Appropriate Use of Information Technology Resources
The MTI community understands that information technology has become an integral resource in fulfilling our mission of teaching, learning, research, public service, and administrative responsibilities. The Institute therefore encourages students, faculty, and staff to acquire computer literacy and technological skill. Computers and networks empower us openly to find, consider, and disseminate information developed at MTI and elsewhere; to communicate and collaborate with others near and far; and to build the technological skills base on which the twenty-first century depends. With this empowerment, however, comes commensurate responsibility. Each of us is obliged to support and abide by the ethical and legal standards that apply to information technology, including rights of authorship, confidentiality, privacy, and dissemination. In doing so, we respect the codes of honesty, integrity, and intellectual freedom upon which institutions of higher learning rely.
Usage Consistent with Law
Usage of MTI computing resources shall be consistent with local, state, and federal law.
Copyright Law
It is the policy of MTI to respect the ownership of all intellectual material protected by copyright laws.
Users shall not make or use illegal copies of copyrighted materials, store such copies on Institute systems, or transmit them over Institute networks.
Summary of Civil and Criminal Penalties for Violation of Federal Copyright Laws
Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). These rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work. In the file-sharing context, downloading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement.
Penalties for copyright infringement include civil and criminal penalties. In general, anyone found liable for civil copyright infringement may be ordered to pay either actual damages or “statutory” damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed. For “willful” infringement, a court may award up to $150,000 per work infringed. A court can, in its discretion, also assess costs and attorneys’ fees. For details, see Title 17, United States Code, Sections 504, 505. Willful copyright infringement can also result in criminal penalties, including imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense.
For more information, please see the Web site of the U.S. Copyright Office at www.copyright.gov, especially their FAQ’s at www.copyright.gov/help/faq.
Systems Security
Compliance with policies that ensure the security and integrity of all campus information systems is mandatory and critical to ensure continuing provision of computer resources to the entire MTI community.
User Accounts
The Institute owns the computer facilities, resources, and accounts. The Office of Technology must approve all access to central computer systems, including the issuing of passwords. Access to administrative systems is limited.
All MTI students and employees are eligible to receive a computer system account. Members of employees’ families, who are not members of one of the above categories, are not eligible for computer system accounts.
Only the Director of Technology may grant others access to MTI electronic resources and then only in those cases where the activity will significantly benefit the Institute as a whole.
Users shall not provide false or misleading information to obtain access to computing resources or facilities.
Confidentiality and Privacy
Users of MTI’s electronic resources should not consider this usage to be confidential. Electronic communications are in many cases archived with federal law and are subject to review by administration or their designee. MTI does require confidentiality in regard to the public release of certain information under FERPA, HIPAA, and other legal requirements and local policy.
Interception of Network traffic
Users shall not intercept network traffic for any purpose unless engaged in authorized network administrative duties.
Damage or Disruption
Users may not damage computer systems or knowingly cause disruptions in its operations or use. Users shall not use the network to disrupt network users, services or equipment. Disruptions include, but are not limited to, distribution of unapproved advertising, propagation of computer “worms” and viruses, and sustained high volume network traffic that substantially hinders others in their use of the network.
Personal Gain
Users shall not use the computer systems for personal gain such as selling access to a USER ID or by performing work for profit with Institute resources in a manner not authorized by the Institute.
Billable services
Users shall assume responsibility for any charges associated with billable services unless appropriate authorization has been obtained.
Acceptable Uses of Electronic Mail
Electronic mail may be used for a wide variety of on- and off-campus communication. Examples include professional communications, notices of Institute activities, personal correspondence, actions and scheduling of Institute and faculty committees, administration and board activities, announcement of Institute policies and schedules, and Institute announcements.
System-Provided Mailing Lists
Only messages relating to Institute activities should be sent to the system-provided mailing lists, e.g., All Users, All Faculty, All Staff, etc. Such mailing lists are for notification of Institute events, communication of official Institute 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.
Guidelines
To determine if sending to a mailing list is appropriate please refer to these questions. If your answer is NO, the e-mail should not be sent to an MTI distribution group. If you cannot answer the questions, please contact the Associate to the President for further guidance.
