Technology Use Policies @ University of St. Francis

The University of St. Francis is committed to excellence in teaching. In an effort to support the college community in these endeavors, the institution has assembled a wide variety of technology resources for general use. These resources are for use by persons affiliated with the University of St. Francis, including but not limited to students, alumni, faculty and staff.

Access to technology resources at the University of St. Francis is a privilege and must be treated as such by all users. Like any other campus resources, abuse of these privileges can be a cause for campus disciplinary procedures and/or legal action. Furthermore, the University reserves the right to extend, limit, or restrict technology privileges and access to information resources.

University Responsibility

The University of St. Francis has the right and responsibility to provide the University community with Information Technology resources and services. While providing these services is of primary importance, there are other areas of importance aside from physical resources. The following is a general description of the responsibilities, the rights and obligations of the University of St. Francis.

The University of St. Francis complies with all federal and state laws concerning use of technology. The University reserves the right to change these policies as required by federal or state law.

The technology resources that are owned by the University of St. Francis are to be used for University-related activities for which they have been assigned. University technologies are not to be used for commercial purposes or non- University-related activities without written authorization from the University.

Technology resources include physical equipment and software. Physical equipment includes personal computers, printers, file servers, network equipment, audio-visual equipment of all types, telephones, multifunction printer/copier devices, and equipment associated with distance learning, such as, microphones, and cameras. Software includes all computer programs created by, owned by, or licensed to the University.

User Responsibility

University of St. Francis supports Information Technology resources to further its mission of learning and to foster a community of shared inquiry. All members of the University community must be cognizant of the rules and conventions that make these resources secure and efficient. It is the responsibility of each member of the University community to:

Harassment: No member of the community may, under any circumstances, use technology to libel, slander, or harass any other person. Examples of computer harassment include:
- Using the computer to annoy, harass, terrify, intimidate, threaten, offend or bother another person by conveying obscene language, pictures, or other materials or threats of bodily harm.
- Using the computer to contact another person repeatedly to harass, or bother, whether or not any actual message is communicated, and/or where no purpose of legitimate communication exists, and where the recipient has expressed a desired for the communication to cease
- Using the computer to contact another person repeatedly regarding a matter for which one does not have legal right to communicate, once the recipient has provided reasonable notice that the recipient desires such communication to cease (such as debt collection).
- Using the computer to disrupt or damage the academic, research, administrative, or related pursuits of another.
- Using the computer to invade the privacy, academic or otherwise, of another or the threatened invasion of the privacy of another.
Intellectual Property Right: Each person is responsible for recognizing (attributing) and honoring the intellectual property rights of others. Violation of this is plagiarism. Respect copyright and other intellectual- property rights. Unauthorized copying of files or passwords belonging to others or to the University may constitute plagiarism or theft. Modifying files without authorization (including altering information, introducing computer viruses or damaging files) is unethical, may be illegal, and may lead to sanctions.
Security of passwords. Users should establish appropriate passwords according to the guidelines set out by the IT Department, change them when notified, and not share them with others.
Allocation of Resources: The University of St. Francis has the right and responsibility to allocate its resources in a manner consistent with the achievement of its overall mission. Users may be required to accept limitations or restrictions on computing resources such as storage space, time limits, or amount of resources consumed when asked to do so by systems administrators.
Privacy of Information: That fact notwithstanding, no one should look at, copy, alter or destroy anyone else’s personal files without explicit permission (unless authorized or required to do so by law or regulations). The ability to access a file or other information does not imply permission to do so. Users must also note that, as part of their responsibilities, systems or technical managers may occasionally need to diagnose or solve problems by examining the contents of particular files.
Data Security/Backups. Users should maintain and archive backup copies of important work. Users are responsible for backing up their own files. General use computers in labs and other areas are restored to their original installation and all data stored on these machines are erased. They should learn to properly use the features for securing or sharing access to their files. The university encourages individuals to use their designated network drive (home directory) to store copies of their documents. The university does scheduled backups on network drives.
Suspension of Individual Privileges: The University of St. Francis has the right to suspend access to technology resources for reasons relating to the safety and well-being of the campus community or university property. Access will be promptly restored when safety and well-being can be assured, unless access is to remain suspended as a result of formal disciplinary action, through appropriate formal process and procedures. Users should not attempt to evade, disable, or “crack” passwords or other security provisions; these activities threaten the work of others and are grounds for immediate suspension or termination of privileges and possible additional sanctions.
Individually owned computers: Individually owned computers which are connected to the network, are required to have an updated anti-virus program installed. If any student or employee owned computer becomes a security or virus threat to the network, IT reserves the right to restrict its access to the network.
Monitoring of Usage, Inspection of Files: The University of St. Francis may routinely monitor and log usage data such as network session connection times and end-points, computer and disk utilization for each user, security audit trails, network loading, etc. The institution has the right to review data for evidence of violation of law or policy, and other purposes.

