Student POLICY

Computer Equipment Access Policy- Student

Implemenation Information:
Version 3.0 Implemented Fall 99

1.  Approval and Enforcement

1.1.  Student access to CSUSM computing facilities and equipment is subject to approval by the Director of Academic Computing Services.

1.2.  "Access" shall be considered physical use of a computer workstation or terminal, or remote access to a computer via a network or telephone line. "Computing facilities" are considered to be any CSUSM facility where a computer exists. "Computing equipment" is considered to be all computer hardware and software, network computer hardware, media and software.

1.3. Access to campus computer equipment may be suspended during the course of an investigation, but shall not be revoked without formal review with campus administration.

1.4.  Violation of this policy may result in loss of access to CSUSM computing facilities and equipment. Such loss may result in failure to complete classes required for graduation. Enforcement of student disciplinary action is in accordance with CSU Executive Order Number 628.

1.5. Individuals who violate U.S. copyright law and software licensing agreements may be subject to criminal or civil action by the copyright or license owners.

1.6. Activities  that are illegal or against University policy will be referred to the appropriate officials regardless of whether or not a computer was involved in their commission.

2.   Purpose

2.1.  Use of CSUSM computing facilities is granted to students for the following purposes:

1. Completion of course work as assigned by faculty
2. Assigned research
3. Course registration and other communications with campus faculty and staff
4. Participation in campus community activities

2.2.  Use of campus computer equipment, including electronic mail, modem lines, web browsers and other common applications and functions should be limited to legitimate campus business purposes and should not be regarded as tools for personal or private communication.  Use of computing facilities for purpose above may be restricted or rescinded at the discretion of the Director of Academic Computing Services for violation of this policy.

3.0.  Student Responsibilities

Individuals granted access to campus computing equipment shall adhere to the following rules and responsibilities:

3.1.  Transmittal of messages
Students shall not transmit unsolicited information which contains obscene, threatening, offensive or discriminatory material to another individual, a mailing list, a news group or a public area on a CSUSM computer. Although mailing list subscribers and/or news group readers are considered to have solicited all postings, students shall not submit entries to news groups and/or mailing lists which are considered inappropriate by the recipients. Repeated transmission of material to a person who finds such transmission offensive, obscene or discriminatory will be treated as harassment and will subject the sender to disciplinary proceedings.

3.2.  Electronic publication of material
Students shall not publish web pages containing obscene information (pictures, movies, sounds, text). Students shall not use copyrighted graphics or text on their web pages. Students shall not publish web pages containing obscene, threatening, offensive or discriminatory material. Students  may not create "open forum" mailing lists, news groups and/or other discussion area. Requests to create such an area must be directed to the Dean of Information and Instructional Technology. 

3.3.  Use of copyrighted software
Students shall not copy, misuse, destroy or otherwise use campus licensed software or data for a purpose other than it was intended. Students shall not violate the license agreement on any software application installed on a CSUSM computer by creating and/or installing and/or distributing copies of licensed software unless directed to do so as part of their duties while employed at CSUSM.

3.4.  Use of computer in the commission of a crime
Students shall not use CSUSM computer equipment or facilities in the commission of a crime or any other unlawful purpose according to the federal, state, county and university rules. (See California State Penal Code Section 502.)

3.5. Improper access
Students shall not attempt to gain improper access to any user account, stored information, network or computer system, on or off campus. Anonymous ftp and guest telnet access to remote hosts both on and off campus are considered proper when used strictly for the purposes for which they were intended. Intentional interception of any electronic communication or knowledge of information obtained through interception of electronic communication is considered improper access and may also be in violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act chapter 119.

3.6.  Disruption of service
Students shall not disrupt network or computer response by deliberately placing a burden on the system or by using electronic resources in a manner inconsistent with their stated purpose. Users shall not distribute "mass mailings" to multiple Usenet groups, mailing lists or large numbers of individuals. Such mailings typically provoke a response which would overburden our computing resources. In addition students are required to comply with Usenet News and mailing list etiquette practices so that they do not cause complaints from other members of the Internet. The receipt of multiple complaints by system administrators for conduct and/or etiquette violations is considered to place an undue burden on the system support staff.

3.7.  Reporting a policy violation
Students shall report any violation of this policy to the Director of Academic Computing Services, who shall in turn, report the incident to the Dean of Student Services as needed. In the event that an individual health or safety is concerned, the incident should be immediately reported to Public Safety.

3.8.  Improper use of computer facilities
Students shall use the CSUSM computing system only for valid purposes as set forth in section 2.1 of this document. Use of CSUSM computing facilities, including desktop systems, for the purposes of private business activities or other non-educational functions often violates the software license agreements extended to educational and non-profit institutions and is not permitted.

3.9.  Personal use of computer facilities
Use of computer lab facilities for "personal" activities such as Usenet News, IRC chat, interaction with MOOs/MUDs and playing of games is not permitted except as assigned by faculty or as part of an authorized activity of a campus club or other organization.

3.10.  Altering campus computer equipment
Students may not install their personal software applications or hardware peripherals on campus computer equipment without the express permission of the Director of Academic Computing Services. Neither may they delete applications, remove peripherals or in any other way alter the configuration of campus computer equipment including data contained on campus computer equipment with the exception of activities directed by faculty or staff.

3.11.  Use of the student account
Students shall not disclose their password to an individual other than a member of the system support staff. Students may not allow an individual other than system support staff to use their account.

4. Privacy and Ownership of Electronic Communications & Media

4.1. Protection of Individual's Mail and Data
The campus will attempt to protect the privacy of an individual's mail and data files from inadvertent exposure to others. Except when such files are involved in a security issue, policy violation or system maintenance problem, system support personnel will not access nor disclose the content of an individual’s email and/or data files. In appropriate circumstances (e.g. where there is evidence suggesting a member of the campus has engaged in wrongdoing), electronic communications may become subject to internal monitoring.

4.2. Tracking and monitoring
The University may track user activities and access any files or information in the course of performing normal system and network maintenance or while investigating violations of policy or statute. Anyone using CSU San Marcos resources expressly consents to such tracking and is advised if such tracking reveals possible evidence of criminal activity, or violation of statute or policy, the University will provide the evidence to appropriate officials.

4.3. Disclosure of information
Information stored or transmitted electronically, such as electronic mail, system access logs, and network records, may be considered public records and therefore be subject to disclosure or discovery in litigation.

Note: Comments on this document may be sent to macklin@csusm.edu