Technology Policy - working draft

I. Technology Advisory Committee

A. Charge of the Committee

Technology Advisory Committee (TAC) for COM-FSM exists and is charged with preparing policy, providing advice to the President, and operating in the area of technology (larger than just computers). In matters of technology, the Technical Advisory Committee must be consulted and allowed to provide advice to the President regardless of whether other committees might also be involved.

The Technical Advisory Committee has major input into any decision regarding technology purchases, use and repair of technology equipment, and training in technology areas.

TAC carries the following primary responsibilities:

B. Policy development for:

1. Operation of computers purchases relative to technology obsolescence and accompanying technology fee
2. Developing a plan for technology throughout the COM-FSM system
3. Planning and implementing training programs for the staff and students to encourage full usage of new technology
4. Supporting the maintenance of the equipment
5. Coordinating procurement of needed supplies
6. Steering College purchasers away from vendors who have proven unreliable in the past
7. Performing other related task as may arise from time to time

C. Composition of the Technology Advisory Committee

The Technology Advisory Committee is to be composed of the following members:

1. Vice President for Instructional and Academic Affairs
2. Director of Information Technology, acting as chair
3. Director of Research and Planning

administration
faculty
students
classified staff
learning resource center
IT Department
academic business division
state campuses.

II. Intellectual Property

A. Definition

Within the framework of this Technology Policy, intellectual property includes:

1. Computer software purchased or acquired for use by COM-FSM
2. Written works in any form that are accessed or manipulated using technolgy-based tools including but not limited to reports or publications and web pages
3. Other content including but not limited to digital images (original, scanned or digitized reproductions) audio, and video.

B. Application

Materials available on the Web or in other electronic formats are considered intellectual property and are protected by international copyright law unless a disclaimer or waiver expressly states otherwise. You may not copy or redistribute any materials owned by others, i.e. copyrighted works, without the expressed permission of the copyright owner, except under provision of fair academic use.

III. Computer Software

A. Definition

Computer software ("Software") is defined as the instructions executed by a computer, as opposed to the physical device on which they run. Software includes but is not limited to operating systems (e.g. Microsoft Windows, Linux, MacOS), applications (e.g. Word, Excel, WebMail), and application source code.

B. Availability

All software installed on computers owned by the College of Micronesia-FSM must be vetted through the Technical Advisory Committee.

C. Licensing and Installation

No software may be installed, copied, or used on College resources except as permitted by the terms of the license provided by the publisher of the software. Software subject to licensing must be properly licensed and all license provisions (installation, use, copying, number of concurrent users, etc.) must be strictly adhered to.

Software available for use on computers at the College of Micronesia-FSM is protected by international copyright laws. Educational institutions are not exempt from the laws covering copyrights. The College will not engage in the illegal duplication of software. All original disks or license certificates are available for copyright and licensing verification.

All software provided by the College of Micronesia-FSM will be properly purchased, including site licenses as applicable. Illegal copies of software may not be used on the College's computers. Failure to comply with the usage restrictions contained in a software license or other agreement can result in personal liability and may result in disciplinary action.

D. Copyright

Software is protected by license agreement between the purchaser and the software author or owner. All software provided by the College for use by faculty, staff, and students must be used in strict compliance with the license or other agreement that specifies terms and conditions of its use.

The College of Micronesia-FSM has the responsibility to uphold all copyrights, laws governing access and use of information, and rules of organizations supplying information resources to members of the community (e.g., acceptable use policies for use of Internet).

IV. Computing Resources

A.Definition

Computing resources include computers, servers, printers, network devices and cabling, and software that is installed or made available by the College of Micronesia-FSM. Resources also include services provided by the campus computer network, such as e-mail and Internet access.

B. General

The computing resources of the College of Micronesia-FSM are intended to support the academic programs of the College. Anyone pursuing academic work may use the facilities and equipment. Use is limited to curriculum, academic, and College related work.

College computing resources may not:

1. Be used for commercial purposes including advertising of commercial products or services, direct or indirect profit or gain
2. Be used in any way which will violate international copyright statutes or regulations.

