🚀 go-pugleaf

I have been working on a "Student Access and Use Policy".  I've finally
managed to wrangle it into a manageable form.  I'd like to hear any com-
ments you may have.

This is NOT an official policy; it has NOT been submitted for review.

(A brief note:  Specific rules are numbered, e.g. 2.1, 2.2, et cetera;
 everything else may be considered commentary/rationale)

==============================================================================
University of Kentucky
Engineering Computing Center
280 Anderson Hall

DRAFT

                Student Computing Access and Use Policy


This document provides an outline of the Engineering Computing Center's
policies for access and use of ECC systems.  These policies are based on the
policies of the University; they are not to be considered superior to those
policies.  

Copies of this policy are available at the ECC offices (280 Anderson Hall) and
the Engineering PC Laboratory (260 Anderson Hall).  This policy is also
available in electronic form; contact the ECC staff for electronic retrieval
instructions.  

The basic University policy for student conduct is the Code of Student
Conduct, as interpreted in Student Rights and Responsibilities.  Copies of
this document are available from the Office of the Dean of Students. 
Enforcement of those policies is the exclusive province of the Dean of
Students; the Engineering Computing Center will decide if policy violations
should be forwarded to the Dean of Students.  No disciplinary action will be
taken against students by the Engineering Computing Center; if such action
is contemplated, the matter will be remanded to the appropriate office.

Section 1.21 of the Code of Student Conduct defines the offenses for which
disciplinary action may be applied.  The ECC Access and Use Policy is based
on several of these definitions; for each clause in the ECC Policy, the
relevant Section and Paragraph of the Code will be listed.  In the remainder
of this document, we shall refer to the Code of Student Conduct as "CSC".

This document does not attempt to address every possible situation; rather, 
it establishes a framework in which each situation may be evaluated.

Questions and/or comments about this policy should be directed to the ECC
staff in 280 Anderson Hall.  The ECC welcomes your input; we want to
provide the best possible computing environment to you.

 
Section 1: General Access Policies

Each student in the College of Engineering is entitled to use the facilities of
the Engineering Computing Center.  We believe that computing services are
an essential part of your engineering education; our mission is to provide
those services to you.

Engineering Computing Center facilities are developed and maintained solely
for the use of Engineering students.  Some facilities are essentially
unrestricted; for instance, anyone may walk into an ECC PC Laboratory and
use the computer systems there.  However, some facilities and/or services
require the use of an individual userid.  Access to those facilities and/or
services is restricted to Engineering students, therefore:

1.1   Use of restricted ECC facilities by those students outside the College
      of Engineering is prohibited.  [Paragraph 1.21u, CSC] 

Your userid is issued solely for your use; you are not permitted to share your
userid with others, regardless of their status within or without the
University.  Therefore:

1.2   Sharing your userid with any other person is prohibited.  [Paragraph
      1.21u, CSC]

1.3   Using a userid which belongs to another user is prohibited, even if you
      have been issued a userid of your own.  [Paragraph 1.21u, CSC]

Students in the College of Engineering may receive their own userid from the
ECC Staff.  If students outside of the College of Engineering have a
legitimate need for access to ECC systems, they may request their own
userid.  Applicants should contact the ECC Staff for further assistance.

The status of Engineering students is validated through the Engineering
Student Records Office; the status of faculty, staff, and guest users is
validated throught the appropriate Dean or Department Chairman.  Long-
term access to ECC systems is only granted to Engineering users.  Users
outside the College of Engineering will only receive temporary access to ECC
systems.  Therefore:

1.4   Applying for an ECC userid under false pretenses is a punishable
      disciplinary offense.  [Paragraph 1.21r, CSC]

The ECC Staff may, at a later date, establish specific policies to address
short-term problems or situations.  You are obligated to follow those short-
term directives and/or policies, just as you are obligated to follow this
policy.  You may also receive specific personal instructions from ECC Staff;
those instructions must be followed as well.  Therefore:

1.5   Failure to comply with directions of ECC Staff acting in the
      performance of their duties is a punishable disciplinary offense. 
      [Paragraph 1.21h, CSC]



Section 2: General Use Policy

An essential aspect of academic freedom is student privacy.  Within the
bounds set within this policy and subsequent announcements, you are free
to use ECC facilities in any manner you wish.  A wide range of services and
facilities are available to you, and we encourage you to use all of them.