1. Does the e-mail pertain to all MTI employees or students?
2. Is the e-mail or event sponsored by or directly supported by MTI?
Also, remember that the distribution system may not be used to sell items or to solicit monetary donations unless the event is sponsored by or directly supported by MTI.
Students are not allowed access to Institute distribution lists without permission of the Associate to the President/Chief Communications Officer.
User-created Mailing Lists
Users may also create their own mailing lists. When creating and using a mailing list, users shall ensure that everyone on the list agrees to be included on the list.
Unacceptable Uses of Electronic Mail
Electronic mail is not to be used for the following:
• commercial ventures
• personal profit
• solicitations for contributions for non-Institute sponsored entities
• chain letters
• “pyramid schemes”
• any activity inconsistent with MTI policies
• or any illegal activity or unlawful purpose.Users shall not use email to harass or intimidate another person. (See Policy MTI 115 for the full harassment policy.)
Cyber Bullying
Cyber bullying is a form of harassment over the Internet or other forms of electronic communications and social media, including cell phones. Students and staff will refrain from using communication devices or Mitchell Technical Institute property to harass or stalk one another. Mitchell Technical Institute’s computer network and the Internet, whether accessed at school or away from school, during or after school hours, may not be used for the purpose of cyber bullying. All forms of cyber bullying are unacceptable and viewed as a violation Mitchell Technical Institute’s acceptable computer use policy and procedures.
Users are responsible for the appropriateness of the materials they transmit. Hate mail, harassment, discriminatory remarks, or other anti-social behaviors are expressly prohibited.
Cyber bullying includes, but is not limited to the following misuses of technology: harassing, teasing, intimidating, threatening, or terrorizing another person by sending or posting inappropriate and hurtful e-mail messages, instant messages, text messages, digital pictures or images, or website postings, including blogs. It is also recognized that the author (poster or sender) of the inappropriate material is often disguised (logged on) as someone else.
Students and community members, who believe they have been victims of such misuses of technology, as described in this policy, should not erase the offending material from the systems. A copy of the material should be brought to the attention of the MTI Title IX Coordinator in the MTI Administrative office.
Malicious use of Mitchell Technical Institute’s computer system to develop programs or to institute practices that harass other users to gain unauthorized access to any entity on the system and/or change the components of an entity on the network is prohibited.
Intellectual Freedom
MTI recognizes the right of all users to use resources of their choosing. Computer resources are available for the interest, information, and enlightenment of the MTI community. Information will not be proscribed, censored, or removed by the Institute because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. In compliance with Child Internet Protection Act, MTI does provide a content filtering system that prevents the viewing of pornographic material and reserves the right to block peer to peer file sharing that consumes bandwidth required for instructional purposes.
Respect for Rights of Others
Computer users at MTI have a responsibility to be aware of materials that may be objectionable to others when using computers in public areas. Monitors and printers in public areas, such as open access computer labs and offices that more than one person may share, should not be used to display or print materials that might be defined as harassing or disruptive. Users are reminded that any state and federal laws dealing with these or related matters apply to MTI facilities and are encouraged to use good judgment.
Enforcement and Penalties
The Director of Technology is responsible for administering and enforcing these regulations. Questions should be directed in writing to the Director of Technology.
Violations should be reported in writing to the Director of Technology. When potential damage to Institute computing resources or data is immediate, the Director of Technology may suspend the alleged violator’s access to such resources immediately. Notice of such suspension shall be communicated to the alleged violator. Ordinarily the Director of Technology will discuss the alleged violation with parties involved and/or the individual’s supervisor, instructor, or dean, as appropriate. If the problem cannot be resolved, the Director of Technology may refer alleged violations of this policy to the appropriate administrator or judicial body.
If a Web page mounted on an Institute computing resource, in the opinion of the Director of Technology, violates this Appropriate Use Policy or the Web Page Policy, access to that Web page may be temporarily suspended pending prompt adjudication of the matter as described in the paragraph above.
Any violations of the regulations included in this document may result in penalties as described below. Students may face review for disciplinary actions. These may include, but are not limited to, the suspension of or loss of access to Institute computer resources, suspension or expulsion from the Institute, and referral to law enforcement.
