Berry College Office for Information Technology

Policies and Procedures

Introduction

Berry College provides all students, faculty and staff with Internet access and electronic communication services as required for the performance and fulfillment of their job and learning responsibilities. These services are for the purpose of education and increasing productivity and not for non-business or non-educational activities.

Email Policy

Important: Berry email is used as a means of official correspondence. Consequently, all students, faculty and staff are expected to check their email on a regular basis and preferably at least once a day. It is the responsibility of all faculty, staff and students to properly maintain their email account so that they do not exceed storage limits. Notices are sent when a mailbox is getting close to its limit. Once the limit is exceeded, no new email can be received. However, the email box can be managed by the user, even when full.

Current email storage limits are:

Students 40 Mb
Faculty and Staff: 200 Mb

Maximum transmission size: 12 Mb.

Email accounts remain active until a student withdraws or graduates, or an employee leaves the employment of the college. Your email account will be deactivated at the time that you leave or at a later date if special arrangements have been made with Office for Information Technology.

Your password is good for twelve months. It is recommended that you change your password twice a year. A good time is when the clocks are changed in the spring and fall.
For assistance in managing your email box or in changing your password and managing your email box, please go to: http://www.berry.edu/oit/email.asp

Email Use Policy

Occasional and reasonable personal use of Berry College's Internet and email services is permitted, provided that this does not interfere with work or educational performance. These services may be used outside of normal work and academic scheduled hours, provided that such use is consistent with professional conduct.

Users should have no expectations of privacy while using Berry College owned or leased equipment and services. Users should assume that information passing through or stored on Berry College equipment can and may be monitored even though it is rarely done.

Violations of Internet and email use include, but are not limited to, accessing, downloading, uploading, receiving or sending materials that includes sexually explicit content or other material using vulgar, sexist, racist, threatening, violent or defamatory language. Users should not use Berry College services to disclose corporate information without prior authorization. Gambling and illegal activities including improper use of copyrighted materials are not to be conducted on Berry College resources. Infringements of this policy will be investigated on a case-by-case basis.

SPAM refers to electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings. Many people at Berry perceive SPAM as any unsolicited e-mail. In addition to being a nuisance, SPAM uses a lot of network bandwidth and data storage facilities. Users need to be sensitive in sending email that may be perceived as SPAM by other Berry users.

VikingWeb Bulletin Boards/ListServe
Bulletin Boards/ListServe is available for all faculty, staff and students that enables users to opt in and/or out of receiving notifications. It is part of the VikingWeb system and can be located at:
https://vikingweb.berry.edu/ics/Campus_Life/Campus_Life_Homepage.jnz?portlet=Bulletin_Boards

Note: You must sign into VikingWeb in order to post.

The purpose of the Bulletin Boards/ListServe is to reduce SPAM while allowing users who wish to do participate the opportunity to post and/or view listings. The following are some of the categories available:

Volunteer Opportunities
Surplus Equipment/Furniture
Pets for Free
Lost & Found
Items for Sale

If you would like to report inappropriate postings, please contact Timothy Farnham, CIO by emailing him at tfarnham@berry.edu or calling him at (706) 238-7850.

By using Berry College's Internet access and electronic communications services means that you have read our Internet and email use policy. This does not mean that you agree with each and every provision of the policy. However, it does mean that you will abide by the regulations set forth in the above policy.

Computer Use and Ethics Policy

The following sets forth Berry College’s policy for the management and use of computers, data networks, and associated computing resources that are owned and/or administered by Berry College. This policy reflects the ethical principles of the Berry College community and indicates what privileges and responsibilities are characteristic of the computing environment.

In support of the College’s mission of teaching, research, and public service, the Office for Information Technology provides computing, networking, and information resources to the college community of students, faculty, and staff in support of the programs of the college. All users are responsible for seeing that the computing facilities are used in an effective, efficient, and lawful manner.

Privileges and Responsibilities

Computers and networks provide access to resources on and off campus, as well as the ability to communicate with other users worldwide. Such open access is a privilege and requires that individual users act responsibly. Users must respect the interests of other users; respect the integrity of the systems and related physical resources; and observe all relevant laws, regulations, and contractual obligations, plus applicable college rules and regulations.