The University of St. Francis extends these principles and guidelines to systems outside the University that are accessed via the University’s facilities (e.g., electronic mail, social networking sites, or remote logins using the University’s Internet connections). Network or computing providers outside the University may also impose their own conditions of appropriate use, which users at this University are responsible for following

Sanctions

Individuals or groups who act in a manner contrary to existing policy and accepted standards for computer use are subject to the sanctions and disciplinary measures normally applied to misconduct or lawbreaking. Computing policy violations are handled by established University channels.

In the first instance, such matters will be addressed by the appropriate IT administrators. Whenever it becomes necessary to enforce University rules or policies, an authorized IT administrator may prohibit network connections by certain computers (even departmental and personal ones); require adequate identification of computers and users on the network; undertake audits of software or information on shared systems where policy violations are suspected; take steps to secure compromised computers that are connected to the network; or deny access to computers, the network, and institutional software and databases. Users are expected to cooperate with investigations either of technical problems or of possible unauthorized or irresponsible use as defined in these guidelines; failure to do so may be grounds for suspension or termination of access privileges.

If the infringement is not settled in discussion with the computing administrator, a matter involving students will be referred to the Dean of Students. A matter involving faculty will be referred to the department chair or dean; and a matter involving an employee will be referred to the immediate supervisor, the manager of the unit, or an official in Human Resources. In addition, certain kinds of abuse may entail civil or criminal action as well.

Listed below are examples of infractions against the University of St. Francis’ technology use policy. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list but rather a sampling of possible infractions.

Common sense and good judgment should always be applied to the use of technology.

A. Attempts to annoy or inconvenience any user of the system:

Examples:

Purposely consuming large enough shares of system resources to affect other users
Destructive control codes in files, in file names, or anywhere other users could be affected (virus)
Sending control codes to clear another user’s screen, lock the
keyboard, etc.
“Stuffing” another user’s mail file
Sending false or unauthorized “systems messages”
Sending obscene mail
Creating false or unauthorized login sequences which record the passwords other users enter
Having a false or unauthorized login which gathers the passwords of those attempting to change their own password

B. Attempting to circumvent restrictions or resource limits established by
Information Technology
C. Purposely rendering the systems unusable to a significant number of users

Examples

“Crashing” the system
Removing or altering files which are necessary for the proper functioning of generally used programs
Removing, altering, or reading information belonging to another user of the system without the user’s permission
Logging on as a user other than yourself, and/or falsely representing yourself to be that user in communication to others
Allowing another user to use your login if that user’s own login is removed for disciplinary reasons
Violating the legal rights of others
Logging on as a user, other than yourself
Committing any violation referred to in the moral and ethical standards section of this policy

Account Creation and Deletion

This policy defines the creation and deletion process of technology accounts for students, employees, and alumni.

Account Creation:
Students and employees receive accounts according to their status in the Banner administrative system. Accounts and the ability to access information in the MyUSF portal, which provides single sign-on to all USF applications, are generated when information is entered into the system originally or when a status indicator changes from one condition to another.

Perspective Students: A limited MyUSF account is created for prospective students to assist in the recruitment of these students.
Students: A technology account is created for students who have been admitted and are ready to register within the Banner system. All students are provided 250 Meg of space on a server for their home directories. Any student who has exceeded the allocated amount of space is contacted via email to remove non-academic related files. Using more than the allotted space can cause students to lose the network “permissions” to see their home directory. Students may be warned that music and video are not acceptable files and must be removed immediately.
Employees: A technology account is created for an employee when the base employment record has been entered into the Banner administrative system by HR personnel. Adjunct faculty accounts are created once their start date has been entered into Banner or they have been assigned a course to teach. Employees may be warned that music and video are not acceptable files and must be removed immediately.

Account Expiration:

Prospective Students: These accounts are deactivated one year after creation
Student Drops or Withdrawals: A drop/withdrawal list is generated by the IT Department through the Banner administrative system. After 4 semesters a student account will be deleted.
Alumni: retains their email and MyUSF accounts for life. Data storage will be reduced after 3 years of inactivity.
Employees: Deactivation occurs once a termination date is entered into the Banner system. An employee may request that there are accounts remain active through the appropriate Vice President for a specific time that may not exceed 6 months. If an employee is terminated for cause his/her account is deactivated immediately.
Retirees: Employees may retain their existing USF account privileges when they retire. When the retiree no longer wishes to keep the account, the department must notify Network Support Services so that his/her account can be disabled.

