Union College Acceptable Use Policy
May 16, 2001

The following policy contains the governing philosophy for regulating the use of Union College’s computing and networking facilities and resources. Use of these facilities and resources is a privilege granted solely to Union College faculty, staff, and registered students. Exceptions apply to those individuals outside the College who are authorized to utilize services that have been made available through Union College. All users must act responsibly and maintain the integrity of these resources. The College reserves the right to limit, restrict, terminate or extend computing privileges and access to its resources.

The use of computing and networking resources at Union College is to be: 1) consistent with the educational mission of Union College, 2) for purposes of, or in support of, education and research, or 3) related to administrative and other support activities of the College.

Those who do not abide by the policies listed below should expect at least suspension of computer privileges and possible disciplinary action under standard Union College rules for misconduct and existing judicial, disciplinary, or personnel processes.  Policies will be enforced by system administrators, the Office of Computer Services, and other appropriate officials.

The computing resources of Union College include but are not limited to the College’s network, its Internet connection, and computing systems. Anyone using these resources is expected to abide by the policies contained in this document. These policies also apply to the use of personally owned computers that are connected to the College’s network.

In the event of suspected, alleged, or actual illegal activity, Union College will take appropriate action and cooperate with applicable law enforcement authorities for potential civil or criminal investigation or prosecution.

Union College reserves the right for authorized personnel to monitor use of computing and network facilities and resources for purposes to include troubleshooting hardware and software problems, preventing system misuse, assuring compliance with Internet Access Service Agreements and Union College’s Acceptable Use Policy, and complying with legal and regulatory requests for information.

Responsibilities and Use

•  Do not use College resources (including, for example, e-mail, web pages, or newsgroups) to defame, harass, intimidate or threaten any other person(s), or to send unnecessarily repetitive messages (for example, chain mail).  This includes but is not limited to bombarding individuals or newsgroups with uninvited communications, data or information, or other similar activities, including “spamming” or “flaming.”

• Do not use Union College computing and networking facilities and resources for any illegal purposes. Without limitation of the foregoing, it is strictly prohibited to create, transmit, distribute, or store any information, data, or material which (i) infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property right; (ii) constitutes child pornography; or (iii) is libelous, defamatory, or constitutes an illegal threat or abuse or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense or give rise to civil liability.

• Do not use Union College computing resources, including personally-owned computers connected to the Union College network, for commercial activity

• Do not access, view, monitor, copy, alter, or destroy any file, data, or communication not explicitly owned by you unless you have been given explicit permission by the owner. 

• Do not give your password to anyone or allow anyone else to use your account(s).

• Do not forge or otherwise misrepresent your personal identity. This policy does not prohibit users from engaging in anonymous communications, providing that such communications do not otherwise violate these policies.

• Do not attempt to interfere with, interrupt, or obstruct the ability of authorized users to use Union’s computing facilities, software, network or Internet services.

• Do not attempt to defeat computer and network security measures, implement self-replicating codes, possess "cracker tools", as well as intentionally develop and/or use programs that are designed to harass other network users, bypass system security mechanisms, steal or "crack" passwords or data sets, do port scanning, deny access or otherwise interfere with system services, replicate themselves or attach themselves to other programs (including viruses, worms, harmful code, Trojan horses, etc.) or evade software licensing or copying restrictions.

• Do not provide, assist in, or gain unauthorized or inappropriate access to the College's computing resources.

• Do not use Union College facilities or resources for unauthorized or inappropriate access to systems, software or data at local or remote sites.

• Do not use Union College computing facilities and resources to violate federal, state or local laws or statutes.

• Do not attempt to intercept, interfere with or redirect email intended for third parties.

• Do not engage in activities that would knowingly cause excessive traffic on Union’s network. One example would be the use of multiple, concurrent downloads/uploads from/to the network/Internet.

In addition to the above, the following policies pertain to the use of the College’s Residence Hall Network (ResNet):

1.                   Only one computer may be registered to each individual student at any given time. An exception will be made for a separate wireless connection.

2.                   Only one IP address will be assigned to each registered student. Residents may NOT have multiple IP addresses per computer. Those also using a wireless connection may be issued a separate IP address.

3.                   IP Addresses may NOT be registered to domain names outside of Union College. (example:  registering your IP to something like www.company.com)

4.                   Residents will be held responsible for all activity originating from their registered computer. This includes all actions taken by guests using a connection registered under your name.

5.                   Users may set up servers (World Wide Web, FTP, etc.) as long as non-WWW servers are password protected (not anonymous). Servers must not cause excessive traffic, interfere with the stability of the network in anyway, or be performing illegal activities.

6.                   Users may not use hubs, switches, or any other network equipment. The registered computer must be directly connected to the Union College ResNet network.

7.                   The registered computer cannot be set up to act as a bridge, router, or gateway.

8.                   The registered computer cannot be set up in any way that interferes with the stability of the network.