Students and employees may have rights of access to information about themselves contained in computer files, as specified in federal and state laws. In addition, system administrators may access user files as necessary to protect the integrity of computer systems. For example, following organizational guidelines, system administrators may access or examine files or accounts that are suspected of unauthorized use or misuse, or that have been corrupted or damaged.

Email is an official means of correspondence at Berry College. Every student is provided a Berry email account and is expected to check it on a regular basis. Berry email is also used by many faculty for their classes and it is used in Viking Web as well. There is a limit enforced on each student email account; therefore, it is necessary for each email account holder to properly maintain her/his account so that they can receive email at all times.

Computer users are expected to exercise reasonable precautions to protect Berry College information at all times against loss, theft and inappropriate disclosure. This applies to desktop and laptop computers, storage and PDA devices.

Existing Legal Context

All existing laws (federal and state) and college regulations and policies apply, including not only those laws and regulations that are specific to computers and networks, but also those that may apply generally to personal conduct.

Users are held accountable for their conduct under any applicable college policies and procedures. Misuse of computing, networking, or information resources may result in the loss of computing privileges. Additionally, misuse can be prosecuted under applicable statutes. Complaints alleging misuse of campus computing resources will be directed to those responsible for taking appropriate disciplinary action. Illegal reproduction of software protected by U.S. Copyright Law is subject to civil damages and criminal penalties including fines and imprisonment.

Examples of Misuse

Examples of misuse include, but are not limited to, the activities in the following list:

Using a computer account or password other than your own. Never share your computer account or password.
Using the campus network to gain unauthorized access to any computer or network.
Performing an act which will interfere with the normal operation of computers, peripherals, or networks.
Knowingly running or installing on any computer system or network, or giving to another user, a program intended to damage or to place excessive load on a computer system or network. This includes but is not limited to programs known as computer viruses, Trojan horses, and worms.
Attempting to circumvent data protection schemes or uncover security loopholes.
Violating terms of applicable software licensing agreements or copyright laws. This includes the downloading of copyrighted material such as audio and video files for which the copyright owners have not granted rights.
Wasting computer or network resources.
Using electronic communications to threaten, harass or intimidate others, or to transmit pornographic materials.
Masking the identity of an account or machine.
Posting on electronic bulletin boards materials that violate applicable laws or regulations or college rules or regulations, including but not limited to the Berry College Code of Student Conduct.
Attempting to monitor or tamper with another user’s electronic communications, or reading, copying, changing, or deleting another user’s files or software without the explicit agreement of the owner.
Using the college’s electronic mail and/or equipment for solicitation, advertising, or for any commercial purpose unrelated to official college business.
Connecting and operating unauthorized wireless access points, switches and/or routers on the campus network.
While network/internet capable video game consoles are not prohibited, if they cause network performance degradation they may be treated as if wasting computer resources.
Activities will not be considered misuse when authorized by appropriate college officials for security or performance testing. Infractions may require that the person(s) responsible be interviewed by the Chief Information Officer and appropriate director where either a warning is issued or if of a more serious nature, referred to the Dean of Students. If any local, state or federal laws are violated, appropriate authorities will be contacted and full cooperation with them will be offered.

Ethics Policy

Berry College reserves the right to change in whatever manner it deems necessary the requirements regarding admission; to drop, add, or change the arrangement of courses, curricula, academic standards, or requirements for retention, graduation, degrees and all other regulations of the college. Such regulations shall be effective whenever determined by the appropriate faculty and administrative bodies; they may govern both continuing and new students without actual notice to individual students. Information on changes will be available from academic advisors or appropriate administrative offices and will be published in subsequent issues of the catalog.

Berry College admits students of any race, creed, color, sex, age, religion, national and ethnic origin, or qualified handicap to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the college. Berry does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sex, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, or qualified handicap in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other college administered programs.

Berry College makes no claim that a course of study will lead to positions of employment.

Privacy Statement
Berry College respects the privacy of all Web site visitors. The purpose of this policy is to alert users of the ways that the site collects, processes, and protects your information.