Student Printing

Each student will be given a $20.00 credit each semester that is applied toward the cost of printing charges students incur when printing on university owned printers in student accessible labs, residence halls and other locations on the campus. Student print balances are not carried forward from semester to semester.

Each time a student prints to a University provided printer, he or she will be charged for the number of pages printed. From most general lab computers a pop-up will notify them of the number of pages in the print job and the cost to print the information. Students will have the choice to proceed or decline to print. Additional printed pages over a student’s $20.00 semester credit will be added to his or her university bill.

If a student encounters one of the following problems when printing, they should contact the IT office in Marian Hall for a refund of the pages that should have printed.

If a student leaves a computer logged in with their username and password in a lab and someone uses the login for printing, there will be no refund of pages to their account. Students must be diligent about logging out of computers in general access areas so that none of their accounts are compromised.

Administrative Data Access Policy

Guiding Principles
Information maintained by the University is a vital asset that will be available to all employees who have a legitimate need for it, consistent with the University’s responsibility to preserve and protect such information by all appropriate means. The University is the owner of all administrative data; individual units or departments may have stewardship responsibilities for portions of that data. The University intends that the volume of freely accessible data be as great as possible, given limitations of budget and applicable federal, state and local laws.

The value of data as an institutional resource is increased through its widespread use; is diminished through misuse, misinterpretation, or unnecessary restrictions to its access. The University does not condone the use of administrative data for anything but the conduct of University business. Employees accessing data must: observe requirements of confidentiality and privacy, comply with protection and control procedures, and accurately present the data in any use.

The University determines levels of access to administrative data according to principles drawn from various resources. State and federal law provides clear description of some types of information to which access must be restricted. In an academic community, ethical considerations are another important factor in determining access to administrative data.

Definition of Administrative Data
The University’s database consists of information critical to the success of the University as a whole. The University database is shared data and is managed within a conceptual framework. The University database is distributed across processing units both within and outside the University.

Data may be digital text, graphics, images, sound or video. The University regards data that is maintained in support of a functional unit’s operation as part of the University’s administrative database if they meet any of the following criteria:

If at least two administrative operations of the University use the data and consider the data essential;
If the University must ensure the integrity of the data to comply with legal and administrative requirements for supporting statistical and historical information externally;
If a broad cross section of users refers to or maintains the data; or If the University needs the data to plan.

Some examples of administrative data include student course grades, employee salary information, vendor payments, and the University’s annual report of facts (Red Book). Administrative data does not include personal electronic calendar information and similar material.

Data Administrators
Data Administrators are individuals directly responsible for creating, maintaining, and using data to support the University’s operation and information needs within their functional area.

Responsibilities of Data Administrators
Data Administrators will assign each item of administrative data and each standard view for their area of responsibility to a security class. For example, data can be viewed by anyone; data can be viewed by a select few; or data is totally restricted.

The Data Administrators are also responsible for maintaining data integrity. They will determine the most reliable sources of data and regularly evaluate the quality of the data under their purview. Data Administrators will identify gaps and redundancies in the data and, to the extent possible, will ensure that only needed versions of each data element exist. They will also monitor the data for accuracy, integrity, and dependability, and where appropriate, will initiate action concerning these issues.

The Data Administrators, in consultation with the person assigned to administrative data security in Information Technology, will determine security requirements for their data and will be responsible for monitoring and reviewing security implementation and authorized access.

Data Administrators will also define the criteria for archiving the data to satisfy retention requirements.

Responsibilities of Information Technology Staff
Information Technology is ultimately responsible for defining and implementing polices and procedures to assure that data are backed up and recoverable. Information Technology is also responsible for carrying out the security identified by Data Administrators as well as system security. Some examples include redundancy plan, physical security of hardware, system interfaces, authentication and protocols.

Developing and applying standards and/or procedures for the management of institutional data and for ensuring that data are accessible to those who need it is another function that is carried out by Information Technology.

In cooperation with the Data Administrators a standard method for naming and defining data will be developed. Information Technology will help facilitate conflict resolution in data definitions, if it occurs.

