Bethel Network and Computer Acceptable-Use Policy

Acceptable Use Policy

With the freedom of access provided by our computing and telecommunications network comes the responsibility of good citizenship. As with any community, the electronic community of which you are now a member cannot function without some sense of order.

In general, the principles of Bethel's Covenant For Life Together apply to network citizenship. Computer and network use, however, require further specificity to ensure appropriate behavior. Access to electronic information systems at Bethel is a privilege, must be treated as such by all users, and may be revoked if Bethel policies are not followed. Your acceptance of any account and/or using our network constitutes your agreement to abide and be bound by the provisions of the applicable Bethel policies regarding its use. Ignorance of the policy is not a defense.

The Bethel University computing resources and network are for the use of Bethel faculty, students, and staff, and are to be used only for the academic, administrative, educational, and research purposes of the institution.

Bethel acknowledges that faculty, students, and staff use Bethel computing resources assigned to them or to which they are granted access for non-commercial, personal use (for example, email). Such occasional non-commercial use is permitted if (i) the use is not excessive, (ii) does not interfere with the performance of any faculty, staff member, or student's duties, (iii) does not interfere with the efficient operation of the Bethel network or its computing resources, and (iv) is not otherwise prohibited by this policy or any other Bethel policy or directive.

Personal use of Bethel computing resources by any user for personal financial gain in connection with non-Bethel consulting, business, or employment is strictly prohibited except for authorized faculty and staff. Any such personal use of Bethel computing resources in conjunction with non-Bethel professional consulting, business, or employment activities is permitted only when the use has been expressly authorized in writing by the Bethel Administration at the appropriate level.

As a general policy Bethel employees will not read your email or private files, whether stored centrally or locally. Information and messages stored on or sent over the Bethel network, however, are not secure and can be intercepted in a variety of ways. Bethel faculty, students, and staff accessing the Bethel network cannot assume such information will be or remain inaccessible or confidential. Accordingly, Bethel cannot and does not guarantee user privacy. Further, Bethel expressly reserves the right to inspect and examine any Bethel owned or operated computer system, computing resource, and/or file(s) or information contained therein at any time in response to security threats to the system or Bethel Community members, to investigate claims of violations of this policy or other Bethel policies, and when routine system maintenance inadvertently identifies possible security threats or policy violations.

All use of the network must abide by the following Guidelines:

1. Is consistent with Bethel's lifestyle statement
2. Is consistent with the purposes of the network
   
3. Does not interfere with the work of other users of the network
   
4. Avoids wasting institutional computing resources
5. Is consistent with the Ethics of Computing at Bethel
6. Is consistent with applicable state and federal law
7. Is consistent with several additional key issues

Computer and network use at Bethel are guided by the same principles, and subject to the same disciplinary sanctions, as for other campus activities.

Examples of Activities

Here are some examples of activities that would violate one or more of the Guidelines. They are meant to be illustrative, not exhaustive.

1) See Bethel's Lifestyle Statement:

Becoming Whole and Holy persons: A Covenant for life together at Bethel for examples dealing with lifestyle issues.

2) Is consistent with the purposes of the network

Usage that is unacceptable because it conflicts with the stated purposes of the network includes, but is not limited to, these examples:

• Advertising of commercial products, services and businesses that are not affiliated with or sanctioned by Bethel University is unacceptable.
• It is not acceptable to use our printing facilities to produce output that is not related to the University's mission (i.e., it is not acceptable to print announcements or fliers for outside agencies, materials for one's own or a spouse's business, etc.).
• Selling access to or via Bethel's network to others, or collecting bids on behalf of non-University business via any of Bethel's network facilities is unacceptable.
• Using Bethel's network to support personal business interests is unacceptable.

3) Does not interfere with the work of other users of the network

Usage that is unacceptable because it may interfere with the work of other users includes, but is not limited to, these examples:

• Usage that is likely to result in the loss or disruption of another person's work is unacceptable. Examples of such activities include tampering with network electronics or interfering with an active client computer or network server.
• Messages which cause an ongoing interruption in the work of another person are strictly unacceptable (e.g., e-mail that is sent after the recipient has requested that it be stopped or is sent indiscriminately to large groups of users).