If you are granted certain rights as a user of ECC systems, it is reasonable to
expect you to respect the rights of other users.  

You are allocated a certain amount of disk space on ECC system for storage
of your files and data.  Each user has their own disk space; you have no need
to examine the disk space of other users.  The ECC Staff does not, and will
not, examine student files or data, except during normal computing
operations (e.g., making system backup tapes).  Therefore:

2.1   Deletion, examination, copying, or modification of files and/or data
      belonging to other users without their prior consent is prohibited. 
      [Paragraphs 1.21a, 1.21m, and 1.21q, CSC]

You may be assigned a quota, or limit, on the system resources you may
consume.  Exceeding your quota(s) may impede the work of other users. 
Therefore:

2.2   Attempts to evade or change resource quotas are prohibited.
      [Paragraphs 1.21a, 1.21h, and 1.21u, CSC]

Some ECC systems give you the ability to communicate with other users. 
Such communication may not always be welcomed by the other users; in
fact, it may interfere with their work.  Therefore:

2.2   Continued interference with other users, after receipt of a request to
      cease such activity, is prohibited.  [Paragraph 1.21a, CSC]

While we do not place arbitrary limits on your use of ECC systems, it is quite
possible for you to consume a significant portion of the systems' resources. 
As a result, you may impede the work of other users.  If this should occur,
you will be notified by ECC staff.  Therefore:

2.3   Continued impedance of other users through mass consumption of
      system resources, after receipt of a request to cease such activity, is
      prohibited.  [Paragraph 1.21a, CSC]

Your access to ECC systems is based on your academic needs.  We cannot,
and will not, support "for-profit" operations.  Therefore:

2.4   Use of ECC facilities and/or services for commercial purposes is
      prohibited.  [Paragraphs 1.21g and 1.21u, CSC]

ECC resources are dedicated to academic work.  At this time, we cannot
support game or recreational programs.  Therefore:

2.5   The installation/execution of games and/or recreational programs on 
      ECC systems is prohibited. [Paragraph 1.21u, CSC]

Section 3: Electronic Mail Policy

Electronic mail is one of the most beneficial services provided by the ECC. 
It enables you to communicate with other users, both here and around the
world.  The ECC encourages you to use electronic mail for both academic and
social activities.  However, there are several means by which electronic mail
may be abused.

Electronic mail is a personal medium; it represents a conversation between
you and another user.  As such, the ECC will not attempt to regulate the
content of your electronic mail.  The ECC accepts no responsibility for the
content of electronic mail you receive.  If you receive a piece of electronic
mail which you consider offensive, the ECC will not become involved in the
dispute.  You are reminded that the University does have policies against
racism, sexism, and sexual harassment; if necessary, you may direct your
problems to the appropriate University office.

Whenever you send electronic mail, your name and userid are included in
each mail message.  You are responsible for all electronic mail originating
from your userid.  Therefore:

3.1   Forgery (or attempted forgery) of electronic mail messages is
      prohibited.  [Paragraph 1.21u, CSC]

Electronic mail belongs to the recipient.  A user's mailbox is treated in the
same manner as any other file belonging to that user.  Therefore:

3.2   Attempts to read, delete, copy, or modify the electronic mail of other
      users are prohibited.  [Paragraphs 1.21a, 1.21m, and 1.21q, CSC]

Each user has a finite amount of disk space reserved for their electronic
mail.  We believe that electronic mail is a necessary tool in computing. 
Therefore:

3.3   Deliberate interference with the ability of other users to send/receive
      electronic mail is prohibited.  [Paragraph 1.21a, CSC]

