Computer Use Policy • Community Code • Carthage College

1 point *

* Student Conduct Point System: Students and organizations are assessed points and sanctions for violations of Carthage policies. The point system is divided into three categories, based on the degree of severity of the infraction. Read more about the Student Conduct Point System

Carthage is committed to providing computer technology resources and support in order to enhance the Carthage educational experience and further the goals of the college. This set of policies is designed to provide users with information to facilitate the effective use of computer technology resources at Carthage.

Due to the changeable nature of computer technology, these policies may be revised or amended as needed in the future. The College reserves the right to publish such changes and amendments as necessary, and each user is responsible for complying with all applicable policies.

It is expected that the computer technology resources provided by Carthage, whether on or off campus, are used in a manner consistent with the purpose and the principles of the College. The following policies describe what is and are not acceptable use of Carthage’s technology resources:

1. COMPLIANCE WITH THE COMPUTER USE POLICIES

Students are expected to comply with the terms of the Carthage Computer Use Policies and to report any violation of these policies to the Office of Student Life immediately. These policies apply when accessing Carthage’s computer technology resources, from on or off campus, and when using Carthage’s resources to access the computer networks of other institutions. Other institutions may have more restrictive use policies, and students must abide by those policies as well as the policies of Carthage College.

2. LAWFUL AND PERMITTED PURPOSES

Student use of Carthage’s technology resources is restricted to lawful and College approved purposes. Approved primary purposes include teaching and learning, and official College business. Permissible secondary purposes include College-related social, personal, and community functions and activities. Use of the technology resources for secondary purposes is always subordinate to use for primary purposes and must not involve significant use of technology resources, direct costs, or substantially interfere with the performance of teaching and learning, official College business, and administrative matters. The use of resources for purposes not specifically permitted by the College, or assisting others in infractions of College policies, is prohibited.

3. NETWORK ACCOUNT USAGE

A user id and password are assigned to students solely for their individual use and should not be shared with anyone. Students are responsible for all functions performed from their assigned network account. For this reason, students should not leave any machine unattended while logged on, as others may attempt to use that account for purposes that violate this policy. In addition, any attempt to discover and/or disclose another’s password is a violation of this policy.

4. NETWORK ACCESS RIGHTS

Each student network login provides access to certain resources via the Carthage network. Any attempt to bypass network security or otherwise obtain access to restricted areas without permission is a violation of this policy. Possessing tools for bypassing or probing security will be considered an attempt and is, therefore, in violation of this policy. Any student unintentionally gaining access to any restricted area is required to inform the Office of Student Life immediately.

5. SELF-IDENTIFICATION

Students are responsible for identifying themselves accurately in electronic and verbal communication. Concealing or falsifying the identity of the user or of the machine being used is fraudulent and prohibited.

6. OFFENSIVE COMMUNICATIONS OR MATERIALS

Installing, posting, distributing, or transmitting sexually explicit and/or pornographic images, or materials considered harassing, threatening, or obscene (as defined in section 1460 of Title 18, United States Code) via Carthage resources is prohibited. Carthage resources include, but are not limited to, workstations, servers, and the network infrastructure.

7. RESOURCE UTILIZATION

To maximize the availability of Carthage’s technology resources for the approved primary purposes of teaching and learning, students are expected to refrain from activities that generate excessive network traffic. These include but are not limited to:

Chain letters and pyramid schemes;
Inappropriate or unsolicited advertisements (all advertisements, promotional material, or other types of solicitation must have prior approval by the Office of Student Life);
Posting irrelevant or inappropriate electronic messages to multiple recipients (“spamming”);
Multiple unsolicited electronic messages to a single recipient (“mail bombing”).
Electronic mailing lists (listservs) may be maintained that allow Carthage users to subscribe/unsubscribe to electronic mailings. These lists would fall under the category of solicited advertisements. Electronic mailings to all individuals on such lists may require prior approval of the list moderator. The names and e-mail addresses of individuals on mailing lists may not be distributed outside the Carthage Community.

8. COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Students must respect copyright and intellectual property rights of others. Copying of materials, which belong to others, including passwords and files constitutes a breach of the policy. Note that unauthorized duplication or transmission of copyrighted or other proprietary contanct could subject the student to criminal prosecution as well as personal liability in a civil suit. Because Carthage College does not require, request, or condone unauthoirzed copying or use of computer software, such action is not considered to be taken in the course of Carthage related work. The College will not provide legal defense for individuals who may be accused of making unauthorized copies of software even if these individuals maintain that such action was taken in the course of their employment. If the College is sued or fined because of unauthorized copying or use, it may seek payment from the individuals as well as subject them to disciplinary action.

Students must use Software owned or licensed by the College in accordance with the applicable license. Viewing, modifying, or damaging information without authorization (including intentional introduction of viruses or unauthorized access) is unethical, may be unlawful, and is in violation. The best position for users to take is to assume that copying of software for use on an additional machine is prohibited unless authorized by a member of the Computer Center professional staff.

Students may, in accordance with College policies, electronically distribute or duplicate information, software, video, graphics, photographs, music, and other material that does not fall under copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property protection. Material for which the owner has provided permission may be distributed or duplicated in accordance with the owner’s permission(s). Copyrighted material students may use should display a phrase similar to “Copyright owned by [owner’s name, date]; used by permission.”

9. INSTALLATION OF SOFTWARE

Unauthorized installation of any software on Carthage-owned computers is prohibited. Such installation may violate copyright and/or license agreements and may overwrite or interfere with other programs and/or the operating system software.

10. USE OF THE CARTHAGE COLLEGE NAME

The Carthage College name may only be used in an official context for College business. To avoid misrepresentation of Carthage College, do not use the Carthage College name or any symbol, graphic, text, or logo associated with Carthage College in a manner implying endorsement of any political, social, or commercial activity or in a context that implies official endorsement by the College without prior written approval of the Office of Student Life or other appropriate College authority.

CONSEQUENCES OF COMPUTER USE POLICY VIOLATIONS

Violating the Carthage Computer Use Policies may result in restriction/revocation of network access, suspension or dismissal from the college, or other actions as deemed appropriate by the Office of Student Life. Procedures for disciplinary action are described under the Student Conduct System section of the Student Community Code.

World Wide Web (www.carthage.edu)

The College’s website is an official College publication and marketing tool, as well as a campus-wide resource. The purpose of the website is to disseminate information about the College’s mission and academic programs, course offerings, local and non-local news, athletics, the electronic library and other scholarly informational resources, programs, events and services, and faculty and students.

For many people, the Carthage website provides the first point of contact with an impression of the College. Therefore, the Office of Communications will oversee and assume ultimate responsibility for the content and design of the website. As with printed publications, the Office of Communications will uphold the highest standards of quality and responsibility and maintain a consistent image of the College.

Carthage’s Vice President of Communications, in consultation with appropriate College personnel, will make recommendations regarding the structure of the site and the appropriate content will determine who is eligible to create and link pages from the official Carthage Page and will set guidelines in order to achieve consistency and coherence between the home page and subsequent pages. In general, responsibility for creating and revising content below the first two or three levels will rest with the department, organization, or specific group.

All officially recognized Carthage groups, including faculty, academic divisions and departments, administrative offices, and student organizations, may work with the Office of Communications to create and maintain their individual web pages within the College’s website. Note: Infringement of copyright laws, obscene, harassing, or threatening materials on the Carthage server can be in violation of local, state, national or international laws and can be subject to litigation by the appropriate law enforcement agency. Authors of HTML documents and those who store resources on the Carthage servers are responsible for what they allow users around the world to access.