Internet Acceptable Use Policy
Internet Acceptable Use Policy
1. Overview
Quincy College provides Internet access to students, faculty, staff, and administration as part of
its educational mission. When the Internet is used appropriately, it can provide a wealth of
information and resources to supplement classroom learning. Using the Internet can also be
dangerous, especially for students that sue it without supervision.
Internet connectivity presents Quincy College with new risks that must be addressed to safeguard
the facility’s vital information assets. These risks include:
Access to the Internet by personnel that is inconsistent with business needs results in the misuse
of resources. These activities may adversely affect productivity due to time spent using or
"surfing" the Internet. Additionally, the company may face loss of reputation and possible legal
action through other types of misuse.
All information found on the Internet should be considered suspect until confirmed by another
reliable source. There is no quality control process on the Internet, and a considerable amount of
its information is outdated or inaccurate.
Access to the Internet will be provided to users to support business activities and only on an as-
needed basis to perform their jobs and professional roles.
2. Purpose
The College wants to help increase the safety of all students that use the College’s Internet
resources, and will monitor the use of the College’s computers, wherever possible, for
compliance with this policy. To help improve safety, the College has adopted this Internet
Acceptable Use Policy.
Internet Acceptable Use Policy
3. Scope
The policy applies to the use of the Internet via the College’s computers or Internet services.
When using the Internet via the College’s computers or Internet services, users must follow the
rules of this policy. Remember that the “Internet” includes e-mail, chat rooms, the World Wide
Web, instant messaging, and other forms of communication accessed via the Internet.
With access to computers and people all over the world comes the availability of material that
may not be considered to be of educational value. Quincy College has taken precautions to
restrict access to controversial materials. However, it is impossible to control all materials and an
industrious user may discover controversial information. We at Quincy College firmly believe
that the valuable information and interaction available on the Internet far outweighs the
possibility that users may procure material that is not consistent with the educational goals of the
College. The smooth operation of the network relies upon the proper conduct of the users who
must adhere to strict guidelines. These guidelines are provided here so that users may become
aware of the responsibilities they are about to acquire. In general this requires efficient, ethical,
and legal utilization of the network resources. If a Quincy College user violates any of these
provisions, his or her account will be terminated and future access could possibly be denied.
The signature(s) at the end of this document is (are) legally binding and indicates the party
(parties) who signed has (have) read the terms and conditions carefully and understand(s) their
significance.
4. Policy
4.1 Internet Terms and Condition of Use
The purpose of the Internet is to support research and education by providing access to unique
resources and the opportunity for collaborative work. Acceptable use of the Internet is defined by
the following:
Be courteous and polite when using the Internet. Do not do or say things on the Internet that
would not be said or done to someone in person. Be polite in the messages that are sent via the
Internet. Don’t use swear words, vulgarities, obscenities, or threatening language.
Be courteous to other users. Don’t use the Internet to send harmful or offensive material that is
based on stereotypes relating to sexual orientation, religion, nationality, ethnicity, gender, or
race.
Internet Acceptable Use Policy
Only use the Internet for Educational purposes. Students should use the Internet to learn more
about classroom topics, complete classroom projects, and to do homework. The College
recognizes that some personal use is inevitable, and that occasional personal use that is brief in
duration or infrequent is permitted, so long as it does not interfere with College business, occurs
on personal time, and is not otherwise prohibited by College policies and procedures. If there is a
question about whether the use of the Internet is appropriate, ask the teacher or another person at
the school designated to help decide whether a particular Internet use is appropriate.
4.2 Do Not Use the Internet for inappropriate purposes
The following inappropriate activities could endanger the safety of students using the Internet.
For this reason, the College specifically prohibits the following activities when using the
Internet.
o Engaging in Illegal Activities. Don’t use the Internet for indecent, illegal, or
harassing purposes. For instance, do not use the Internet to sell or buy firearms,
drugs, or any other object or substance that is prohibited on school grounds. Don’t
view materials or send messages that encourage people to violate the law. Do not
use the Internet to send or transmit materials that encourage illegal activities.