Request for Access
Access to legally restricted or limited access data by University employees requires that a formal request be made to the appropriate Data Administrator. All requests for exceptions to the data access policies must be made in writing to the Data Administrator. Email requests are acceptable. The request must specify the data desired and their intended use.

The Data Administrator must provide a written record of the reasons for denial of any access request. Email records are acceptable.

Members of the University community may appeal any data access decision. Appeals may be made to the appropriate Vice President.

Responsibilities of Users
University employees or persons with access to Administrative Data shall not:

Make unauthorized use of any information in files maintained, stored, or processed by Information Technology or permit anyone else to make unauthorized use of such information.
Seek personal benefit or permit others to benefit personally from any confidential information that has come to them by virtue of their work assignment.
Exhibit or divulge the contents of any record or report to any person except in the conduct of their work assignment and in accordance with University and departmental policies.
Knowingly include or cause to be included in any record or report a false, inaccurate or misleading entry
Operate or request others to operate any University equipment for one’s own personal gain or profit, for the personal gain or profit of others, or to satisfy personal curiosity.
Divulge personal ID’s or passwords for Administrative Data to unauthorized personnel.

Users will also comply with all reasonable protection and control procedures for administrative data to which they have been granted access.

All violations of these guidelines shall be reported to the Chief Information Officer immediately. The information provided will be investigated and if found to have credence, will be sent to the appropriate Vice President for handling through University policies and procedures.

Downloading, copying and sharing material, such as music, movies, games, and applications, for which the copyright holder has not given you permission is a violation of both the United States Copyright Act and the University of St. Francis Technology Use Policy. As an intelligent web user, it is best to assume that all works of this type found on the Internet are copyright-protected unless explicitly stated otherwise.

The U.S. Copyright Act specifies an individual’s civil liability of litigation costs, attorney fees, and actual damages of $750 to $30,000 for each work infringed, and, under certain circumstances, criminal penalties up to $250,000, and/or imprisonment. Furthermore, students, faculty and staff may be placing the University of St. Francis at risk through these actions, as well as themselves by violating the copyright law.

In the event that the university is notified that you are violating copyright laws, the relevant offices within the university will investigate the complaint. If a violation is confirmed, appropriate action will be taken against you in accordance with university policy. Violations of the University Technology Use Policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including the suspension of a student user’s network account, and/or criminal prosecution under state and federal statutes.

Although using file-sharing software, such as KaZaA or Morpheus, is not illegal itself, distributing copyrighted material without permission is. Many do not realize that this software may turn your personal computer into a server, or upload site, even if that was not your intent. Unfortunately, you are still legally responsible. Students using their computers as servers for materials can and will have their network connections turned off.

The University of St. Francis strongly encourages users to remove all file-sharing software from your system. At the very least, it is imperative that the file sharing capability of these systems be disabled. The University of Chicago maintains a site that addresses Disabling Peer-to-Peer File Sharing. Go there for additional information on how to disable this function.

Find out more about copyright issues from the University’s copyright website.

Peer-to-Peer File Sharing

Downloading, copying and sharing material, such as music, movies, games, and applications, for which the copyright holder has not given you permission is a violation of both the United States Copyright Act and the University of St. Francis Technology Use Policy. As an intelligent web user, it is best to assume that all works of this type found on the Internet are copyright-protected unless explicitly stated otherwise.

The U.S. Copyright Act specifies an individual’s civil liability of litigation costs, attorney fees, and actual damages of $750 to $30,000 for each work infringed, and, under certain circumstances, criminal penalties up to $250,000, and/or imprisonment. Furthermore, students, faculty and staff may be placing the University of St. Francis at risk through these actions, as well as themselves by violating the copyright law.

In the event that the university is notified that you are violating copyright laws, the relevant offices within the university will investigate the complaint. If a violation is confirmed, appropriate action will be taken against you in accordance with university policy. Violations of the University Technology Use Policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including the suspension of a student user’s network account, and/or criminal prosecution under state and federal statutes.

Although using file-sharing software, such as KaZaA or Morpheus, is not illegal itself, distributing copyrighted material without permission is. Many do not realize that this software may turn your personal computer into a server, or upload site, even if that was not your intent. Unfortunately, you are still legally responsible. Students using their computers as servers for materials can and will have their network connections turned off.

The University of St. Francis strongly encourages users to remove all file-sharing software from your system. At the very least, it is imperative that the file sharing capability of these systems be disabled. The University of Chicago maintains a site that addresses Disabling Peer-to-Peer File Sharing. Go there for additional information on how to disable this function.

Find out more about copyright issues from the University’s copyright website.

