SUBJECT:	Internet and Email, Policies for Use Of	NUMBER:	3.71
CATEGORY:	Institution-Wide	DATE:	February, 2004

Introduction | Obtaining an Internet Account | Inappropriate Uses (Access) | Inappropriate Uses (Commercial use) | Illegal Use

Harassing and/or Obscene Material and Internal SPAM | Political Material | Grievance-related and Sabotage-impacting Communications

Wasteful Use of Resources | Procedures for Dealing with Violations | Student Violations | Employee Violations | E-mail Privacy

Internet and Email Use Policy

Anderson College provides access to the Internet and e-mail to all its students and employees who comply with the Internet Use Policy. The College expects that all those who exercise this privilege will do so responsibly and has therefore developed this policy statement to assist Internet users in the appropriate use of network technology. This statement is intended to address the following usage situations:

• Use of College -owned computing resources (i.e. computer labs) by students, employees or guests of the College
• Use of Anderson College resources to access information on the Internet and campus e-mail
• Use of Anderson College resources to provide information to other Internet users (via a Web page, etc.)

Obtaining an Internet Account All current Anderson College faculty, staff, and students may obtain an Internet account through Information Services (IS). The College reserves the right to limit access to its computing resources. Each individual approved to use an account will be held responsible for all usage of that account.

When a student is no longer enrolled in the College or when an employee is no longer employed by the College, IS reserves the right to delete that individual’s account and/or any personal pages on the World Wide Web operated by that individual.

The following steps are involved in obtaining an Internet account:

1. Individuals desiring an account must complete an application/registration form. These are available from IS. By signing the completed form, the applicant agrees to comply with the College Internet User Policy
2. Accepted students will have an account automatically created for them. They will receive an introductory email explaining the rules for email use.
3. IS will provide information which describes the various uses of the Internet. The student or employee is expected to use this packet to facilitate expedient and appropriate use of his/her Internet account and of the Internet in general.
4. IS will assign an account and password to the applicant. Upon completion of this step, the applicant will be approved to use the account.

Inappropriate uses of Internet Access

There are numerous appropriate uses of the Internet: e-mail, bulletin boards, access of information on the World Wide Web, etc. The College encourages the educational and appropriate use of these resources. All uses of the Internet resources should be consistent with the College’s stated mission, Christian values, and policies as put forth in the College Bulletin and other College publications. All users of Anderson College computing resources are expected to abide by the following guidelines:

Access

1. Users are to refrain from disclosing their access codes/passwords to anyone and will be responsible for any use of those accounts by others to whom access has been given. It is recommended that users change their passwords periodically to prevent unauthorized use of their accounts.
2. Individuals are to send e-mail only from their personal e-mail address.
3. Although users should be advised that undeliverable mail will be delivered to the Postmaster at the Information Systems Office and misdirected e-mail can be read by unintended recipients, no one will be authorized to monitor, intercept, or read another user’s e-mail.
4. Please pay close attention to addressees to insure that only appropriate recipients will receive emails. When replying to an email, only use the ‘Reply All’ feature when absolutely necessary.
5. The visiting of pornographic sites and any sites of an immoral or obscene nature is prohibited. Also, the illegal downloading of music and/or literary material is prohibited.
6. Please be cautious of visiting internet sites that can cause virus attacks on personal computers that are connected to the college network. Also be cautious of opening email from unknown senders, especially if they contain an attachment. Such emails could be carrying a damaging virus.

Commercial use

Since Anderson College is defined as an educational rather than commercial site on the Internet, IS reserves the right to restrict accounts or individual Web pages which are used for commercial purposes.

Illegal Use

Users are to refrain from any use of computing resources that is illegal in South Carolina or any other state.

Harassing and/or Obscene Material and Internal SPAM

1. Internet users at Anderson College are to refrain from displaying or distributing material (text, audio, or video) which is obscene, or harassing, or which is in any way inconsistent with Anderson College’s stated mission and values. Displaying or distributing such information will be considered a violation of the College’s policies, which prohibits the distribution of obscene materials and harassment.
2. Users are to refrain from sending information via e-mail that is obscene or harassing as defined by Anderson College’s stated mission and values.
3. Users are to refrain from making public to Anderson College users any obscene materials or direct links to other locations on the Internet through the World Wide Web, or any other related systems.
4. Users are to refrain from sending multi-recipient emails that are unnecessary. Email groups that contain a large number of addressees will only be used by authorized personnel.
5. Users are to refrain from sending campus-wide emails that express personal opinion or are of a political or otherwise inappropriate nature.