Listed below are several ways in which our site/servers might collect information during your visit:

Network Traffic/Web Activity Logs:
In order to monitor network security, to maintain service consistency and to improve services offered, Berry College uses software applications and/or services that monitor network traffic, identify security issues and detect unauthorized software such as viruses. While monitoring the system, these programs may detect personally identifiable information such as e-mail headers, passwords, etc. In addition, web activity is logged that includes but is not limited to pages visited, site routes, date and time stamps, referring site information, IP or domain addresses and browser information. The site makes no attempt to identify individual visitors from this information. In the case of both network traffic and Web activity logs, any personally identifiable information is not released to external parties without your consent, unless required by law.

Cookies:
Cookies are small text files that are written to a designated area of your hard drive that can be used to help the Web site remember information, such as data that needs to be carried from one page to the next or to identify you automatically without the need to log into a site. Cookies are saved on your computer and therefore you control them. If you prefer not to receive cookies from the Web site, you have several options to allow for this in your browser configuration. Disabling cookies, however, may limit your access to information or features of certain areas of the site. Unless otherwise notified, we do not track your movements using cookies or exchange cookie files with third parties.

Voluntary Provided User Information:
If you choose to provide us with certain information while visiting the site, such as sending us electronic mail, using a form to correspond or request information, or registering for access to protected site sections, your information will only be used for internal purposes. Personally identifiable information will only be used for the purpose indicated. In the case of individuals associated with Berry College (i.e. alumni, students), submitted information may also be used to update your current records. Each Web page requesting information discloses the purpose of that information. If you do not wish to have the information used in that manner, it is your option not to provide it.

As with most university and college Web sites, we provide resource links to other Web sites. These third party sites are not controlled by Berry College. We do not endorse them and are not responsible for their availability, content or service. In addition, these sites may not conform to this privacy policy or may have no policy at all. In most cases, you can confirm that you are leaving the Berry College Web site by noting the URL of the destination site.

If you have questions about the Berry College Web site or this online privacy statement, contact the Web manager at contact the Web manager or 706-368-6747.

Copyright Policy and Notification Procedures
The owner of a copyright holds exclusive rights to the reproduction and distribution of the copyrighted work. Duplication of any copyrighted work is prohibited unless specifically allowed for in a license agreement. Unauthorized copying of intellectual work and/or software is illegal and punishable under federal law.

As members of the academic community, we value the free exchange of ideas; however, respect for the intellectual work and property of others is essential to the mission of all educational institutions.

Copyright Infringement Notification – Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement

This is to notify copyright owners that the agent to receive infringement statutory notices under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act is Alan Storey, executive assistant to the president.

A copyright owner needing to send such notice to Berry College should submit the notice in writing to:

Alan Storey
Berry College
P.O. Box 490039
Mount Berry, GA 30149
E-mail: astorey@berry.edu
Phone: 706-236-2227
Fax: 706-236-2238

For more information about copyright, see www.whatiscopyright.org.

Product Licensing Policy

Hardware
All hardware devices acquired for or on behalf of the college or developed by college employees or contract personnel on behalf of the college are and shall be deemed college property. All such hardware devices must be used in compliance with applicable licenses, notices, contracts, and agreements.

Please remember as you plan for new networked printer purchases for labs and offices that our standard printer brand that we support is Hewlett-Packard. We do this for a number of reasons:

Hewlett-Packard printers are reliable.
They are reasonably priced.
They operate well in our network environment.
A single brand of networked printer means that we (Network Operations) don't have to load or deal with multiple administration interfaces to properly control access to these devices.

Any future networked printer purchases/installations must follow this guideline or risk a reduced level of service and reliability. For any special needs that Hewlett-Packard printers may not address, please contact Network Operations to discuss the issue.

Software
All software acquired for or on behalf of the college or developed by college employees or contract personnel on behalf of the college is and shall be deemed college property. All such software must be used in compliance with applicable licenses, notices, contracts, and agreements.

Software Licensing
Each employee is individually responsible for reading, understanding, and following all applicable licenses, notice, contracts, and agreements for software that he or she uses or seeks to use on college computers. Unless otherwise provided in the applicable license, notice, contract, or agreement, any duplication or copyrighted software, except for backup and archival purposes, may be a violation of federal and state law. In addition to violating such laws, unauthorized duplication of software is a violation of the college's Software/Hardware Policy.

