Responsible Office or Person: Information Technology Services
Carroll University is a community for learning. To foster and encourage the growth of this community, the Carroll Compact describes the shared Carroll University values. The Carroll University Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy serves to complement the Carroll Compact and establishes the rights and responsibilities of all who receive access to the University's information technology resources.
The use of these resources is a privilege granted by the University to students, faculty and staff in order to provide instruction, conduct official business of the University, fulfill employee job duties, engage in academic studies, and complete all other University-sanctioned activities or responsibilities. Each member of the Carroll community is expected to use the University's facilities and information technology resources responsibly, ethically, civilly, and in compliance with university policies, local, state and federal laws. The information technology resources owned and operated by Carroll University include, but are not limited to, computers, servers, scanners, printers, software, electronic mail, voice mail, data, computer labs, and data and telephony networks, including wireless networks.
The following rules of acceptable use are intended to provide guidance for all in the Carroll Community regarding legal and ethical use of the University's information technology resources. It is your responsibility to familiarize yourself with this policy and abide by its terms. Failure to comply with this policy or relevant laws may result in suspension and/or revocation of one's privilege to access and use the University's information technology resources, as well as other disciplinary action as defined in, but not limited to, the Student Handbook, the Faculty Manual, Personnel Policies and any other University policies and procedures. Further, violations also may result in criminal prosecution under federal and/or state law. The University reserves the right to refuse to defend any employee, faculty member or student named in a suit or action claiming copyright infringement, or to pay any damages resulting from a judgment in such a claim or action. The University also reserves the right to revise, amend or modify this policy at any time. If you observe someone violating this policy, you are expected to report it to the Director of Information Technology Services (ITS).
Almost all forms of original expression that are fixed in a tangible medium are subject to copyright protection, even if no formal copyright notice is attached. You should assume materials that you find on the Internet are copyrighted unless a disclaimer or waiver is expressly stated. The copyright holder has extensive rights; you must contact the copyright holder and ask permission to copy, use or display the material. Complete and current United States copyright information can always be found at https://www.copyright.gov.
Although this is not an exhaustive list, you are likely to violate copyright by:
ITS recognizes that certain P2P applications may have specific intrinsic value to academia. Access to and use of P2P technology as part of a course syllabus can be easily accommodated by our network management tools. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure that P2P technologies are used responsibility and with respect for other users. Individuals storing, accessing, or sharing files on Carroll owned and/or controlled systems are personally responsible for their actions and are subject to all applicable laws.
The following are the guidelines for the general use of information technology resources by those in the Carroll Community:
Access to and the responsible use of email on campus is important for both academic and administrative purposes. However, it is essential that all who use the University's information technology resources for electronic communication abide by state and federal laws governing electronic communication, rules of electronic etiquette and University policy as defined below:
Carroll University recognizes that email is an efficient way to connect with internal audiences in a timely manner. At the same time, it is the goal of the university to ensure that campus-wide emails are not used which could impact Carroll’s ability to deliver messages of critical importance. The Campus Email Communications Policy has been created to effectively manage these circumstances.
Campus-wide email communication should not be used for mass mailings to the entire university community, except when the message is of benefit to the campus as a whole. Official messages are not limited to, but may include:
Official messages may not contain:
Only the email accounts of specific administrative departments are authorized to distribute official communication to the entire campus (all employees, retirees, emeriti) via email. Those areas include:
Communication from the areas listed above will be sent from department specific accounts and not from individual emails.
This all campus email policy applies to the following email accounts:
To create an effective means of consolidated communication for the entire university community, communication considered to be of general campus news should be submitted to the Office of Communications and Marketing for approval and distribution in one of two ways:
Messages that fall into the Campus News Communication category are not limited to, but may include:
The Pioneer Buzz will be distributed to all employees every Thursday during the academic school year. If a need is identified, the Pioneer Buzz may continue to be sent during the summer months. Anyone that wishes to include information must submit it to Sue Pierman (spierman@carrollu.edu) by 12 p.m. each Tuesday.
Faculty, staff and students may establish unofficial internal web pages. These web pages are not considered official University publications and the author(s) bear full responsibility for the pages' content. All web pages must be in compliance with University policies and procedures.
Additional guidelines for the development of unofficial web pages include the following:
Information Technology Services at Carroll University is responsible for preserving university- owned information technology resources of the University. As part of that responsibility, ITS will do periodic security checks of the campus network and its related components and will backup enterprise data on Carroll-owned servers.
Occasional interruptions may occur due to a system or network failure and/or power outages. Such interruptions may result in the loss of data, files or software. Therefore, it is recommended that all community users back up their work frequently. Carroll University will not be liable for the loss of data, damages, service interruptions, or failure to deliver services. The University disclaims any responsibility for any data, information and/or materials stored on non-Carroll systems even if connected to Carroll data networks.
As a community for learning, Carroll University supports the development of an open environment that fosters professional and scholarly growth. However, the University will not sanction conduct that constitutes a misuse of technology resources including violations of the University's mission, policies and procedures, and state, federal and local laws. If the University determines that technology resources have been misused, it retains the right to:
Members of the Carroll University Community are expected to report any misuse to the Director of Information Technology Services. Prior to taking any action to suspend access or monitor activity, the Director of Information Technology Services will obtain permission from the individual's area Vice President.