Tarrant County College District Acceptable Use Guidelines for ...

Tarrant County College reserves the right to amend or otherwise revise this document as may be necessary to reflect future changes made tothe I.T. environment. You are responsible for reviewing this policy periodically to ensure your continued compliance with all TCCD policiesand guidelines.Revision : 1.4.1 Effective Date: November 19, 2008Tarrant County College District Acceptable Use Guidelinesfor Computing and Technology Resources0.0 Definitions and Termsa) Guidelines - This document.b) P&R - The TCCD Policy and Regulation Manual.c) Users - Students, faculty, staff, partners, contractors, consultants, temporaries, library patrons, visitors, guestsand other workers at TCCD, including all personnel affiliated with third parties using Resources.d) Resources - All computing and technology systems that are owned, leased or operated by TCCD.e) Spam – (n) Unsolicited (usually commercial) e-mail sent to a large number of addresses. (v) To send unsolicitede-mail to numerous addresses.f) Peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) – Method of file sharing in which individual computers using the samenetworking program are linked via the Internet to directly access shared programs/files. Examples are, but arenot limited to, BitTorrent and Gnutella.g) Pirated Software - Unauthorized copied computer software.h) Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses - A variety of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code usuallycausing harm.i) E-mail Bombs - Sending large volumes of e-mail to an address in an attempt to overflow the mailbox oroverwhelm the server where the email address is serviced.1.0 OverviewTarrant County College District’s (TCCD) intentions for publishing Acceptable Use Guidelines are not to imposerestrictions that are contrary to TCCD’s established culture of openness, trust and integrity. The purpose of theseGuidelines is to ensure the TCCD networked Resources will be used to support the mission of the District. TCCD iscommitted to protecting authorized Users and itself from illegal or damaging actions by individuals, either knowingly orunknowingly.All systems and people using TCCD Resources, whether on campus or remotely, are using the property of TCCD. TCCDResources are to be used for business purposes in serving the interests of the college, and our students in the course ofnormal operations. Review the TCCD Board Policy Manual (http://pol.tasb.org/Home/Index/1097) for furtherinformation.Prior to purchase, all technologies (hardware or software) and/or any contract with a third party vendor, regardless ofthe funding source, must be submitted to the Vice Chancellor for Information and Technical Services for review.Technologies/contracts are reviewed by the Vice Chancellor and forwarded to the appropriate committee for technicalcommentary on the ramifications of the technologies/contracts on the TCCD infrastructure, support systems, andtechnical staff. NOTE: All technologies (hardware or software) and/or any contract with a third party vendor thatrequire changes to Firewalls or other security resources to allow outside access to TCCD must be submitted to the ViceChancellor for approval prior to purchase.Access to Tarrant County College District’s network and its computer resources is a privilege, not a right. Effectivesecurity is a team effort involving the participation and support of every TCCD employee and student who deals withinformation and/or information systems. It is the responsibility of all computer Users to know these Guidelines, and toconduct their activities accordingly.Campus and District departments are encouraged to add, with the approval of the Appropriate Authority, individualguidelines that supplement, but do not lessen the intent of the Acceptable Use Guidelines.Page 1 of 5