Computing resources are to be considered as shared, finite resources provided by the institution to promote scholarship and learning for all students, staff, and faculty. Monopolizing this shared resource through deliberate action or inaction is strongly discouraged.

School related work, such as work for classes, committees, and school projects, has first priority:

1. If work is being done that is not school related, another user can ask the person doing the non-school related work to relinquish the computer
2. If work is being done that is school related, another user cannot ask the person doing the school related work to relinquish the computer.

The faculty computers are meant to be used by faculty and their designated work study students only.

C. Security

Attempts to circumvent, defeat, or subvert system or network security measures, or gain access to areas or systems the user is not authorized to access are prohibited.

The use of College computing resources, including Internet access provided by the college, to probe other systems with intent to gain access for which the user is not authorized access is prohibited.

D. Learning Resources Center

In keeping with the philosophy of the College of Micronesia-FSM and the Library Bill of Rights, the LRC is seen as a resource open to all. Combined with this, the first concern of the COM-FSM LRC is to support the curriculum and the staff and students of the College.

Use of computer labs located in the Learning Resources Center is a privilege open to all registered students and those who present a valid library card. However to protect and monitor use of the LRC resources it is necessary to ensure that all users have an understanding of proper computer use and etiquette.

There are two different but complementary levels of computer use. Students may elect to use only the general application computers or they might opt to use the Reference computers.

Research must be of an academic nature directly connected to an assigned project or connected to a student's academic future (i.e. access to an institution of further education). Any other use is prohibited. The LRC reserves the right to make the determination of whether or not an observed or requested usage is educational.

To guarantee that users are knowledgeable in the operation of the computers and peripherals held in the LRC, the LRC staff conducts training sessions (either scheduled or on demand) to prospective users of the facilities. In order to use the computer resources, users must show a basic competency in computer usage. This is accomplished through either the use of a testing instrument (a competency test) or successful completion of the first three weeks of a computer course offered by the college.

Students may elect to write the competency test without being enrolled in a computer class or taking the training sessions. However, if they are not successful in passing the test, they must enroll in the training sessions in order to rewrite the test.

E-mail access is not available through the LRC Internet computers

E. Classroom Labs

Use of Classroom computer labs is a privilege extended to staff and students. In order to ensure that the laboratories are productive and pleasant working environments, and to safeguard the College's investment in the equipment, a set of rules and procedures for lab use and monitoring have been established. Lab Monitors and instructors supervising the lab are instructed to enforce these rules vigorously and consistently; however, it is expected that the majority of users will see these regulations as commonsense and will actively cooperate in obeying them. Lab rules and procedures are attached as Appendix A: Lab Conduct and Responsibilities.

F. Business Computer Laboratory

The computer laboratory will be used for instructional purposes during school hours.

The computer lab will be used for training purposes sanctioned by the College and approved by the Vice President for Instructional and Academic Affairs.

All training in the business computer laboratory must be passed through the Business Department Chair and be approved by the Vice President for Instructional and Academic Affairs.

All the supplies, materials for the lab, will be purchased by the student fees collected at the time of registration.

No equipment, computer, or furniture may be removed from the business computer laboratory without the prior permission of the Vice President for Instructional and Academic Affairs.

G. Computer Network

Use of computer access accounts are subject to state and/or federal laws regarding the use of computing equipment and/or government resources and appropriate network protocols.

The institution reserves the right to monitor and record the usage on campus networks and equipment. The institution has the right to use information gained in this way in disciplinary or criminal proceedings.

Running network servers of any kind without being logged in to the system while they are executing is prohibited unless arrangements are made in advance. This includes gopher servers, web servers, IRC servers, or any other server which allows people other than yourself to access your account or computing resources.

Privately owned computers may be attached to campus network with the following stipulations:

1. The computer owner is responsible for the behavior of users of that machine and for all network traffic to and from the machine.
2. They may not be used to provide network access to individuals who would not have had access through official institutional systems
3. They may not be used as a router or gateway to other networks or to non-institutional affiliated systems
4. Should the institution have reason to believe that a privately owned system is using the institution's network inappropriately, network traffic to and from that system will be monitored and, if justified, the system will be disconnected and action taken with the appropriate authorities.