Political Material

While Anderson College encourages civic engagement and appropriate involvement in the political processes of government, e-mail and the College’s Web site may not be used for the promotion of political candidates or partisan causes.

Grievance-related and Sabotage-impacting Communications

Anderson College provides clear and civil procedures for employees to address grievances and encourages employees to use these procedures if warranted. As a matter of professionalism, business-related use, and civility, the College’s computing systems including e-mail and the Web site may not be used for the purpose of airing employer-employee disputes and/or grievances, intentionally injecting messages that disrupt the peaceful and harmonious community of the campus, or spreading rumors or false/inaccurate information that may sabotage or sub-optimize the business operations of the College.

Wasteful Use of Resources

Users are to refrain from deliberately performing any act that will impair the operation of any facet of the computing resources of the College or the resources of any recipient of the information. Such acts include knowingly injecting computer viruses and sending excessively large mailings, large print jobs, batch programs, ‘junk mail’ (including chain letters), etc. Those who use computing resources for recreational, entertainment, personal and extracurricular work are to yield to those who have academic related need for computing resources or facilities. Examples of non-course-related work are playing computer games, printing personal or extracurricular materials (invitations, announcements, resumes, etc.), and chatting to personal friends. In periods of high demand, these uses may be disallowed in public facilities.

Procedures for Dealing with Violations

The College reserves the right to suspend/delete content of personal Web pages or email on or linked to the College Web site or computing system that constitutes a violation of obscenity standards, is in conflict with the College’s stated mission and values, or violates any provision or limitation of the Policy for Use of Internet or Email.

The obscenity standards are as follows:

1. Materials in which a reasonable person, applying contemporary Anderson College community standards, when considering the contents as a whole, would conclude that they appeal to prurient sexual/physical interests or violently subordinating behavior rather than an intellectual or communicative purpose; and
2. Materials that, taking into regard their content and their particular usage or application, lack any redeeming religious, literary, scientific, political, artistic or social value.

Student Violations

Individuals may report incidents of harassment or obscene material or direct links involving students’ Internet use to the Office of Student Services, which will review any complaint per established College judicial procedures as outlined in the student handbook. Possible sanctions include the deletion from Anderson College servers’ materials or direct links to other locations on the Internet which are found to be obscene, loss of computer resources privileges, and other sanctions available within the judicial processes.

Employee Violations

Incidents of inappropriate use involving Anderson College employees may be addressed in conjunction with the employee’s supervisor. Possible sanctions include the deletion of material or direct links to other locations on the Internet that are found to be obscene or inappropriate, loss of computer resource privileges, and other sanctions available within the College employer-employee relationship, including severance from employment.

E-mail Privacy

Electronic mail enables users to place information quickly and directly into another person's computer where it can be retrieved, read, revised, stored indefinitely, downloaded, or responded to immediately. E-mail has made employment and academic activities of the College more efficient by enabling us to make better use of our time and by reducing paperwork. However, there is a deceptive aura of privacy that surrounds e-mail that can mislead persons to believe that private, hostile, or unlawful statements can be confidentially communicated through e-mail. In addition, proprietary or potentially embarrassing information can be accidentally or purposely sent within the College and to others outside the College.

To avoid these problems, remember the following:

1. Anderson College’s e-mail system is exists for use by faculty, staff, and students in carrying out their employment and academic activities. It is not intended for personal use.
2. Refrain from disclosing your access codes/passwords to anyone.
3. Send e-mail only from your personal e-mail address.
4. Prior to sending an e-mail message, ask yourself whether you would feel comfortable if the text of the message were posted on a bulletin board on campus or printed in the newspaper. Would public disclosure cause unnecessary embarrassment or create legal liability for yourself or the College?
5. The privacy of e-mail sent or received on College systems and/or equipment cannot be guaranteed.
6. If the e-mail pertains to a student, it is likely to be an "education record" that the student will have the right to inspect and review.
7. The use of private "mailboxes" and passwords in an e-mail system does not provide any privacy from people who will see e-mail forwarded, printed out, or left displayed on an unattended computer screen.
8. Anderson makes no representations regarding the security of the e-mail system from casual users or hackers.
9. Under normal circumstances it is a violation of College policy and ethics for members of the IS staff to monitor the content of e-mail messages. However, e-mail will be accessed and read by those who have a need to know in the event that the College conducts either an informal or formal investigation.
10. If Anderson College is involved in litigation, e-mail messages may be read in the discovery process and may be publicized in a trial.