2.0 PurposeThe purpose of this Guideline is to outline the acceptable use of computing and technology resources at TCCD. TheseGuidelines protect the students, employees and TCCD. Inappropriate use exposes TCCD to risks including virus attacks,compromise of network systems and services, and legal issues. Anything that degrades or compromises the ability ofstaff, faculty or students to perform or meet the mission of TCCD constitutes unacceptable use.3.0 ScopeThese Guidelines apply to students, faculty, staff, partners, contractors, consultants, temporaries, library patrons,visitors, guests and other workers at TCCD, including all personnel affiliated with third parties. These Guidelines apply toall systems, equipment and resources that are owned, leased or operated by TCCD.People utilizing these Resources agree to follow all applicable policies of the college, as well as federal, state and locallaws. TCCD reserves the right to limit, restrict or deny access to its computer resources, as well as to take disciplinaryand/or legal action against anyone in violation of these policies and/or laws. Users should have no expectation ofprivacy while using District–owned or leased equipment. Information passing through or stored on the District’sequipment can and will be monitored.All Users of TCCD computing systems must read and comply with the Guidelines outlined in this document, as well asany additional guidelines established by the administrators of each department and/or campus or District unit.BY USING ANY OF THESE SYSTEMS, USERS AGREE THAT THEY WILL COMPLY WITH THESE GUIDELINES.4.0 Guidelines4.1 General Use, Privacy and Data Ownership1. TCCD's network administration desires to provide a reasonable level of privacy, however data created on TCCDsystems remains the property of the District. Because of the need to protect TCCD's network, managementcannot guarantee the confidentiality of information stored on any network resource belonging to TCCD beyondthat required by law or TCCD policy.2. Employees are responsible for exercising good judgment regarding the reasonableness of personal use. Alldepartmental guidelines regarding personal use must supplement and support the District P&R manual and theAcceptable Use Guidelines. For security and network maintenance purposes, authorized individuals within TCCDmonitor equipment, systems and network traffic. Networks and systems will be audited on a periodic basis toensure Guideline compliance.3. Computer use is subject to:a. review or disclosure in accordance with the Texas Public Information Act and other laws;b. administrative review of computer use for security purposes or in regard to a policy or legal complianceconcern; c. computer system maintenance;c. audits and as otherwise required to protect the reasonable interests of TCCD and other users of thecomputer system.Anyone using TCCD's computer systems expressly consents to monitoring on the part of TCCD for thesepurposes and is advised that if such monitoring reveals possible evidence of criminal activity, TCCDadministration may provide that evidence to law enforcement officials. TCCD is unable to guarantee the privacyof electronic files, data or e-mails except as mandated by Law.4.2 Security and Proprietary Information1. Intellectual property laws apply to the electronic environment. Data communicated through the TCCD networkor on TCCD Resources are subject to copyright laws, unless specifically stated otherwise.2. Users are responsible for the security of their passwords and accounts. Passwords are not to be shared.3. Antivirus software will be installed on all devices if such software exists. All devices operated by the user that areconnected to the TCCD Internet/Intranet/Extranet, whether owned by the user or TCCD, shall be continuallyexecuting approved virus scanning software with a current virus database.4. All servers must be approved before being attached to the network by the Vice Chancellor for Information andTechnical Services or designated representatives.5. All network access at Tarrant County College must be engineered, registered, operated or authorized byNetwork Communication Services, as detailed in the TCCD Network Guidelines.Page 2 of 5

6. Any modification to the TCCD network must be approved by Network Communication Services.7. Removable data storage devices or media (e.g. data disks, USB devices, external hard drives, etc.) can only beused to connect to TCCD Resources where expressly allowed.4.3 Unacceptable UseUnder no circumstances is an employee of TCCD authorized to engage in any activity that is illegal under local, state,federal or international law while utilizing TCCD-owned or leased resources. See TCCD Board Policy Manualhttp://pol.tasb.org/Home/Index/1097.The lists below are by no means exhaustive, but attempt to provide a framework for activities which fall into thecategory of unacceptable use.4.3.1 Unacceptable System and Network ActivitiesThe following activities are strictly prohibited, with no exceptions.Users shall not:1. Connect any device to the network (outside designated wireless access areas) without prior authorization, thisincludes but is not limited to personal computers, hubs, and wireless equipment.2. Load or allowed to be loaded onto any TCCD device or any device attached to the TCCD network, Peer-to-Peerfile sharing applications. Peer-to-Peer file sharing is not supported or allowed on the TCCD network. Devicestransferring Peer-to-Peer traffic will be removed and cleaned. Based on content of files being shared,disciplinary actions may be taken.3. Violate the rights of any person or company protected by copyright, trade secret, patent or other intellectualproperty, or similar laws or regulations, including, but not limited to, the installation or distribution of PiratedSoftware or other software products that are not appropriately licensed for use by TCCD.4. Copy or distribute without authorization copyrighted material including, but not limited to, digitization anddistribution of photographs from magazines, books or other copyrighted sources, copyrighted music, and theinstallation of any copyrighted software for which TCCD or the end user does not have an active license.5. Export software, technical information, encryption software or technology, in violation of international orregional export control laws. The Appropriate Authority shall be consulted prior to export of any material that isin question.6. Introduce malicious programs (e.g., Viruses, Worms, Trojan Horses, E-mail Bombs, etc.) into the TCCD networkor on TCCD Resources.7. Reveal your account password to others or allow use of your account by others. This includes family and otherhousehold members when work is being done at home.8. Engage in procuring or transmitting material that is in violation of sexual harassment or hostile workplace laws.9. Make fraudulent offers of products, items, or services originating from any TCCD account.10. Effect security breaches or disruptions of network communication. Security breaches include, but are notlimited to, accessing data of which the employee is not an intended recipient or logging into a server or accountthat the employee is not expressly authorized to access. For purposes of this section, "disruption" includes, butis not limited to, network monitoring or sniffing, “Ping Floods”, packet spoofing, denial of service, and forgedrouting information for malicious purposes.11. Perform port scanning or security scanning. This activity is expressly prohibited.12. Execute any form of network monitoring which will intercept data not intended for the user’s host, except asperformed by authorized network personnel.13. Circumvent user authentication, security, or administrative access control of any host, network or account.14. Interfere with or deny service to any User (for example, “Denial of Service Attack”).15. Use any program/script/command, or sending messages of any kind, with the intent to interfere with, ordisable, an individual’s use of TCCD Resources, via any means, locally or via the Internet/Intranet/Extranet.16. Provide information about, or lists of, TCCD employees to parties outside TCCD. This information will only beprovided in accordance with TCCD policy by the Appropriate Authority.17. Use TCCD Resources for personal financial gain or personal commercial purpose.18. Access or read without authorization any electronic file, program, network or system.Page 3 of 5