Alternatives to Illegal File Sharing
There are many legal sources for copyrighted material such as music and movies; some are free and some charge a nominal fee. Educause maintains a comprehensive list of Legal Downloading Resources.

Members of the University of St. Francis community are encouraged to take advantage of these legitimate sources of digital content.

Student Electronic Communication

Purpose: This policy outlines the appropriate use of all electronic communications tools and media provided to University of St. Francis students.

Policy: Every student is expected to use good judgment when using the university’s communications systems. Electronic communications that are sent or received by the university owned communication systems are the property of the university and will be subject to the Terms of Use.

Applies to: All University communications systems including but not limited to: any messaging, collaboration, publishing, broadcast, or distribution system that depends on electronic communications resources to create, send, forward, reply to, transmit, distribute, broadcast, store, hold, copy, download, display, view, read, or print electronic records for purposes of communication across electronic communications network systems between or among individuals or groups, that is either explicitly denoted as a system for electronic communications or is implicitly used for such purposes.

Terms of Use

The University of St. Francis primary and official method of communicating with our students is through the University’s email system. This communications includes vital university messages, emergency broadcast and instructions, billing information, registration and other service communications. Students are required to access and review University of St. Francis email on a frequent and consistent basis in order to stay current with University-related communications. Students must recognize that certain communications may be time-critical
Email attachments are limited to 200 Meg.
The electronic communication systems are intended for academic use and, as such, student email accounts or other electronic communication systems may not be used to create or transmit unsolicited bulk messages (commonly known as “spam”), content intended for commercial gain, or content which violates applicable state or federal laws.
Students may not use University maintained group email lists unless they have received prior approval from the Chief Information Officer.
Students are solely responsible for any content they create or transmit while using the systems.
The University is not responsible for any content received by the student from another person or entity, and furthermore is not liable for any physical, emotional or mechanical damage arising from use of the system.
Student email and system accounts are University-owned and subject to inactivation at the University’s sole discretion.
Federal law requires the University to make timely interim reports on any crime considered to be a threat to the campus community. To comply with The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy & Campus Crime Statistics Act in the most effective manner possible the University’s Director of Safety & Security or designee will have the authority to send an interim report, pursuant to the Clery act, to the entire e-mail address book.

Employee Electronic Communication

Purpose: This policy outlines the appropriate use of all electronic communications tools and media provided to University of St. Francis employees.
Policy: Every employee is expected to use good judgment when using the university’s communications systems. Electronic communications that are sent or received by the university owned communication systems are the property of the university and will be subject to the Terms of Use.
Applies to: All USF communications systems including but not limited to: any messaging, collaboration, publishing, broadcast, or distribution system that depends on electronic communications resources to create, send, forward, reply to, transmit, distribute, broadcast, store, hold, copy, download, display, view, read, or print electronic records for purposes of communication across electronic communications network systems between or among individuals or groups, that is either explicitly denoted as a system for electronic communications or is implicitly used for such purposes.

Terms of Use

Employees are required to access and review University email on a frequent and consistent basis in order to stay current with University-related communications.
Employees should refrain from using their USF email account for personal business.
Employees must recognize that certain communications may be time-critical.
The electronic communication systems are intended for business use and, as such, employee email accounts or other electronic communication systems may not be used to create or transmit unsolicited bulk messages (commonly known as “spam”), content intended for commercial gain, or content which violates applicable state or federal laws.
Users are solely responsible for any content they create or transmit while using the systems.
The University is not responsible for any content received by the user from another person or entity, and furthermore is not liable for any physical, emotional or mechanical damage arising from use of the system.
Upon termination of employment with the university, the employee’s email account and other system accounts will be terminated unless the employee is an alumni or currently registered student of St. Francis or retires from USF and requests that the email account remain active. This does not apply to employees that have been dismissed from the University.
In the event an employee with an email account and system accounts enrolls as a student at USF, the accounts in use by that person will remain subject to the applicable employee electronic communications policy.
Employee email and system accounts are University-owned and subject to inactivation at the University’s sole discretion.

Mass Email Policy
Purpose: The University of St Francis has seen a significant increase in the use of mass email to distribute news, information, personal opinions, sale of items, announcements to various constituencies and commercial advertisement and flyers. Coinciding with this is an increase in complaints about unsolicited email messages using the University of St. Francis internal mail lists.

In order to address these issues, the university has approved a mass email policy to clarify electronic communications, dissemination of information related to the university mission, and notification of constituents in case of emergency.

