(Based on a model developed by Inver Hills Community College)
The purpose of this policy is to establish written guidelines for the appropriate use of information technology resources at Minneapolis Community & Technical College (MCTC).
MCTC provides ITS resources in support of its mission to continuously improve student understanding and capabilities that lead to purposeful lives, contribute to a vital community and pursue lifelong learning. As an institution of higher education, the College intends to provide the community with open and unrestricted avenues of communication as long as such use is in compliance with state and federal laws, other MCTC policies, and MnSCU policies. The use of MCTC computer systems and networks is a privilege granted to MCTC faculty, staff, and students. MCTC expects all members of its community to use these resources responsibly. The College reserves the right to summarily limit or suspend access to facilities, equipment, and services, as necessary, to comply with applicable laws, to protect the interests of MCTC and other members of the community, and to preserve the integrity and performance of ITS systems.
As with all ITS services, electronic mail, local and long distance telephone services are provided for employees to conduct college-related business. The Minnesota State Code of Ethics, Minn. Stat. sec. 43A.38 was amended in 1997 to specifically address the use of state equipment by state employees:
Subd. 4. Use of state property. An employee shall not use or allow
the use of state time, supplies, or state owned or leased property and equipment
for the employee' private interest or any other use not in the interest of the
state, except as provided by law.
(b) An employee may use state time, property, or equipment to communicate electronically
with other persons including, but not limited to, elected officials, the employer,
or an exclusive bargaining representative under chapter 179A, provided this
use, including the value of the time spent, results in no incremental cost to
the state or results in an incremental cost that is so small as to make accounting
for it unreasonable or administratively impracticable.
Employees should limit their use of electronic mail and the telephone for personal
communications. Any employee or student wishing to make a personal long distance
call must use a pay phone, a personal phone card, a collect call, or have the
charges applied to their home number. MCTC staff routinely reviews the log of
long distance calls charged to the college and will request that employees or
students reimburse the college for all calls not directly related to college
business. Employees should also bear in mind their responsibility to follow Statewide
Electronic Communication and Technology Ethics policy and the terms of any other
applicable standard of conduct. A copy of this document may be obtained at
http://www.doer.state.mn.us/pdf/electroniccomm.pdf. 27KB
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While the College does not strictly limit the use of information technology
services, activities related to the College's educational mission take precedence.
Use of ITS resources for personal or recreational activities may be limited depending
on applicable state laws and the capacity of the ITS systems to support such
activities.
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All users are responsible for using MCTC ITS resources in an appropriate manner. All applicable laws, statutes and policies related to personal behavior apply to electronic communications. Such laws and policies prohibit, among other things, lewd or indecent conduct, threat of physical harm, stalking, forgery, disruption of College services, damaging or destroying of property, gambling, discrimination and sexual harassment. All users are expected to respect the integrity of all security controls and abide by all security measures that have been implemented, as well as adhere to all end-user license and contractual agreements associated with MCTC ITS resources.
Administrators and supervisors are responsible for ensuring the appropriate
use of E-mail and Internet access through training, monitoring, coaching and
taking disciplinary action, when necessary.
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While MCTC does not routinely monitor the content of electronic transmissions or data, it cannot guarantee the privacy or security of all electronic data or transmissions. For example, electronic mail messages can be altered by a recipient and re-transmitted as if from the original sender, and data can be illegally accessed. Additionally, electronic mail messages and internet transactions (including those deleted or erased from by the user) may be backed up or recorded and stored centrally for system security and investigative purposes.
Data maintained electronically by MCTC, including administrative and faculty
data, are subject to classification under the Minnesota Government Data Practices
Act (Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 13 which can be found at http://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/stats/13/)
and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act ("FERPA" which can
be found at:
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html). Some of the data, therefore,
may be accessible by the subject of the data or by the public; conversely, some
of the data may be disclosed only in limited circumstances. All questions related
to data privacy should be referred to the President's Office at MCTC.
Because electronic mail and internet systems are not secure, employees should
exercise caution in sending data classified as not public (private or confidential
data on individuals or nonpublic or protected nonpublic data not on individuals)
via electronic mail or internet systems.
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Depending on the nature and severity of an alleged violation, MCTC may notify
the appropriate campus or external authorities for further investigation and
possible disciplinary action or prosecution. Users violating MCTC policies or
state and federal laws may be subject to discipline or prosecution. Any data
stored or transmitted using MCTC ITS resources may be considered to be MCTC property
and is subject to examination by supervisors or law enforcement under circumstances
warranting investigation. Under these circumstances, access to any files stored
using MCTC ITS resources will be provided to supervisors, or any other college
administrators in the direct line of reporting, upon written request to the
Chief Information Officer and authorization from the data practices compliance
officer in the President's Office.
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MCTC may deny members of the community who violate this policy (or otherwise
use MCTC ITS resources to violate other established policies or laws) access
to ITS resources. Student violators will be referred to the respective campus
authority for review and possible disciplinary action pursuant to the Student
Code of Conduct.
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If a potential violation occurs in a college classroom or lab, violations should
be reported to the faculty or staff monitoring the facility, or to the Chief
Information Officer. If a potential violation occurs in a non-instructional
area, the situation should be reported to the supervisor of the area. Where appropriate,
whoever is notified first shall review the activities and, if merited, notify
the user that they are in violation of this policy and request that they take
immediate remedial action to bring their conduct into compliance. The violation
should then be reported to the Chief Information Officer as soon as possible
so damage to data or system integrity may be assessed. College personnel may
take immediate action, as needed, to abate ongoing interference with network
and system operations, or to insure system integrity.
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If a user's access to ITS resources is suspended as a result of an investigation,
the alleged violator may appeal the suspension to the Chief Information Officer,
then to the Senior Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs, and finally
to the President, in that order. If an allegation relates to personal harassment
or similar behavior, the staff or administrator will direct the affected person
to file a complaint with the responsible authority using established procedures.
Staff and administrators will cooperate fully in investigations, but should
not file complaints on behalf of aggrieved parties. The decision to file a complaint
or prosecute is the responsibility of the affected party.
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The following principles and examples are intended to illustrate some examples
of unacceptable actions rather than to exhaustively list every specific behavior
that may violate the Acceptable Use Policy. These principles are derived directly
from the same standards of common sense and decency that apply to the use of
any public resource.
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