When single messages are dispatched to numerous users, you are using a
mechanism known as a mailing list.  The mailing list mechanism can be very
useful in your academic work; however, large mailing lists can place a serious
burden on the electronic mail system.  Therefore:

3.4   All mailing lists with more than 10 members must be registered with
      the ECC staff. [Paragraph 1.21u, CSC]

It is important to note that the ECC staff will make arrangements for large
mailing lists; however, we will not support mailing lists whose subjects
violate University policy, State law, or Federal law.  (In any situation where
this is a possibility, the University Counsel will be asked for a decision.)

Section 4: Network Use Policy

Many ECC systems are connected to local, regional, national, and worldwide
networks.  These networks allow you to access facilities and services
provided by computing operations around the world.  Naturally, the ECC
encourages you to use these facilities; however, some restrictions must be
place on your use.

With thousands of computer systems joined by networks, it is possible to
attempt to gain unauthorized access to those systems.  Therefore:

4.1   Use of ECC systems and/or networks in attempts to gain unauthorized
      access to remote systems is prohibited.  Any such attempts will be
      reported to the administrators of the remote systems.  [Paragraph
      1.21u, CSC]

There are a limited number of network ports available to certain systems. 
It is possible to connect to other systems via ECC systems.  This misuse of
ECC systems may result in depriving other users of access to our systems. 
We cannot support use of computers outside of the ECC.  Therefore:

4.2   Use of ECC systems and/or networks to connect to other systems, in
      evasion of the physical limitations of the remote system/network, is
      prohibited. [Paragraph 1.21a and 1.21u, CSC]

Some computer systems offer recreational services, which are accessible from
remote sites through the network(s).  The ECC does not have sufficient
network resources to support such activities.  In addition, use of ECC
services for such purposes may prevent other users from accessing ECC
systems.  Therefore:

4.3   Use of ECC systems and/or networks to access recreational services
      provided by other sites is prohibited.  [Paragraphs 1.21a and 1.21u,
      CSC]

There are many sites which provide electronic archive services; some of the
programs available from those archives are network-based applications.  It
is essential that the ECC maintain control and management capabilities over
the network.  Therefore:

4.4   With the exception of classwork assignments, network-based
      applications will not be installed on ECC systems without the
      knowledge and consent of the ECC Staff.  [Paragraph 1.21u, CSC]




Section 5: System Security Policy

While the ECC encourages you to learn as much as possible about computing
and computing systems, we have certain obligations which we must honor.

The operating systems used on ECC systems are copyrighted works; we do
not have the right to copy system files or install them on other systems.  In
fact, copying system files is a violation of copyright law.  Therefore:

5.1   The copying of system files is prohibited.  [Paragraphs 1.21f and 1.21u,
      CSC]

(For the purposes of this policy, any files which do not specifically belong to
a particular Engineering user are system files.  Files belonging to specific
users are protected under rule 2.1)

Some programs and/or files on ECC systems are in the public domain; these
files may be copied and distributed freely.  Any such files will be clearly
marked as "public domain".  If you are unsure about the status of a particular
program or file, contact the ECC staff.

Each user of ECC systems is authenticated through the use of a password. 
This "password protection" is an integral part of the system.  Therefore:

5.2   Decryption of system or user passwords is prohibited.  [Paragraphs
      1.21a and 1.21u, CSC]

Many copyrighted programs are used on ECC systems.  We have secured
licenses for the use of these programs.  Those licenses do not allow us to
make unauthorized copies of the software.  Therefore:

5.3   The copying of copyrighted materials, such as third-party software,
      without the express written permission of the owner or the proper
      license, is prohibited.  [Paragraphs 1.21f and 1.21u, CSC]

When presented with improper data, some computing systems and/or
programs may "crash".  A system/program crash prevents other users from
accessing the system/program until the problem is remedied.  Therefore:

