Section 10-12,15

X. Equipment Policy

A. General Equipment Policies

College of Micronesia-FSM instructional equipment shall be used for the primary purpose of providing instruction and educational experiences to currently enrolled students in bona fide courses for academic assignments and/or engaged in supplemental exercises deemed necessary and appropriate by the responsible instructor.

Part of the mission of the College is community service, which could be considered and interpreted as to include the extension of the privilege of the use of equipment to members of the community who are not currently enrolled as students or members of the faculty.

B. Guidelines for granting equipment use requests

1. Such use does not interfere with regular, normal course instruction or with supplemental exercises associated with such courses.
2. Equipment is not used for personal, political, or commercial enterprises.
3. Use will not disrupt any of the College programs
4. Use will not create or increase risk of liability to the College.
5. Use of equipment will have a minimal impact on cost resources of the College (electricity cost, expendable materials, increased chance of loss of equipment, and so forth).
6. Where staff supervision of the use of equipment is required, use of equipment will be limited to the times when such supervision is available.
7. User must be determined to be qualified to use the equipment requested in a safe and reliable manner.

C. Priority for usage of equipment

1. Regular instructional course usage by faculty and students currently enrolled at the College.
2. Use by faculty and students which is supplemental to instruction of regular courses.
3. Use by faculty and students for non-instructional purposes (as community service presentations, extended interest generated by a course, etc.).
4. Use by non-faculty or non-student members of the community for educational or community service purposes.

Non-instructional usage granting procedure

Requests for non-instructional use of equipment shall be initiated through appropriate channels from among the following:

Administrator, faculty, and staff member assigned the primary responsibility for the equipment.

Administrator, faculty, and staff receiving a request may ask for a ruling from the Vice President for Instructional Affairs or his designee if there is a question about the appropriateness of fulfilling such a request. Decisions by the vice President for Instructional Affairs or his designee are final.

Administrator, faculty, and staff who assume the authority to grant requests consistent with this policy also assume the associated responsibilities. Such responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

1. Assuring that the provisions stated above are met and obtaining signature of the borrower on an appropriate form. Such sorm is to be retained until the specific usage is terminated.
2. Clearing use in all impacted areas of the College and notifying all sectors of the College of proposed use when appropriate (i.e., security guards, and other affect faculty and staff).
3. Checking the condition of returned equipment and assisting the College in assuring that borrower and user abide by the signed agreement.

Person or persons permitted use of instructional equipment shall be responsible for its proper use. He (they) shall sign acknowledgment of such responsibility on an appropriate form before the use will be granted.

The Vice President for Instructional Affairs is responsible for implementing and enforcing the policy.

XI. Computer Technologies Specific Policies

Computing resource equipment purchased by the College or under the auspices of the College is owned by the College of Micronesia-FSM. Equipment does not "belong" to the person whose desk on which the equipment is located. Computers purchased out of departmental or divisional budgets will not be removed from that department or division without consent of the department or division head, with the proviso that the Technical Advisory Committee can overrule a department or division chair's objection to the removal of said equipment.

Computer servers should not be used as a workstations except by the administrator for purposes of server administration or in exceptional situations. If possible, servers should be in a securable area or building. Ideally, servers should be located in physically secure areas such as a locked closet. If possible, cables to servers and their connections should be in a secure location.

Persons moving computer equipment are liable for any damage that occurs as a result of negligence in the moving process.

No desktop computer or other non-portable computer related equipment can be moved out of the room it currently occupies without the approval of the Information Technology Directort.

Computers must be protected by, at minimum, a surge suppressor. The preferred power protection equipment is a line-leveling battery back-up unit with surge suppression capabilities. The unit should be able to output the appropriate voltage without relying on the battery in situations such as mild brown-outs.

All modems must be run through a phone line surge protector

Computer equipment and peripherals must be kept in an environment which is secure from theft.

Computer equipment and peripherals must be secure from physical damage. Special care and consideration should be given to prevent damage due to liquids and moisture.

Computer equipment must be placed in an air-conditioned environment. The salt and humidity factors in Micronesia prevent usage in other conditions.

All computers must have anti-virus programs installed with up-to-date virus monitoring definitions.

XII. Portable Computer Equipment

Portable computers purchased by the College of Micronesia-FSM remain the sole property of the College

Where available, portable computers and portable peripherals such as digital cameras can be checked out for usage at home. Computers and peripherals must come back the next working day.

Written authorization to utilize a portable computer off-campus is required. The authorization will require acceptance of responsibility for the equipment.