Faculty and staff may face review for disciplinary action as described in the MTI Faculty & Non-Faculty Personnel Handbooks. These may include, but are not limited to, the suspension of or loss of access to Institute computer resources, and other penalties listed in the Handbooks, including possible termination of employment by the Institute. Appeals from penalties assessed under this policy will follow the appropriate grievance procedure as stated in the Handbooks.
Student Laptop Computers on Campus
Required by Program – Full Access
Students who purchase computers from MTI for use in their programs will have full use of the campus network services. This includes, but is not limited to, wireless network connectivity, printing, and other services provided by MTI. The laptops are distributed and supported by the MTI Information Technology Office.
Bring your own Device – Full Access
Students enrolled in programs that require a laptop but are not provided by MTI gain access to our network through our Cisco Network Access Control (NAC) client. The client is self-service and can be installed at your leisure. Current system updates and current anti-virus definitions are required to have full network access. Systems that do not meet these requirements will not be accepted onto the network until those conditions are met.
The MTI Acceptable Computer Use policy applies to all laptop computers used on the MTI network.
MTI Student Email
E-mail is considered an official method for communication at MTI because it delivers information in a convenient, timely, cost effective, and environmentally aware manner.
For the majority of the student population, this MTI Student E-mail Policy does not represent a change from current practice. However, the policy does ensure that all students have access to this important form of communication. Furthermore, it ensures that students can be accessed through a standardized channel by faculty and other staff of the Institute as needed.
Institute Use of Email
E-mail is an official method for communication at MTI. The Institute may send communications to students via e-mail. Students are responsible for the consequences of not reading in a timely fashion Institute-related communications sent to their official MTI student e-mail account. MTI utilizes automated technologies to protect the network. It is possible that those technologies may block legitimate messages. It is the recipient’s responsibility to follow up on any undelivered any e-mail that is expected, but has been blocked by the filter.
Application for Student Email Accounts
All students taking classes at MTI campus are required to obtain an official MTI student e-mail account. A student e-mail account created by the Office of Technology is the official e-mail address to which the Institute will send e-mail communications. This official address will be recorded in the Institute’s electronic directories and records for that student.
Expectations Regarding Student Use of Email
Students are expected to check their MTI official e-mail on a frequent and consistent basis in order to remain informed of Institute-related communications. The Institute recommends checking e-mail every day.
Responsibility for Security of Accounts
An account is given to an individual for the exclusive use by that individual. It is against Institute policy for a user to give someone his or her password or allow others to use his or her account. However, this is not to preclude others temporarily assisting a user in the performance of his or her Institute functions (for example faculty helping a student with a computer project; associates showing a new feature of the computer system) while supervised by the user. Users are responsible for all activity on their accounts.
Attempting to discover another user’s password or attempts to gain unauthorized access to another person’s files or mail is prohibited. The only exception will be when technology personnel are working on the security of the computer system.
In the event a student loses or forgets a password, there will be a $5.00 charge to change a password. All password changes will be made by the Office of Technology.
Faculty Expectations and Educational Uses of Email
Since faculty members determine how email is used in their classes, faculty can require students to check their email on a specific or more frequent basis. Messages sent to Institute-provided aliases of official MTI student email addresses are also considered official communication.
Appropriate Use of Student Email
In general, email is not appropriate for transmitting sensitive or confidential information.
All use of email will be consistent with other Institute policies, including the MTI Policy on the Appropriate Use of Information Technology Resources.
All use of email will be consistent with local, state, and federal law, including provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) and all subsequent amendments to the original act.
Communications sent to a student’s official MTI email address may include notification of Institute-related actions.
Redirecting Email
Students may elect to redirect (autoforward) messages sent to their MTI official student email address. Students who redirect email from their official address to another address (such as AOL, Yahoo, Hotmail, or any email server other than the official MTI servers) do so at their own risk. Having email lost as a result of redirection does not absolve a student from the responsibilities associated with communication sent to his or her official email address. The Institute is not responsible for the handling of email by outside vendors or unofficial servers.
Changes to this policy will be authorized by approval of the administrators of the Institute. Questions or comments about this policy should be directed to the Director of Technology.