The
Office of Information Technology (OIT)
is responsible for the centrally managed
information technology activities of
Philadelphia University. It develops and
provides services to benefit other
segments of the University and to
facilitate the success of decentralized
information technology activities.
OIT
serves a large number and variety of
users--faculty, staff, students, and
outside clients. As members of the
Philadelphia University community and in
accordance with the overall policy in
this area, (see
Information
Technology policy) all types of
users have the responsibility to use the
Center's services in an effective,
efficient, ethical, and legal manner.
Ethical
and legal standards that apply to
information technology resources derive
directly from standards of common sense
and common decency that apply to the use
of any shared resource. The Office of
Information Technology depends first
upon the spirit of mutual respect and
cooperation that has been fostered at
Philadelphia University to resolve
differences and ameliorate problems that
arise from time to time.
This
statement on conditions of use is
published in that spirit. The purpose of
the statement is to promote the
responsible, ethical, legal, and secure
use of OIT resources for the protection
of all users.
Authorized
Use
When you
use OIT's services, you agree to the
following conditions:
- To
respect the privacy of other users;
for example, you shall not
intentionally seek information on,
obtain copies of, or modify files,
tapes, or passwords belonging to
other users or the University, or
represent others (i.e., log on as
someone else), unless explicitly
authorized to do so by those users.
- To
respect the legal protection
provided by copyright and licensing
of programs and data; for example,
you shall not make copies of a
licensed computer program to avoid
paying additional license fees or to
share with other users.
- To
respect the intended usage of
accounts; for example, you shall use
assigned accounts, transactions,
data, and processes authorized by
faculty, department heads, or
project directors for the purposes
specified, and shall not access or
use other accounts, transactions,
data, or processes unless explicitly
authorized to do so by the
authorizing personnel.
- To
respect the integrity of the system
or network; for example, you shall
not intentionally develop or use
programs, transactions, data, or
processes that harass other users or
infiltrate the system or damage or
alter the software or data
components of a system.
Alterations to any system or network
software or data component shall be
made only under specific
instructions from authorized
faculty, department heads, project
directors, or management staff.
- To
respect the rights of other users;
for example, you shall comply with
all University policies regarding
sexual, racial, and other forms of
harassment, and you shall not
divulge sensitive personal data
concerning faculty, staff, or
students to which you have access
without explicit authorization to do
so.
- To
adhere to all General University
Policies and Procedures including,
but not limited to, policies on
proper use of information resources,
information technology, and
networks; acquisition, use, and
disposal of University-owned
computer equipment; use of
telecommunications equipment;
ethical and legal use of software;
and ethical and legal use of
administrative data.
In
addition, other external networks to
which Philadelphia University maintains
connections (e.g., Internet) have
established acceptable use standards. It
is your responsibility to adhere to the
standards of such networks. The
University cannot and will not extend
any protection to you should you violate
the policies of an external network.
You
should be aware that although the
Computer Center provides and preserves
security of files, account numbers,
authorization codes, and passwords,
security can be breached through actions
or causes beyond the reasonable control
of the Computer Center. You are
urged, therefore, to safeguard your
data, authorization codes, and
passwords; to take full advantage of
file security mechanisms built into the
computing systems; to change your
account password frequently; and to
follow the security policies and
procedures established to control access
to and use of administrative data.
Violations
of Conditions of Use
Violations
of any of the above conditions are
certainly unethical and may be
violations of University policy or
criminal offenses. You are
expected to report to the Computer
Center instances in which the above
conditions have been or are being
violated. When the Center becomes
aware of possible violations of these
conditions, it will initiate an
investigation. At the same time,
in order to prevent further possible
unauthorized activity, the Center may
suspend the authorization of computing
services to the individual or account in
question. In accordance with
established University practices,
policies and procedures, confirmation of
unauthorized use of the center's
resources may result in disciplinary
review, expulsion from the University,
termination of employment, legal action,
or other disciplinary action.
Appropriate
and Responsible Use
Computing
resources shall be used in a manner
consistent with the instruction, public
service, research, and administrative
objectives of the University, in
general, and consistent with the
specific objectives of the project or
task for which such use was authorized,
in particular. All uses
inconsistent with these objectives, even
if authorized, are considered to be
inappropriate use and may jeopardize
further authorization.
You are
expected to use computing resources in a
responsible and efficient manner. OIT
will provide guidance to help you use
these resources efficiently and
productively. If you use large amounts
of computing and data processing
resources, you are expected to refrain
from engaging in deliberately wasteful
practices--for example, printing large
amounts of unnecessary listings,
maintaining large numbers of unused
files, or playing games for purely
recreational purposes.
The
pertinent consideration is the
recognition that computing resources are
finite. Therefore, you are expected to
cooperate to the greatest extent
possible in making these resources
available to others.
The
Office of Information Technology's
resources include systems for human
interaction, such as messaging and
conferencing. OIT supports both
freedom of expression in these media and
the University's policies against
racial, sexual, and other forms of
harassment. Philadelphia
University is committed to being a
racially, ethnically, and religiously
heterogeneous community. Computer
conferences in particular provide a
vehicle through which the University's
commitment can be realized, because they
convene a very broad cross section of
the community to discuss a wide range of
issues, including those of bigotry,
racism, and sexism. While using
various media for electronic
communication, you should be mindful of
the impact of your contributions on the
campus community. You should abide
by the standards set for participant
behavior in each conference you are in,
as well as by standards of good
citizenship and those described in
University codes of conduct. Be
mindful that you represent Philadelphia
University in outside conferences and
that outside users will judge
Philadelphia University by your conduct.
Use of
administrative data carries with it
particular responsibilities for the
security of data, userIDs, and passwords
made available to access such data.
As an administrative data user, you are
responsible for properly safeguarding
any administrative data which may be
accessed by a terminal, personal
computer, or any other distributed
workstation. You should store data
on storage media, such as floppy disks,
in a secure environment consistent with
the security classification of the data.
Your
administrative userID defines the access
authorization level appropriate for your
job function, and you are considered
responsible for all activity that occurs
under your administrative userIDs and
passwords. For this reason, you
should not store userIDs and passwords
in a microcomputer system, nor should
you share your userIDs and passwords
with others. You are also
considered responsible for being aware
of security policies and procedures
relating to access and use of
administrative data.
Office
of Information Technology
Responsibilities
OIT has a
responsibility to provide service in the
most efficient manner while considering
the needs of the total user community.
At certain times, the process of
carrying out these responsibilities may
require special actions or intervention
by the staff. At all other times,
OIT staff have no special rights above
and beyond those of other users.
OIT shall make every effort to ensure
that persons in positions of trust do
not misuse computing resources or data
or take advantage of their positions to
access information not required in the
performance of their duties.
The
Office of Information Technology prefers
not to act as a disciplinary agency or
to police activities. However, in
cases of unauthorized, inappropriate, or
irresponsible behavior, the Center does
reserve the right to take remedial
action, commencing with an investigation
of the possible abuse. In this
connection, OIT, with all due regard for
the rights of privacy, shall have the
authority to examine files, passwords,
accounting information, printouts,
tapes, or other material that may aid
the investigation. Examination of
your files must be authorized by the
appropriate Office of Information
Technology senior manager or designee.
You, when requested, are expected to
cooperate in such investigations.
Failure to do so may be grounds for
cancellation of access
privileges.