V. Administrative Data

All persons who handle confidential records shall be instructed concerning the confidential nature of such information and their responsibilities regarding it as described in the United States Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, 1974, Micronesia Board and Education Policy, 1977. No one outside the faculty or administrative staff of COM-FSM, except as specified by law, may have access to the records of a student's offenses against the College's regulations without the express permission of the student in writing.

When disseminating information, ensure that the information is sent to only the intended recipients. Be especially careful when releasing information by telephone, fax, or e-mail. When transmitting information over the telephone or fax machine, be certain of the identity of the recipient. When sending information via e-mail, be mindful that e-mail information is particularly easy to forward to third parties.

A. Access to Administrative Data

Administrators, faculty, and staff are to access only that data and those transactions that are required to conduct their officially assigned duties. Information can only be released according to the guidelines within each unit and in accordance with existing College policies on the release of information.

Controls over information systems should provide the ability to trace violations of security to individuals who may be held responsible.

Employees who attempt unauthorized access to administrative computers are subject to disciplinary measures as per College policies.

Supervisors have the the following responsibilities:

1. Periodic review of access granted to their staff
2. Upon the conclusion of the work day that staff have properly secured administrative information
3. Developing and implementing procedures for maintaining access security, including education of their constituency on these procedures

B. Responsibilities of Authorized Users

Any person authorized access to any information:

1. is not to make or permit unauthorized use of any information.
2. should ensure the identity of the information recipient before discussing information pertinent to the individual's record.
3. may not use non-public institutional information for personal or financial gain, or malicious purposes
4. may not obstruct its use for legitimate institutional need.

C. Handling of Confidential Information

The improper access to or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information is a violation of College policies may be a violation of state, federal, or U.S. laws that pertain to the College.

Computer screens must be oriented to prevent unauthorized people from reading sensitive information.

Printed output containing confidential or sensitive information must be treated with the same care as confidential data files.

Floppy disks and cartridges with sensitive or confidential information must be stored in a secure area or in a locked file cabinet or desk.

Storage of non-electronic forms of administrative information must safeguard against the information's unauthorized viewing as well as loss due to accidents or acts of nature.

D. Disposal of Confidential Information

Paper and microfiche copies of sensitive and confidential information must be disposed of either by burning or by shredding to ensure the security of the information.

Properly discard computer disks (hard disks and floppy) containing administrative, confidential, or sensitive information. Procedures for properly erasing computer disks can be obtained from the College technical services unit.

E. Data Integrity

Data integrity will be ensured through the following of the proper maintenance procedures on databases and through timely upgrades of the database software to current releases.

A naming standard must be in effect to distinguish between test jobs and production jobs, test data sets and production data sets. New procedures should be run in test data sets and off-line data sets.

Employees are charged with safeguarding the integrity, accuracy, and confidentiality of information.

F. Backup and Storage

Data will be secured against loss by regular backing up of the data onto removable media.

Data centers may have a fireproof and weatherproof vault for critical electronic data storage such as backup media (tapes, removable disks).

VI. Internet

Access to the global Internet provided by the College of Micronesia-FSM is considered part of the larger framework of computing resources that are provided to support the academic programs of the College, and is subject to the guidelines established for those resources.

Reselling institutional access to the Internet is prohibited.

A. Use of Internet Service Providers

Where connectivity to the Internet is accomplished by dial-up networking to an external Internet Service Provider (e.g. FSM Telecommunications), efforts should be made to separate work-related and personal Internet and e-mail usage. All College paid accounts should be used only for work-related activities. Staff who wish to communicate via e-mail or use the Internet for personal business should establish a separate, personal account with an Internet Service Provider.

Official College accounts purchased from external Internet service providers should not use personal names for the login, e-mail address, or account holder.

A-1. World Wide Web

Public access to College computers and networks may be available from the Internet/World Wide Web or from within specially designated public facilities, such as the College library.

The primary use of the Internet is for educational and research purposes only.

1. Do not access material that may offend others.
2. Do not download any executable software onto the computer.
3. Do not sign onto Internet sites under false names.
4. Do not print out web pages you do not need, or multiple copies of the same web page.
5. Do not access pornographic or racially derogatory material.
6. The playing of online and web-based games is not permitted.

