Acceptable Use Policy

Access to computer systems and networks owned or operated by Cedar Crest College imposes certain responsibilities and obligations and is granted subject to College policies, and local, state, and federal laws. Acceptable use must be ethical, reflect academic honesty, and show restraint in the consumption of shared resources.

Purpose

Access to computer systems and networks owned or operated by Cedar Crest College imposes certain responsibilities and obligations and is granted subject to College policies, and local, state, and federal laws. Acceptable use must be ethical, reflect academic honesty, and show restraint in the consumption of shared resources. It demonstrates respect for intellectual property, ownership of data, system security mechanisms, and individuals' rights to privacy and freedom from intimidation and harassment.

Policy Statement

1. The use of any college computer or data networks implies the acceptance of this policy.
2. Electronic mail, other communications, and data stored on the college servers, electronic mail system, or Office 365 are not implicitly private. Cedar Crest College reserves the right to search, read or otherwise go through any data, mail, or other communication on any of the college’s systems. There is no right to privacy in any of these systems.
3. Sharing passwords or any other authentication information with someone else is strictly prohibited. Each individual is responsible for his/her account(s), including the safeguarding of access to the account(s).
4. The automatic forwarding of email from a Cedar Crest College email account to any non-Cedar Crest College email account is prohibited.
5. The use of Cedar Crest College’s technology resources to access, further, or otherwise participate in an activity that is inconsistent with the mission of the College is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to the following: illegal activity (including downloading copyrighted music, applications, or video), sexually explicit material, hate speech, violent behavior & bullying, spam, hacking, etc. An exemption is granted for individuals engaged in normal pedagogic-related activities or research, provided that it is consistent with Cedar Crest’s mission.
6. In addition to standard electronic resources, members of the College community are expected to make appropriate use of the College Telephone/Voicemail system. Examples of inappropriate actions:
   1. Unauthorized entry into a voice mailbox
   2. Unauthorized use of another individual's identification and authorization code
   3. Use of the College telephone system to send abusive, harassing, or obscene messages
7. The use of Cedar Crest resources to conduct business for personal financial gain is prohibited.
8. AntiVirus/AntiMalware software must be installed on any computer that is used to access any and all College resources.  It must kept up to date and enabled. If your software is not up to date or disabled it may lead to an infection which may result in your network access being disabled. Click here to see a list of suggested applications from the Office of Information Technology.
9. Although Information Technology deploys patches for College issued devices for Windows, macOS, and other applications, users are responsible for keeping their personal computers and devices updated with all other security patches/fixes from the appropriate software update services. This includes updating your operating system and applications, such as Microsoft Office, Adobe, iTunes, Firefox, Chrome, etc. If your computer is not up to date, it could lead to being infected by a virus or malware which may result in your network access being disabled.
10. Employees are responsible for their computer, including its hardware, software, and any network traffic transmitted by it. Please contact the Help Desk if you have any questions about whether or not certain software/hardware might conflict with this acceptable use policy.
11. The use of personal routers (wireless or wired), wireless hotspots, DNS, and/or DHCP servers is strictly prohibited. Information Technology can assist you if you have additional network connectivity needs that are not being met.
12. Using the College network to provide any service that is visible off-campus without prior Information Technology approval, is prohibited. This applies to services such as, but not limited to, HTTP (Web), SSH, FTP, IRC, email, private VPN, etc.
13. Configuring your computer to provide Internet or Cedar Crest College network system access to anyone who is not a Cedar Crest College faculty, staff member, or student is prohibited.
14. Students are not permitted to e-mail to any distribution “All” distribution list from their named account. Only student organization accounts may do so, with prior approval.
15. Connecting any device or system (that is not a computer or mobile device) to the College's data networks without the prior review and approval of Information Technology is prohibited.

Personal Use

Your work may involve the use of computers, software, telephone, fax, printing, or other computing or communications resources. Cedar Crest employees are permitted to use these resources for limited personal use provided they have the permission of their supervisor, the personal use does not affect their job performance or responsibilities, and that such use does not conflict with this or any other College policies.

Revised: 04/22/2021