4) Avoids wasting campus computing resources

Usage that is unacceptable because it wastes computing and/or network resources includes, but is not limited to, these examples:

• In public labs, it is not acceptable to print multiple copies of output. Printing of large documents not directly related to course work or job function and of large numbers of e-mail messages is also unacceptable.
• Chain letters and broadcast messages to lists or individuals, and other types of use including transfer of large amounts of data (large files or large numbers of files such as multimedia files) which might cause congestion of the network or otherwise interfere with the work of others are not acceptable.

5) Is consistent with the Ethics of Computing at Bethel

Usage that is unacceptable because it is not consistent with this statement includes, but is not limited to, these examples:

• It is not acceptable to alter, disable, or remove any software which resides on a machine in Bethel's public computing areas or accessible via Bethel's network.
• It is not acceptable to use another person's username and password to gain access to Bethel's computing resources, including printing resources.
• It is not acceptable to share your password to a account with anyone, including a employee, a spouse, a parent, a dependent, or a friend.
• It is not acceptable to physically tamper with, tap, disable, or remove any equipment, wiring, or networking hardware from the public computing areas, classrooms, offices, residence-hall rooms, or equipment areas.
• It is not acceptable to possess or use any software or hardware designed to disrupt the security of the campus network and all devices attached to the network. Likewise, it is unacceptable to engage in any activities designed to spy on the network traffic of other users.
• It is not acceptable to scan machines which you do not own (or have administrative responsibility for) for security vulnerabilities, including both machines on the network and on the wider Internet.
• It is not acceptable to read or electronically bring to campus pornographic material of any type. Remember, Just because you can find it on the net is not justification to read it.

Ethics of Computing at Bethel

A. Computing Resources at Bethel

Bethel has invested considerable resources to develop a number of work areas supporting computing for all students (day, PACE, graduate), faculty, staff, and guests who have accounts on our systems. Our computing community is quite large: potentially over 5000 users. It is also very diverse: beginning and experienced users often work side by side on tasks ranging from simple word processing to extensive user created systems.

The size of the institutional investment as well as the complexity of both the computing community and resource requirements clearly demand that all users approach computing responsibly and ethically. When an individual misuses our resources or acts in unethical ways, we all suffer. When we do our computing in a cooperative manner, we all benefit directly.

B. Ethical Use of Resources Based on Stewardship

Bethel is a community of Christian scholars and staff seeking to serve the Lord through study and service. Our computing resources are not an end in themselves; they are a means to enable us to develop into effective servants of our Lord. Therefore, in order to be good stewards of this resource, we agree to:

• Seek to minimize paper use--multiple copies should be made on copy machines rather than computer printers; a year's worth of e-mail messages should not be printed.
  
• Utilize the printers and computers fairly--logging out when leaving a public computing area; leaving computers in proper set-up mode; reprinting only those pages that have been edited rather than entire documents; and refraining from FTPing large documents or multimedia materials during prime hours when the systems are heavily used.
  
• Restrict recreational computing--courteous levels of noise in lab areas are to be maintained. Computer-generated sounds and computer games causing competitive user interaction are not allowed. Recreational computing must not compete for resources with administrative, instructional, or research computing.
  
• Seek to minimize disk usage--those who store files on Bethel's systems should practice good housekeeping by regularly removing e-mail messages and other files that are no longer needed.
  
• Refrain from looking at and FTPing to campus inappropriate material such as pornographic photographs.

C. Ethical Use of Resources Based on State and Federal Laws

Webster defines theft as the act of taking the property of another without right or permission, often done secretly. We usually have no problem applying this definition to money or possessions. However, unauthorized copying of copyrighted software or multimedia materials (such as MP3 music files) is also taking property without right or permission. Securing passwords of unsuspecting users is likewise stealing. At Bethel, we agree to:

• Refrain from unauthorized copying or modification of programs (including commercial software) or data belonging to others.
  
• Notify the system manager if we discover a way to break system security.
  
• Assist any users who have inadvertently left their accounts open.
  
• Refrain from changing interfaces or setups and mailing demeaning messages. Refrain from attempting unauthorized access to systems on the Bethel Campus or anywhere else in the world.

Scanning machines on the Internet (and on the network) for security vulnerabilities (by "port scanning" and other means) is often a prelude to compromising the security of the machine in question. It is therefore perceived by many systems administrators as a threat, and may be a violation of state and federal laws. Therefore, refrain from scanning machines for security vulnerabilities without authorization from the system administrator. Notify the system administrator promptly if a security vulnerability is inadvertently discovered.