19. Duplicate and distribute without authorization commercial software and other copyrighted digital materials. Allcommercial software and many other digital materials are covered by a copyright of some form. Theunauthorized duplication and distribution of software and other copyrighted materials (including copyrightedmusic, graphics etc.) is a violation of copyright law and these Guidelines.20. Use TCCD's Resources for the transmission of commercial or personal advertisements, solicitations,promotions, or transmission of political material that is prohibited by the TCCD Board Policy Manual(http://pol.tasb.org/Home/Index/1097) except as may be approved by the Appropriate Authority.4.3.2 Unacceptable Email and Communications ActivitiesThe following activities are strictly prohibited, with no exceptions.Users shall not:1. Send unsolicited email messages, including the sending of Spam, "junk mail" or other advertising material toindividuals who did not specifically request such material.2. Transmit any form of harassment via electronic communications, whether through language, frequency, or sizeof messages. Violations of electronic communications use include, but are not limited to, accessing,downloading, uploading, saving, receiving, or sending material that includes sexually explicit content or othermaterial using vulgar, sexist, racist, threatening, violent, or defamatory language. See the TCCD Board PolicyManual (http://pol.tasb.org/Home/Index/1097).3. Create or forward "chain letters", "Ponzi" or other "pyramid" schemes of any type.4. Use unsolicited email originating from within TCCD's networks of other Internet/Intranet/Extranet serviceproviders on behalf of, or to advertise, any service hosted by TCCD or connected via TCCD's network.5. Post the same or similar non-business-related messages to large numbers of email addresses or newsgroups(email and newsgroup Spam).5.0 Responsibilities5.1 Responsibilities of UsersUsers shall:1. Use TCCD’s computer resources responsibly, respecting the needs of other computer Users.2. Be responsible for any usage of his or her computer account. Users should maintain the secrecy of theirpasswords.3. Report any misuse of computer resources or violations of these Guidelines to their department head or to theAppropriate Authority.4. Comply with requests and instructions from TCCD computer systems support personnel.5. Ensure that communications reflect high ethical standards, mutual respect and civility. See the TCCD BoardPolicy Manual http://pol.tasb.org/Home/Index/1097.5.1.2 Responsibilities of Deans, Department Heads, and SupervisorsDeans, Department Heads, Supervisors shall:1. Ensure that employees within a department receive opportunities to attend training courses that enable themto comply with these Guidelines and other applicable guidelines.2. Promptly inform appropriate network and system administrators when employees have been terminated so thatthe terminated employee's access to TCCD’s networked resources may be disabled.3. Promptly report ongoing or serious problems regarding computer use to the appropriate authorities.6.0 Enforcement1. Violators of these Guidelines are subject to a full range of sanctions, including but not limited to the loss ofcomputer or network access privileges.2. Violators may be subject to disciplinary action as outlined in TCCD’s P&R. See the TCCD Board Policy Manual.http://pol.tasb.org/Home/Index/1097.3. Some violations may constitute criminal offenses, as outlined in the Texas Statutes relating to computer crimesand other local, state, and federal laws; TCCD will carry out its responsibility to report such violations to theappropriate authorities. See the TCCD Board Policy Manual. http://pol.tasb.org/Home/Index/1097.Page 4 of 5

Revision History:1.0 Original document.1.1 Formatting change.1.2 Layout and Format change.1.3 Added more Definitions and Terms.1.4 Added links for Policies and Regulations web pages.1.4.1 Changed “Policies and Regulations manual” references to “Board Policy Manual” and updated theassociated links.Page 5 of 5