This policy does not apply to the creation and configuration of individually created email-based distribution and discussions groups (also referred to as listservs). Examples of this would be student clubs creating email distribution lists for communication with clubs or association members subscribing to a listserv or faculty members who create lists for electronic communication with students in their courses. Anyone creating a distribution list, with the exception of official university communications, must comply with an individual’s request to be removed from the distribution list.

Definition of Mass Email: For the purposes of this policy, mass email shall be considered to be any unsolicited electronic mailing in which the message is sent to members of the University community using University created email lists.

Policy: Employee access to university email lists will be through the MyUSF portal. Depending on the data access rights granted to the user will be able to use the various email lists available to them. Employees will have access to 3 main University provided email lists. These lists divide employees into faculty administrators and staff.

Mass Email Process: Mass email communications should be used sparingly. Users are expected to comply with the approved process.

The MyUSF portal announcement program and the portal email lists will become the official method for University announcements for non-emergency and special purposes.
People may now choose to make a general announcement, a calendar event or both about their event or message.
People have the ability to create their own groups, committees and clubs to which people can make their own decision to join.
Access to the traditional undergraduate student email list will be limited to the following people
- The President’s Office staff
- All Vice Presidents
- Deans
- Director of Human Resources
- Director of Security
Anyone wishing to use email to communicate with students;
- Use the MyUSF portal communication tools.
- Contact their Director, Dean or VP and have the communication sent through their email/MyUSF account. (Remember you may not give or share your user account and password with other people.)
- For long-term access to the student email list, you must contact the Chief Information Officer and request access to the student lists.

Guidelines for Mass Email
Appropriate mass email and broadcast topics include but are not limited to;

Urgent security (physical or computer) matters.
University approved mass email messages
Other time critical financial and administrative deadlines natural disaster alerts
Administrative announcements

Inappropriate mass email and broadcast topics include, but are not limited to:

Any message whose content is not relevant to USF’s mission of teaching, research, and public service
“Reply to all” when congratulating people on their accomplishments club or group information announcement of events or summary of an event’s activities
Any commercial mailing any solicitations
Announcements for political rallies
Advertisements for non-University sponsored/owned stores or services chain letters
Pyramid or make money fast schemes
Information of interest to only a small segment of the University community political issues or opinions
Items for sale or rent

Criteria for Creating Mass Email Messages

Email Subject: The Subject line must be descriptive of the message. Email Body:
Your name must appear in the TO box
The name, email address, and phone number of a person to contact should be contained in the message.
Messages should be brief and to the point. Provide instructions on how additional information can be obtained.
Any hyperlinks should include the fully qualified (include the http:// part) protocol to assure that most recipients will see the “active” links in your message.
The message should be proofread for spelling, grammatical and content errors.
Questions about this policy may be directed to the Chief Information Officer.

Alumni Electronic Communication

Policy The University of St. Francis is pleased to offer a valuable benefit to alumni: a permanent e-mail address that allows you to keep in touch with family, friends, and business associates, with no break in communication, no matter how many times you relocate or change your Internet service provider.
It is the only address that your friends and associates will ever need to know to stay in contact with you because it is permanent. When you switch jobs or e-mail providers your friends and family will still be able to communicate with you without any interruptions or the need to notify people that you have made a change. It’s as simple as that. This benefit is offered only to University of St. Francis alumni and our special friends.

Terms of Use
Overview
The University of St. Francis (the “University”) provides current and future alumni as well as friends of the University (“Users”) with a suite of electronic services (“Alumni Services” or “Services”) only in order to support the educational, research and public service missions of the University of St. Francis. We intend for these services to be used toward this end by facilitating communication among Users and between Users and the University.
As a condition of using and continuing to use the services provided, you agree to the terms and conditions of usage stated herein (“Terms of Use”). The University reserves the right to change these Terms of Use and/or the nature or functionality of the Alumni Services at any time and at its sole discretion. You are responsible for reviewing these Terms of Use frequently and we urge you to do so. Continuing to use any services provided under this agreement constitutes your acceptance and agreement to such changes.
Electronic communications that are sent or received by the university owned communication systems are the property of the university and will be subject to the Terms of Use.

Intended Users
Users of the Alumni Services provided by the University of St. Francis are intended to be the alumni of the University and are defined as graduates of the University. Those individuals deemed to have a special relationship to the University at the discretion of the University. Others that wish to use these Services may inquire at alumni@stfrancis.edu or call 815.740.5047 (800-822-8280).