 

Non-executable files (such as web pages, text documents, or portable document format) when downloaded for purposes other than immediate viewing, may be saved only on removable media such as floppy disks.

A-2 Web Page Content and Use

A-3 General Guidelines

All pages must use the correct nomenclature for College of Micronesia-FSM.

Pages located on College servers may not be used to promote commercial activity, personal business, religious groups, or to promote personal financial gain; except as may be permitted by other College policy or regulation.

College pages should not contain confidential university information or confidential student information unless adequate security measures are in place to restrict access to authorized persons.

Web pages must observe international copyright laws and acceptable practices related to those laws.

The occurrence of plagiarism on web pages is subject to the same sanctions as apply to plagiarism in any other media (See COM-FSM's policy on Academic Honesty). Clip art images provided with licensed software may be used if permitted in the license agreement for such software. You may not place any pictures or videos of people on a Web page without the expressed permission of the people in the picture or video. Every person has a right to privacy which includes the right to restrict the use of his/her own image. In addition, the picture or video may be protected by copyright.

Links that lead directly to materials with pornographic or racially derogatory material are not permitted on College web servers.

A-4 Institutional Web Pages

Institutional Web pages are pages created by any College division. Their content must be consistent with and in support of the College mission statement. Each division head is responsible for assuring that the organization's web pages meet all the College policies, procedures and guidelines. The task of assuring that web pages prepared by the division comply with College policies, procedures, and guidelines can be delegated by the division head to a member of the division with the necessary technical skills.

All institutional pages other than "working" pages (i.e. class notes, syllabi, research projects, etc.) orpages designed specifically to provide a source of printed documents must conform to the following design and content standards in addition to the standards listed above:

The appearance of all pages should be based on a current web page template, available on the COM-FSM web site. Where use of a template is not appropriate, pages should:

 

1. contain the name of the College of Micronesia-FSM (completely spelled out)
2. incorporate the official university colors of blue and white into their design
3. contain a link back to the College home page.

A signature block containing the following information is also recommended:

1. The date of the last revision to the page
2. The name of the unit responsible for the page
3. An e-mail link to the person responsible for the page
4. A link back to the organization's home page (if any).

Organizational pages must also contain an e-mail address for the organization

If an organizational page requires graphics or audio to convey the meaning of the page, an alternative "text-only" page must be made available for people who may not be able to view the graphics or hear the audio.

Each organization creating pages is responsible for maintaining those pages in a timely manner with the latest information.

Organizations creating pages should provide links, if necessary, to pages containing authoritative information outside their areas of responsibility (i.e. policies, admissions, College mission and history, etc.) rather than creating the pages themselves. This is to ensure that the most up-to-date and accurate information is being provided.

Careful attention to spelling, grammar, punctuation and word use is required.

All official College pages must be cleared through the designated Public Information Officer.

Links to commercial sites should be done only where the link serves an institutional purpose. On pages containing such links, the following disclaimer must also appear:

"The College of Micronesia-FSM does not endorse the following commercial provider or its products."

A-5 Personal Web Pages

The College supports the concept of faculty, staff, and student personal web pages. Faculty and staff personal web pages should provide information relevant to the individual's role at the University.

The College reserves the right to restrict the quantity and availability of College computing and network resources for the purpose of creating, maintaining, and viewing unofficial web pages and files.

All pages must contain the name and e-mail address of the page owner. These may be incorporated as meta-content if appropriate.

The College assumes no responsibility for the content of any unofficial web page or file. All personal web pages must include the following disclaimer:

"This page does not reflect an official position of the College of Micronesia-FSM."

College reserves the right to remove, without notice, any web page or file (official or unofficial) from any computer which is owned and operated by the College or its affiliated units which does not comply with College information resource policies and procedures.

Use of the College of Micronesia-FSM's trademarks, official logos, or other intellectual property and creative works is governed by College intellectual property and creative works policies.

Personal web pages may not contain the College logo or other symbols of the College unless they pertain specifically to a College function.

Personal web pages must not give the impression that they are representing opinions or making statements on behalf of the College or any unit of the College unless appropriately authorized (explicitly or implicitly) to do so.