Altiris software is installed on all Berry owned computers to insure the proper use of licensing across campus, maintain inventory, and to assist end users experiencing certain software problems or in need of application assistance.

Campus Agreement Software License
The following list of software is available to student and/or faculty and staff.

Berry College has renewed our annual institution-wide licensing program with Microsoft Corporation to acquire a comprehensive package of desktop software for Berry owned computers. It also covers computer lab software use on campus as well as e-mail services for a one-year period. The Microsoft Office Suite (one per student) is available to those students who complete the appropriate application during distribution periods. The suite of software included for either PC or Macintosh platform:
- Word
- Access
- Excel
- PowerPoint
Also available for download only:
- McAfee Antivirus for PC and Symantec for Mac Symantec Corporate Edition (Macintosh) and McAfee Antivirus (Wintel) (only available to students living on campus).

Students will be able to legally keep the Office suite software once he/she graduates from Berry College while the agreement is in effect. Any other software that is not distributed on CD (such as McAfee Antivirus or Symantec Corporate Edition) will not convert to a valid license upon the student's departure from Berry College.

If a student were to purchase this software at normal retail rates, it would cost over $700. Under our Campus Agreement, we can distribute the latest Office Suite through CD medium. Students must complete the appropriate application for this software during the distribution times.

Software will be distributed on a regular basis throughout the year. Students will be asked to complete and return the Microsoft Acceptance application to the Help Desk located in Hermann Hall. After the application has been received and processed by Information Technology, the student will then be notified through their Berry e-mail account of the distribution procedure.

Computer Purchasing Policy

All faculty and staff computers, peripheral devices, and non-discipline specific software are to be purchased through OIT (Office for Information Technology). This process ensures that any equipment purchased will be compatible with existing equipment and supportable on our network. This includes desktops, laptops, printers, scanners and any other piece of equipment connected to Berry-owned computers.

OIT will be happy to work with you to define your needs and to help select the appropriate equipment regarding the purchase. We will also order the equipment for you and schedule its installation. Turnaround times normally are very short. OIT is positioned to obtain the best pricing for you and your department on many types of computer equipment and supplies while retaining compatibility with the Berry network.

Please contact Tonya Conway at (706) 236-1725 or e-mail at OITpurchasing@berry.edu.

Hardware and Software Standards Policy

The standard operating system is Windows XP Pro for PC and OS X 10.4 or 1.5 for MAC. The standard suite of software installed on Berry College computers is fully supported by Enterprise Systems. The suite consists of Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook (Windows Systems) / Entourage (Macintosh Systems), and McAfee Antivirus (Windows systems) or Symantec Corporate Edition (Macintosh systems).

Employees needing software other than the standard centrally supported software must request such software from the Director of Enterprise Systems Support. Each request will be considered on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with the software-purchasing section of this policy. The standard hardware configuration for college computers is fully supported by Enterprise Systems. Employees needing computer hardware other than the standard hardware must request such hardware from the Director of Enterprise Systems. Each request will be considered on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with the hardware-purchasing section of this policy.

Guidelines

No equipment may be connected to the college network without permission from OIT.
All software including operating systems should be approved by and INSTALLED by OIT A+ Certified personnel.
The computer name, administrator account(s), and system settings shall not be changed on Berry owned computers.
If a computer has been upgraded and/or altered by someone other than OIT, or equipment added to the network that causes follow-up repair work, a per hour fee of $50 may be charged at the discretion of OIT.
Non-Berry College support sources are generally not approved for hardware and software support. Any charges (unless previously approved by OIT) submitted for payment for outside support will not be reimbursed by the college.
Computers which fall below the minimum standards for the college are allotted a 30 minute service call at no charge. If the computer in question requires more time to repair or if it requires replacement hardware/software, a per hour fee of $50 will also apply. The department to which the computer is assigned will be given the opportunity to decide whether or not to proceed with the work order beyond the 30 minute service call.
A per hour fee of $50 will be charged to set up and/or upgrade technology equipment not purchased through OIT.