Applicable Laws and Policies
Users agree that you are solely responsible for content, information, files, or data posted through provided Alumni Services and that you will hold the University of St. Francis harmless against any and all claims from third parties regarding content created using your user account.
Users agree not to use the Alumni Services intentionally or unintentionally to violate any applicable law. The use of the Alumni Services provided by the University is subject to all the policies and regulations of the University of St. Francis.

Proper and Authorized Use
Our Alumni Services are intended to support a broad range of communications and professional and appropriate communication etiquette is required. In particular, all standards of behavior, courtesy, and etiquette that govern vocal and written communications also extend to electronic communications.
Content or technology use that is inconsistent with or contrary to our mission and Catholic/ Franciscan identity is deemed inappropriate by the University.
Anonymous access and posting to the University services is forbidden. You must identify yourself as yourself and may not impersonate other users or individuals. All users must accept that their identity will be associated with any content they provide via these Alumni Services and may be visible to all users of the Services. You may not share your account with others. Use of accounts for the creation or delivery of mass e-mail (a.k.a. SPAM) is forbidden.
Use of accounts to store or transmit copyrighted material such as music or video files is forbidden unless permission has been obtained from the copyright owner.
Services cannot be used to violate academic integrity.

Privacy, Warranties and Liability
The University is committed to protecting the privacy of its Users. Towards this end, information about our Users and the content of material communicated with or stored within the University’s servers will be governed by these Terms of Use. You should be aware that the information posted to these Alumni Services may be visible to all other Users of these Services. While some controls exist that allow you to restrict visibility, the University makes no warranties about the function of these controls and cannot be held liable should these controls fail.
In the spirit of maintaining a strong, lasting, and dynamic relationship between Users and the University, personal information supplied by the Users of our Services will be used to update alumni databases which are themselves used to provide Users of the Services with timely information about changes to these Services as well as notice of alumni events, and other programs and offerings of the University. Please contact the University at alumni@stfrancis.edu or call 815.740.5047 (800-822-8280) if you wish to opt-out of these offerings.
The views and opinions expressed by Users of these Alumni Services do not necessarily state or reflect those of the University of St. Francis. Please be aware that we do not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of the information expressed by Users of these Alumni Services.
The University of St. Francis may access your account for administrative and other purposes (such as, but not limited to password resets, compliance with University policies and other rules governing these Services, including the investigation of security incidents) as described in the Campus Policy on Appropriate Use of Computers and Network Systems at the University of St. Francis. This right extends to any information stored within the account.
The University may invoke the above policies to enforce these Terms of Use. The University may at any time suspend or terminate your account without any cause or notice to you and, in such an event, information may no longer be accessible or may be deleted.

External Content
The University St. Francis does not assume responsibility, nor can it be held accountable, for non-University links or the contents or information of those links. This extends to your use, or losses incurred by your use, of those links or the information they contain.

Administration of Alumni Service and Appropriate Use
While the University of St. Francis does not routinely monitor appropriate use by individuals, the University will respond to complaints or other notifications of inappropriate use. Use of these Alumni Services is a privilege, not a right, and such use may be suspended or terminated by the University when, in its judgment, these Terms of Use have been violated by the User.
Notifications of inappropriate use should be made to alumni@stfrancis.edu or call 815.740.5047 (800-822-8280).

Acceptance of Terms
By requesting an alumni email account you acknowledge that you have read and accepted these Terms of Use. Since we may change these Terms of Use at any time in our sole discretion, it is your responsibility to review these Terms of Use frequently and we urge you to do so. Individuals, who subsequently decide they wish to end this account, should communicate that information to alumni@stfrancis.edu or call 815.740.5047 (800-822-8280).

Express Consent
Through your acceptance of a USF email for life account you hereby agree and provide your express consent that the University of St. Francis may access your account for administrative and other purposes such as password resets and compliance with university policies governing this service.

USF Library Copyright Policy

This policy and is not intended to be read as legal advice but rather as guidelines for those looking for assistance with (a) Understanding copyright and other intellectual property issues, and (b) the University of St. Francis Library’s policies and procedures as they pertain to copyright, intellectual property and the reproduction of creative works. If further help is needed, USF librarians will provide insight and research assistance toward answering specific copyright questions. This policy and procedures manual is written in “Question and Answer” format, and is applicable to all persons intending to use library materials and/or access to reproduce the work of others on behalf of curricular and non- curricular activities occurring at The University of St. Francis (hereinafter, “USF”) in Joliet, IL. USF Library Archives materials, as a subset of the USF Library, are also covered by this document. It is not advised that any USF constituent disregard the direction given in this general copyright policy. Doing so subjects the infringer and the University to unnecessary risk and liability.

WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS

Title 17 of U.S. Code specifies Copyright Law and limits the making and dissemination of reproductions of copyrighted material.

USF Library makes the good faith effort to work within copyright allowances granted to it as an institution of higher learning under Copyright Law and the Fair Use guidelines. Library users who abuse copyright or make reproductions beyond Fair Use may be liable for copyright infringement.

The University of St. Francis Library maintains the right to refuse copying of any material if doing so would, in its judgment, be in violation of Copyright Law.

For more information on Copyright Law, how to determine the rights of a work, or just how to teach and stay within the allowances of copyright please see the links available under the Other Resources tab.

THE “REPRODUCER”
For the purposes of this document, the term “reproducer” will denote any individual or parties subject to US Copyright Law due to their reproduction (in analog or digital form) of intellectual work owned by someone other than themselves.

It is important for individuals to realize that copyright law is related to the reproduction of original works. Copyright law does not govern the theft or misrepresentation of others’ intellectual property—only the copying of significant pieces or entire works. All persons who copy the works of others are considered to be “reproducers” of works.

USF LIBRARY STAFF AND COPYRIGHT COMPLIANCE

USF Library staff will not provide, or pay for, copyright clearance for reproduction on your behalf. We will advise and direct you in the proper direction for obtaining copyright clearance, and will work with you closely to obtain permission for your needs to teach with copyrighted material. This document is prepared to educate you on our policies regarding copyright law and Fair Use in educational settings. If you have questions or comments regarding this document or any USF copyright policies and procedures, please contact USF library staff directly at http://library.stfrancis.edu, or 815-740-5041.

USF treats copyright compliance seriously. Copyright in the United States is a financial, ethical and legal issue related to all US citizens and creators of original works.

USF Library staff will report any known copyright violations (by staff) to appropriate deans and vice presidents, after advising the copyright infringer to cease and desist and receiving non-compliance in three calendar days. USF students will be reported to their instructor(s) in 24 hours, if infringement is not corrected.

Higher Education Opportunity Act: Peer-to-Peer File Sharing

The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) includes provisions to reduce the illegal uploading and downloading of copyrighted works through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing. Specifically, HEOA requires institutions to:

Make an annual disclosure that informs students that the illegal distribution of copyrighted materials may subject them to criminal and civil penalties and describes the steps that institutions will take to detect and punish illegal distribution of copyrighted materials.
Certify to the Secretary of Education that they have developed plans to “effectively combat” the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material.
Offer alternatives to illegal file sharing, “to the extent practicable”.
Identify procedures for periodically reviewing the effectiveness of the plans to combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials.

1. Annual Disclosures
The University of St. Francis uses the following methods to inform students about copyright laws:

Each semester, students receive an announcement about peer-to-peer file sharing and copyright when they log in to the University’s portal, and they are required to acknowledge that they have read the message. This announcement provides links to detailed information regarding the University’s Technology Use Policy and Peer-to- Peer File Sharing Policy, and provides links to legitimate sources of digital content. The University of St. Francis’ copyright website provides information and guidelines for copyright laws and fair use to the campus community.
All students are required to adhere to the practices stated in the Technology Use Policy , which includes a section on copyright compliance. This policy is included in the Student Handbook and is posted on the University’s portal.

2. Effectively Combat the Unauthorized Distribution of Copyrighted Material
The University of St. Francis uses several technology-based deterrents to combat the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials:

USF currently has a restrictive firewall in place to help prevent file sharing.
The current network switch infrastructure supports policy-based security, which can prevent access to known peer-to-peer TCP/IP ports that are used by common file sharing services and programs.
USF is currently building towards a full-featured network control solution which will enable MAC address registration, tracking and the interrogation of workstations that attempt to access the enterprise network system.

3. Offering Alternatives to Illegal File Sharing
The University of St. Francis portal provides links to sites that provide numerous options for obtaining music, videos, and other digital content in a legal manner. Students are encouraged to take advantage of these legitimate sources of digital content.

4. Reviewing Effectiveness
These steps will be reviewed annually by the Information Technology (IT) department and the Chief Information Officer each June and revised as necessary to remain in compliance. Based on the monitoring data that IT collects relative to network traffic, the review will assess the overall effectiveness of the University’s policy and procedures to promote the legal use of copyrighted materials. Any changes to the policy and/or procedures will take effect at the beginning of the following academic year.