Unauthorized presentation of any web page or file as an Official College Web Page or Official College File or any unauthorized or illegal use of College computers and networks is prohibited.

B. E-mail

B-1 Usage Guidelines

E-Mail is a computing resource provided by the College of Micronesia-FSM, and is therefore subject to use consistent with the guidelines for those resources.

E-mail is a form of communication; laws and guidelines of etiquette that apply to other forms of communication apply equally to e-mail. Use of e-mail to harass or intimidate another person, or any other illegal or unlawful purpose is prohibited. Use of e-mail to send chain letters or for "pyramid schemes" is also discouraged.

College electronic mail services may be used for incidental personal purposes provided such use does not interfere with College operation of information technologies including electronic mail services, burden the College with incremental costs, or interfere with the user's employment or other obligations to the College.

Only messages relating to College activities should be sent to the system wide mailing lists. Such mailing lists are for notification of College events, communication of official College messages, and notification of bulletin board discussions. System-provided mailing lists shall not be used for "classified ads" (e.g., "For Sale," "For Lease," etc.) or "free items" (e.g., free kittens, free books, etc.). Users shall not use the system-provided mailing lists for commercial or partisan political purposes.

B-2 Privacy

The College of Micronesia-FSM encourages the responsible use of electronic mail and respects the privacy of users. The College does not wish to inspect or monitor electronic mail routinely or to be the arbiter of its contents. Nonetheless, electronic mail and data stored on the College's network of computers may be accessed by the College for the following purposes:

1. troubleshooting hardware and software problems.
2. preventing unauthorized access and system misuse,
3. retrieving business related information,
4. investigating reports of violation of College policy or local, state or federal law,
5. complying with legal requests for information,
6. rerouting or disposing of undeliverable mail.

The system administrator will need approval from the Vice President for Instructional and Academic Affairs or the appropriate designee to access specific mail and data for these purposes. The extent of the access will be limited to what is reasonably necessary to acquire the information.

Realize that College policy and secure passwords provide good but not complete assurance of the privacy of your e-mail messages. Receivers of electronic mail documents should check with the purported sender if there is any doubt about the identity of the sender or the authenticity of the contents, as they would with print documents. When the confidentiality of a message is of the utmost importance, only a person-to-person conversation may be sufficiently secure.

Electronic mail may constitute a public record and, like other documents, be subject to disclosure as a result of litigation. The College evaluates all requests for information prior to such disclosure. Users of electronic mail services should be aware that even though the sender and recipient have discarded their copies of an electronic mail message, there may be back-up copies of such electronic mail that can be retrieved.

VII. Violations of Responsibility

When COM-FSM learns of possible inappropriate use or violation of responsibility, the designated committee will notify the individual thought to be responsible, and a formal investigation will take place. Action will be taken appropriate to the type of violation. In an emergency, in order to prevent further possible inappropriate activity, (the designated committee) may temporarily disallow access to technological services at COM-FSM. Any determination of inappropriate use serious enough to require disconnection shall be promptly communicated to all persons involved.

Violations of College policies governing the use of College computing resources may result in restriction of access to College computing resources in addition to any disciplinary action that may be applicable under other College policies, guidelines or procedures, up to and including dismissal.

A. Procedure for Search of Files

System administrators must obtain written permission from the Chair of TAC before initiating a search. The following steps must be taken:

1. Copies are made of the relevant files.
2. The user whose files are to be examined is informed, in written form or via e-mail, of the action taken and the reasons for that action.
3. The user's files are examined and the results immediately reported to the Division Chair and the Technical Advisory Committee Chair.
4. If no problem is discovered, the copies are destroyed and the user so informed.
5. If a problem is determined to exist, access to the account will be suspended and the user so informed. The system administrator will act in a manner consistent with existing procedures for dealing with inappropriate behavior.

VIII. Computer Hardware Procurement

Purchase orders for computers and computer related equipment must be submitted through a person authorized by the Technical Advisory Committee to make technical approvals of purchases. The person designated to approve purchase orders by the Technical Advisory Committee is the IT Director.