D. Our Community Expectations

We are proud of Bethel's long tradition of integrity and honesty. We commit ourselves to making our computing environment the best it can be for the entire community. It is important that we make a strong effort to pass this legacy on to those users who will follow.

E. Results of Unethical Use of Computing Resources

Violations of the Bethel Computing Acceptable Use Policy shall subject users to the regular disciplinary processes and procedures of Bethel Universtity for faculty, students, and staff, and may result in loss of their computing privileges. Illegal acts involving computing resources may also subject violators to prosecution by federal, state, or local authorities.

Decisions as to whether a particular use of computing resources conforms with policies shall be made by the Provost's Office if the use involves faculty or student academic issues; by the Office of Student Life if the use involves non-academic student use; and by the Department of Human Resources if the use involves administrators or staff.

6) Is consistent with applicable state and federal law

Usage that is unacceptable because it conflicts with state or federal law includes, but is not limited to, these examples:

• Messages which harass an individual or group are strictly unacceptable.
  
• Users of the network may not share over the network software or multimedia materials (such as MP3 music files) for which they do not have the license to share. A single-copy license is not a license to share copyrighted material over the network.
  
• Attempts to discover or obtain via coercion, hacking, or any other method user accounts and passwords. It is also against our policy for any unauthorized parties to utilize the network super-user accounts.
  
• Most software used in the academic arena is copyrighted. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have the proper license to use the specific software. A good rule of thumb is that you should never use commercial software that you did not purchase. This insures that you are operating within the law, and also protects your computer from possible viral infection.

7) Is consistent with several additional key issues

Racial and sexual harassment via the network: Bethel University has explicit policies regarding racial and sexual harassment. Neither of these forms of inappropriate behavior is acceptable on Bethel's network, and all incidents will be dealt with according to established procedures.

Electronic mail: E-mail is an important network service that allows the user to reach beyond the confines of the campus. Because of the relatively impersonal nature of the interaction, opportunities exist for misuse. Therefore, acceptable use requires the accurate and unambiguous identification of the source of all sent messages.

Computer accounts: A personal e-mail account is automatically issued to all students and employees near the time they begin at Bethel. Accounts on other specialized computer systems are provided as needed. Any account is for the use of its assigned owner only. Account names and passwords should not be shared, as any violations of network policies are traced by login name. You are ultimately responsible for all violations committed under your login name, even if you claim the violations were committed by someone else who had either authorized or unauthorized access to your account. If you suspect that your password has been compromised, it is your responsibility to report this information to Information Technology Services (ITS) at (651)638-6500 as soon as it is discovered.

Disk storage space: Space for storing data on Bethel's networked computer systems is a limited resource. You should not save unnecessary files and should delete files that are no longer needed. When ITS has evidence that you have stored files with inappropriate content (such as pornography), those files are subject to review without notice by the appropriate computer center staff. Also, student accounts are purged in late summer after it has been determined that the students have not enrolled for the fall semester.

Use of external networks: Computers connected to the network have access to the Internet. All users are expected to abide by Bethel's policies when accessing the Internet through this connection.

Network integrity: You may not tamper with any network cabling or routing devices beyond the wall plate in your office or room. Any problems with these devices or cabling will be serviced by ITS. Likewise, you may not extend the network from your wall plate to another room or building. Incorrect cabling can lead to significant lightning damage risk.

File service: In general, we will not prevent users from setting up their own computers as file servers on our network. However, we have the right to revoke the privilege of running a service which is inappropriate or degrades network service. Also, the owner of the server is responsible for the content on the server. The content must be legal with respect to copyright and other laws, and must abide by all other principles contained in this document.

Student web sites:

Students may create and originate individual web sites using Bethel computer resources, but must comply with all Bethel policies as well as federal, state, and local laws and regulations, including copyright laws, obscenity laws, and laws relating to libel, slander, defamation, and software piracy.

Further, the person(s) creating a Web Site is responsible for the accuracy of the information contained in the Web Site. Web Sites should include in an easily identified location a valid email address of the person to whom questions/comments may be addressed, as well as the most recent revision date.

Intellectual property: A proposed policy on intellectual property has been submitted to the Faculty Personnel Policies Committee for consideration.

[1] This policy has been approved by the Information Technology Services Academic Advisory Committee. Some of the ideas for this policy have been adopted from a similar policy at MIT.