent of the Information Technology Department. Making changes to the system hardware and the software configurations that interfere with others’ use of the same machine or any portion of the data network and printing may result in the restriction of the individual’s rights to use all general access labs. Individuals should be aware of computer viruses and other destructive computer programs and take steps to avoid being victims or unwitting distributors of these programs.

Student Academic Success (SAS) Lab

Usage is limited to currently enrolled ESCC students and priority for usage is as follows:

students being tested have priority for usage during designated testing hours
individual students using computers or Internet for course-related work (research, study guides, tutorials, word- processing, computer assignments, etc.)
individual students doing transfer searches, financial aid applications, or career searches

Library/LRC Computers

Computers in the Library/LRC are available primarily for sessions in curriculum-related functions. Usage priorities are as follows:

scheduled classes,
individual library users accessing Webcat (the online catalog) or online databases on the Internet,
ESCC students using the computers or Internet for course-related work,
ESCC students and employees using the computers or Internet for non-course related purposes, including online communities (i.e. Facebook) or email usage—one hour session limit per day, and
approved community residents using computers or Internet, including online communities, for non- course related purposes—one hour session limit per day during designated hours.

Harassing and/or Obscene Material

At no time shall any sexually or racially discriminating material be displayed within the labs, except as it pertains to class assignments. If requested to remove the display of information or graphics of such a nature, the individual shall do so immediately. Email may not be used to send abusive, threatening, or harassing materials.

Social Media and Online Communities (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.)

Students and employees should be certain that they know the pages they are accessing in online communities are safe and non-malicious. This is mandatory to maintain the security of the College’s computers and network.
Anyone posting to social media sites can be held legally responsible for the comments posted.
Posts by page administrators or others to social media sites do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the College.
ESCC monitors all sites an reserves the right to edit, change, or modify any post not in compliance with College guidelines

Guidelines for Using Social Media

Obscenities, personal attacks, harassment, threats, hateful, slanderous, unlawful or defamatory comments will not be tolerated. These types of items will be removed and any person making such posts will be reported to the Dean of Students’ office for violation of Student Code of Conduct or to the appropriate authorities.
Do not post text, video, pictures or other items that could alienate, harm, or provoke other students, colleagues, instructors, or peers.
Posts must be accurate and reviewed for grammatical or factual errors. The College reserves the right to make related corrections as necessary or to remove posts that violates ESCC guidelines.
All posts must be relevant to ESCC. The college’s social media sites can not be used to promote businesses, personal causes, or political candidates.
Do not post any item that infringes on the rights of any third party. These include intellectual property, privacy, or public rights.
No soliciting.

Permissions

By posting text, pictures, or video to any ESCC social media site, the user acknowledges that Enterprise State Community College, including the Alabama Aviation College, has the irrevocable right to the material posted. These items, including photographs and/or text may be reproduced, copied, distributed, published, displayed, edited, or modified, or used in other ways deemed necessary and/or beneficial to the college.

Any college department, club, or organization planning to establish, create, or maintain a social media site, must first obtain written permission from the Public Relations Director.

Any student organization affiliated with Enterprise State Community College shall adhere to the same IT policies as an individual student. All content (including text, photos, & video, posted on a student organization social network site (i.e., Facebook, Twitter etc.) shall be consistent with the mission of Enterprise State Community College. Any person or organization in violation of this policy shall be subject to sanctions under the Student Code of Conduct.

ESCC is not responsible for the content of any other website outside of the escc.edu domain.

Wasteful Use of Resources

Acts that impair the operation of the labs, such as installing computer viruses, sending excessively large email, large print jobs, batch programs, “junk mail” (including chain letters), etc., are prohibited. No downloading of programs is allowed unless first authorized by the Director of Information Technology.

Violation of any of the above rules may result in the suspension of the person’s rights to use any of the general access labs at Enterprise State Community College.

Disclaimer

The College reserves the right to charge for materials related to computing expenses, such as printer paper and cartridges.

Purposes and Uses of Email at the College

The College provides many computing and network resources for use by students, faculty, staff, and other persons affiliated with the College. Members of the College’s community are encouraged to use email for College-related activities and to facilitate the efficient exchange of useful information. Access to email is a privilege and certain responsibilities accompany that privilege. Users of email are expected to be ethical and responsible in their use.

Prohibited Email Uses

College email addresses cannot be used to send the following types of messages:

sending copies of documents in violation of copyright laws,
inclusion of the work of others into electronic mail communications in violation of copyright laws,
“spoofing,” i.e., constructing an electronic mail communication so it appears to be from someone else,
“snooping,” i.e., obtaining access to the files or electronic mail of others for the purposes of satisfying idle curiosity with no substantial College business purpose,
capture and “opening” of electronic mail except as required in order for authorized employees to diagnose and correct delivery problems,
attempting unauthorized access to electronic mail or attempting to breach any security measures on any electronic mail system, or attempting to intercept any electronic mail transmissions without proper authorization,
use of electronic mail to harass or intimidate others or to interfere with the ability of others to conduct College business,
“spamming,” i.e., the mass distribution of unsolicited electronic mail or news promoting commercial or non-commercial websites,
use of the College’s electronic mail resources for personal monetary gain or for commercial purposes that are not directly related to College business, and
use of electronic mail systems for any purpose restricted or prohibited by laws or regulations.

Wireless Internet Access

Enterprise State Community College provides wireless data network access in select locations for the campus community. Wireless networking is a supplement to the College’s wired LAN network and is not considered a replacement for wired access.

Use of the wireless network on campus is subject to the following rules.

Wireless access on campus is subject to the College’s Technology Policy found in the ESCC College Catalog and Student Handbook.
Any action that is judged detrimental to campus network operation by the IT staff may be terminated.
The wireless connection is a direct connection to the Internet with a basic firewall. The College does not provide virus or spyware scanning software for this connection; therefore, the risk of infections to computers increases. Connection users, not ESCC, are responsible for infections originating from the wireless internet connection.

Consequences

Violators of the IT Policy will be subject to the normal disciplinary procedures of the College and, in addition, the loss of computing privileges on the College network may result. Violations of the policies described above for legal and ethical use of computing resources will be dealt with in a serious and appropriate manner. Illegal acts involving computing resources may also be subject to prosecution by local, state, or federal authorities.