Don’t use the Internet to download or send confidential or copyrighted materials
(pictures, music, or movies that are copyrighted).
o Sending Harmful Messages or Materials. Don’t transmit threatening, harassing, or
offensive messages over the Internet. This includes posting messages in
newsgroups, chat rooms or forums, and transmitting messages via e-mail or
instant messaging.
o Viewing Inappropriate Materials. Don’t use the Internet to download, transmit, or
view pornographic materials. In addition, do not use the Internet to view, transmit,
or download materials that are inappropriate.
o Uploading Harmful Materials. Don’t upload a virus, Trojan horse,
o Worm, or the harmful form of programming or software.
o Unauthorized Access. Don’t use the Internet to gain unauthorized access to other
information systems, networks, or computers. Don’t use another person’s
password to access the Internet. Don’t send messages that mislead or confuse the
recipient as to who is sending the message. Don’t allow others to use personal
passwords.
Internet Acceptable Use Policy
4.3 Personal Information
Never reveal personal information: home address, telephone number, or Social Security number
via the Internet. Don’t give last names or any other information that might allow a person to
locate users without first asking permission of a teacher, supervisor, or parent. Never arrange to
meet someone communicated with on the Internet. Don’t reveal personal information about a
student or person without the Internet. Don’t reveal personal information about a student or
person without the permission of that person, or the permission of that person’s parents.
4.4 Security
Security on any computer system is a high priority, especially when the system involves many
users. If a security problem is identified on the Internet, notify a teacher and system
administrator, or the Quincy College Internet Coordinator. Don’t demonstrate the problem to
other users. Don’t use another individual’s account without written permission from that
individual. Attempts to log on to the Internet as a system administrator will result in cancellation
of user privileges. Any user identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with
other computer systems may be denied access to the Internet.
4.5 Failure to Comply
The use of the Internet is a privilege, not a right, and inappropriate use will result in a
cancellation of those privileges. (Each student or teacher who receives an account will be part of
a discussion with a Quincy College staff member pertaining to the proper use of the network.)
The system administrators deem what is inappropriate use and their decision is final. Also, the
system administrators may close an account at any time as necessary. The administration,
faculty, and staff of Quincy College may request the system administrator to deny, revoke, or
suspend specific user accounts.
4.6 Vandalism
Vandalism is defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy data of another user, Internet,
or any of the other networks that are connected to any of the Internet backbones. This includes,
but is not limited to, the uploading or creation of computer viruses. Vandalism will result in the
cancellation of privileges.
4.7 Monitoring and Filtering
Quincy College may monitor any Internet activity occurring on Quincy College equipment or
accounts. If Quincy College discovers activities which do not comply with applicable law or
policy, records retrieved may be used to document the wrongful content in accordance with due
Internet Acceptable Use Policy
process. Note that electronic mail (e-mail) is guaranteed to be private. Messages relating to or in
support of illegal activities may be reported to the authorities.
4.8 Creating Websites
All individuals and/or business units wishing to establish a WWW home page or site must first
develop business, implementation, and maintenance plans. Formal authorization must be
obtained through the IT Department. This will maintain publishing and content standards needed
to ensure consistency and appropriateness.
4.9 E-Mail Confidentiality
Users should be aware that clear text E-mail is not a confidential means of communication. The
company cannot guarantee that electronic communications will be private. Employees should be
aware that electronic communications can, depending on the technology, be forwarded,
intercepted, printed, and stored by others. Users should also be aware that once an E-mail is
transmitted it may be altered. Deleting an E-mail from an individual workstation will not
eliminate it from the various systems across which it has been transmitted.
5. Policy Compliance
5.1 Compliance Measurement
The Information Technology team will verify compliance to this policy through various
methods, including but not limited to, business tool reports, internal and external audits, and
feedback to the policy owner.
5.2 Exceptions
Any exception to the policy must be approved by the Information Technology Team in advance.
5.3 Non-Compliance
A student or employee found to have violated this policy may be subject to disciplinary action,
up to and including expulsion or termination of employment.
Internet Acceptable Use Policy
Additionally, the company may at its discretion seek legal remedies for damages incurred as a
result of any violation. The company may also be required by law to report certain illegal
activities to the proper enforcement agencies.
Disclaimer
Quincy College assumes no liability for any direct or indirect damages arising from the user’s
connection to the Internet. Quincy College is not responsible for the accuracy of information
found on the Internet and only facilitates the accessing and dissemination of information through
its systems. Users are solely responsible for any material that they access and disseminate
through the Internet.