5.4   Intentional attempts to "crash" ECC systems or programs are
      punishable disciplinary offenses.  [Paragraphs 1.21a, 1.21p, and 1.21u,
      CSC]

When you are issued a userid, you are granted a certain set of privileges. 
There are higher levels of privilege; these levels are restricted to ECC Staff. 
These higher privileges, if misused or abused, may cause damage to both
hardware and software; in fact, they may render the system unusable. 
Therefore:

5.5   Any attempts to secure a higher level of privilege on ECC systems are
      punishable disciplinary offenses.  [Paragraphs 1.21g 1.21p, and 1.21u,
      CSC]



Section 6: Incident Handling

In the event that you, knowingly or unknowingly, violate ECC or University
policy, you will be contacted by the ECC Staff.  This contact will usually take
the form of an electronic mail message.  It is your responsibility to follow
any instructions you may receive from ECC Staff, and to confirm your
receipt of those instructions.  If you believe that the instructions given to
you are unreasonable, you should immediately contact the Director of
Engineering Computing or the Assistant Dean of the College of Engineering. 
If you do not register your complaint with either the Director of Engineering
Computing or the Assistant Dean, it is expected that you will follow the
instructions given to you.  Therefore:

6.1   Disregarding instructions of ECC Staff may result in the temporary
      revocation of your computing access.

If your access is temporarily revoked, you should immediately contact the
ECC Staff for an explanation of the situation.  In most cases, the revocation
will be lifted within 1 working day.  Quite often, temporary revocation is the
result of a minor, or apparently unintentional, violation of ECC or University
policy; such revocations will be lifted as soon as the ECC Staff discusses the
relevant policies with you.

6.2   Temporary revocations of computing access will be dissolved within
      one working day of the resolution of the violation.

We feel that, in most situations, a temporary revocation, and the dialogue
which follows, is preferable to an automatic request for disciplinary action.

It is important to note that it is your obligation to contact ECC in the event
that your computing access is revoked.  

A situation may occur in which, in the opinion of the ECC staff, immediate
revocation is necessary; in such a situation, you may not receive advance
notice of the problem.  These cases will be handled in the same manner as
any other temporary revocation; you should contact the ECC staff as soon
as possible, so that the revocation may be dissolved.

If the ECC believes that you have committed a significant violation of ECC
or University policy, the matter will be remanded to the Dean of Students for
disciplinary procedures under the Code of Student Conduct.  If the Dean of
Students decides that judicial proceedings are necessary, the ECC will
provide a restricted form of computer access, so that you may continue your
academic work during the judicial process.  

6.3   If the Dean of Students initiates disciplinary action against you, the
      ECC will provide sufficient computing access for the completion
      and/or continuation of your academic work.  This access may be
      limited in scope, depending on the nature of the charges against you.

The ECC will abide by the decision of the Dean of Students.  If the Dean of
Students chooses not to bring disciplinary action against you, or if the
judicial proceedings are resolved in your favor, your complete access to ECC
facilities will be immediately restored.

Section 7: Avoiding Violations

7.1   Any attempt to violate the provisions of this policy may result in
      disciplinary action, regardless of the success or failure of the attempt.
      [Paragraph 1.21u and 1.21v, CSC]

The best means of avoiding policy violations is communication with the ECC
Staff.  If you believe that your use of ECC systems may violate this policy,
you should discuss the matter with the ECC Staff before initiating any
action.  The ECC may be able to assist you in your work by increasing your
resource quotas or making additional computing systems available to you. 
If you have any doubts about the propriety of your actions, it is your
responsibility to discuss the matter with the ECC Staff.
-- 
 morgan@ms.uky.edu    |Wes Morgan, not speaking for|     ....!ukma!ukecc!morgan
 morgan@engr.uky.edu  |the University of Kentucky's|   morgan%engr.uky.edu@UKCC
 morgan@ie.pa.uky.edu |Engineering Computing Center| morgan@wuarchive.wustl.edu
        "I was going to rip your head off, but I'm past that now."