The IT Director will determine best recommended computer specifications based on currently available technology, suitability to specified purpose, and compatibility with existing systems. Therefore:

1. IT Director reserves the right to request information on the purpose of the purchase and information regarding specified equipment
2. Justification must be submitted with the purchase order stating the need and the purpose of the item
3. IT Director can decline to approve a purchase with adequate justification. The buyer can appeal such a decision to the Technical Advisory Committee.

All computer orders should have the department name or the title "Information Technology Director" on the outside of the shipping box. Boxes should not be left in an open area when brought onto campus from the post office. Boxes should be placed directly into a secured area.

Computer central processing units must be purchased from manufacturers that have been rated as above average for reliability in the preceding twelve months by a nationally published computer journal.

A. Warranties

Computer systems are to have three year limited warranties transferred to the College of Micronesia-FSM. Manufacturer warrants that the hardware products it manufactures will free from defects in materials and workmanship. The warranty term shall be three years from the beginning of the date on the invoice. Manufacturer will repair or replace products covered under this limited warranty that are returned to the manufacturer's facility. After complying with the manufacturer's procedure in requesting warranty service, COM-FSM will ship the products back to the manufacturer in their original or equivalent packaging, prepay shipping charges, and insure the shipment or accept the risk of loss or damage during shipment. Manufacturer will ship the repaired or replacement products to COM-FSM freight collect. The manufacturer agrees to provide technical assistance for the duration of the warranty

Manufacturer owns all parts removed from repaired parts removed from repaired products. Manufacturer may use new and reconditioned parts made by various manufacturers in performing warranty repairs and building replacement products. If manufacturer repairs or replaces a product, its warranty term is not extended.

B. Guarantees

The manufacturer guarantees that its systems are designed and extensively tested to compatible with all standard operating systems, applications, software, peripheral, and network operating systems developed for Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), and Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) systems for a period of three years after the invoice date. The manufacturer guarantees that the manufacturer's engineers and technicians will work with COM-FSM to identify the cause of the problem and recommend a solution. If the problem (excluding software problems related to device drivers) can be solved by updating the system, the manufacturer will guarantee to provide COM-FSM with the change at no charge.

IX. Inventory Policy

All computers and computer related equipment that has been purchased over $500.00 will be tagged with College inventory tags and properly inventoried.

The inventory will include the date of purchase, the manufacturer, serial number, location, working status, assigned user(s), operating system model and version, productivity suite model and version.

All activity heads should submit copies of the inventory list to the business office and the designated Information Technology Director.

Inventory lists will be updated upon receipt of new equipment.

Theft of computer supplies will be reported to the Vice President for Support and Student Services.

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.

XIII. Maintenance and Repair Policy

Malfunctioning equipment must be surveyed by the Information Technology Director before any action is taken.

The following actions, whether by accident or intent, are violations of either the Student Conduct Code or the employment manual:

1. Computer system degradation of performance
2. Damage to floppy disks
3. Damage to removable media
4. Damage to CD-ROMs and DVD disks
5. Permanent misplacement (loss) of manuals
6. Permanent misplacement (loss) of equipment
7. Interference with authorized access to resources

Changes to hardware and software requires the consent of the Information Technology Director.

Failure to adhere to these policies is a violation of student and staff conduct guidelines, and, pending the outcome of proceedings, users may find their access to information system technologies restricted.

Computers that have been removed from service due to failure of one or more critical parts, parts that cannot be replaced, will be used to provide parts to other computers as appropriate. For this reason, computers should be purchased that have as much parts interchangeability as possible.

XIV. Software Specific Regulations

All games are to be removed from all Micron [sic] computers, with the exception of chess, by order of the President 07 June 1996. Games are generally defined as use of the computers in such a manner as to not lead toward an end result of significant educational, intellectual, or academic value.

Programs which encourage critical thinking skills, cooperative learning, group work, work related skills, or academic capacities are permitted and may be excluded from the games prohibition. Examples include Typing Tutor, SIM series (SimCity, SIM Earth, SIM Antfarm, SIM Isle)

Students loading games or unauthorized software onto computers will be prohibited from using the computers for one month.

All software purchased for individual computers must be registered with the Information Technology Director.

All software purchased for the computer laboratories and the Learning Resource Center must be approved by the Technical Advisory Committee PRIOR to its purchase.

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