All employees who are taking vacation leave must check-in any portable equipment that they use with their supervisor

The portable computer power supply must be protected, at minimum, by a surge protector wherever the computer is used.

The portable computer and associated peripherals must be kept in a secure and appropriate environment.

1. The computer must be secure from theft.
2. The computer must be secure from physical damage. Special care and consideration should be given to prevent damage due to liquids and moisture.
3. The computer must be utilized in an air-conditioned environment. The salt and humidity factors of Micronesia prevent usage in other conditions.

Portable computers must have terminate and stay resident anti-virus monitoring software.

During long breaks, portable equipment must be stored in a physically and environmentally secure location on campus.

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XV. Computer Use Fee

The Computer Use Fee assessed students may be used for purchase of computer and related technology that is used directly by students in classrooms, labs, or other student-accessible facilities at the COM-FSM campuses. Acceptable items include:

1.      Computers

2.      Computer software

3.      Printers and printer supplies (ink or toner); paper and other output materials are not to be purchased using the Computer Use Fee

4.      Networking supplies such as hubs, switches, and wiring

5.      Hardware, such as uninterruptible power supplies, that supports or protects equipment purchased with the Computer Use Fee

All purchases made with the Computer Use Fee must be approved by the Technology Advisory Committee, which is also responsible for prioritizing these purchases.

Appendix A

Lab Conduct and Responsibilities

1. Use of the lab must be in accordance with the College of Micronesia-FSM Technology Policy as it applies to computing resources and computer labs.
2. Laboratory equipment must be treated with care. Chewing betelnut, smoking and the consumption of food or beverages anywhere in the laboratory are prohibited
3. As a shared environment, users and guests must respect the needs of others.
4. An appropriate standard of conduct must be maintained at all times. Loud talking, loud music, or other actions which distract legitimate users are prohibited.
5. Some laboratories will have time limits in effect. Once your time expires, you must return any equipment you have signed out and leave the laboratory (unless you obtain permission from a lab monitor to continue working).
6. The only persons permitted in an academic computer laboratory are students who are registered in COM-FSM courses and COM-FSM staff. The Lab resources have been purchased with funds generated by matriculation fees and therefore the labs are distinct from the LRC computers which are available for community access.
7. Laboratory equipment is intended primarily for academic purposes. Using the computers for personal communication, publication, etc. will be required to follow the "bumping priority policy."
8. All use of computers in the lab must be recorded in the Usage Log located on a computer inside the lab door. Record both your name, the number of computer, the application used and time. This log is used in assessing lab resource needs.
9. If no machine is available at the time it is needed, users should make an appropriate entry in the Inadequacy Log. This log is also used in assessing lab resource needs.
10. No user may work on more than one computer simultaneously if at least one other computer does not remain open and available for other users.
11. Users must bring their own paper to print out. The paper must be in good condition. Students should not make multiple copies.
12. All diskettes being brought into the lab must first be checked for viruses before being used. Diskettes should also be labeled to identify the user.
13. Floppy disks and other removable storage media must be kept in a protective case.
14. Any user who has not previously learned proper procedures for unjamming or otherwise fixing printers, computers, or other peripherals, such as scanners, digital cameras, or projectors are to request assistance from lab personnel rather than attempt to repair the equipment.
15. Users are to clean up the area around the computer as they leave. This includes making sure diskettes are removed from the floppy drive and any unwanted paper is placed in the recycle bin.
16. Software (including public domain "plug-ins") may only be installed with authorization from the lab monitors. If you need software other than what has been provided, please submit a request in writing to them for consideration.
17. Users playing games, interfering with the PC configuration or attempting to bypass or defeat any of the security features of the network will face disciplinary action as stated in the student conduct manual.
18. Users must NOT loan their accounts to users who have had their accounts suspended. Each user is responsible for all actions originating from his/her account. Remember to LOGOUT before you leave and keep your password safe

Due the limited number of computers on campus, the following bumping system will be employed in the computer laboratories at the discretion of the lab supervisors or their designee:

·  Priority I Computer Use: Bumps all levels below it

Use of academic software that is unique to a particular computer laboratory or location, use of software that is not available in other laboratories on campus.

·  Priority II Computer Use: Bumps all levels below it, can be bumped by priority I users

Use of the Internet to do academic research for the department or division that operates the computer laboratory.

·  Priority III Computer Use: Bumps all levels below it, can be bumped by priority I and II users

Use of the Internet for academic research and educational purposes
Use of Word Processing software such as Microsoft Word for class assignments.
Academic use of the computers

·  Priority IV Computer Use: Can be bumped by priority I, II and III users

Student e-mail access