Megan Sunderman

Professor Parkes
EDIT 663 – Educational Applications of Social Media, Summer Session II
Acceptable Use Policy Project
Part A

NYIT - Acceptable Use Policy

NYIT COMPUTING CODE OF RESPONSIBLE TECHNOLOGY USAGE

New York Institute of Technology (hereinafter referred to as the College) provides resources for
the academic research and instructional and business purposes of its faculty, staff, students and
university affiliates. These resources include telephone and computer equipment, software,
networks and accounts. Any and all information or communication transmitted by, received from
or stored in these systems are property of the College and are provided for the use of NYIT
students, faculty and staff as approved, in support of programs of the College.

Generally, computing systems and equipment are used carefully and appropriately. However,
abuse of equipment or systems that causes disruption of users' productivity, and the integrity of
their data and programs, may be subject to discipline or prosecution under College policies, and
local, state, or federal laws.

Purpose
The purpose of this Code is to define responsible technology usage, particularly for new users
who may not be aware of the potential impact of their actions.

Computer Ethics Policy Statement

Computers, telecommunications, and information in electronic form create a need for ethical
models. Information owners, both individual and institutional, must make a conscious and
explicit effort to state and enforce their expectations of ethical behavior. Information users have
an obligation to recognize the information owner's rights in order to protect and preserve their
own rights to use that information.
Computer based information, recognized as a primary educational and research asset, should be
protected from unauthorized modification, destruction, disruption, or disclosure - whether
accidental or intentional. The use of these systems is a privilege, not a right, and may be revoked
at any time.

STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES

College Responsibilities
The College assumes the responsibility to ensure the integrity of its computing systems,
workstations, and facilities. Since no system is absolutely secure, however, usage will be
monitored to ensure that irresponsible users cannot affect the performance and integrity of other
accounts and other users' information or the systems themselves.
User Responsibilities
Each user is solely responsible for the usage incurred through his/her account/workstation.
Individuals, who intentionally abuse accounts and privileges, degrade system performance,
misappropriate resources, or interfere in any way with the operation of the technology, are
subject to penalties. If you ever discover what may be a security lapse in our systems, please
report your concerns to the Office of Information Technology at once;
Privacy Statement
Each user is assigned one or more confidential passwords intended to restrict access to files and
systems, including e-mail. However, students and employees should have no expectation of
privacy of documents stored on computer systems or in messages sent across the network. The
College has the absolute and unconditional right to investigate, review and monitor these
materials including, but not limited to: eradication of computer viruses; data access, backup and
restoration; hardware and software inventory procedures, including scans for unlicensed software
installations; installations, maintenance, updates and repair; investigations relating to compliance
with College policies, including the College’s technology policies, and investigation of criminal,
unlawful, or unauthorized activities as directed by local, state or federal authorities, or by the
senior management of the College.

Standards for Computer Usage

Access and use of College computing systems and services is defined below. It applies equally to
all users of College owned and operated information systems and equipment.
1. Any access prohibited by state or federal law is unauthorized.
2. Any access or use in support of activities that are prohibited by state or federal law is
unauthorized.
3. Individuals who willfully cause loss to authorized account holders by unauthorized
access or use shall be held financially responsible for the cost of restoring that user's data,
programs, and account balance.
Violators who are members of the College community will be subject to disciplinary action
under College regulations applying to their respective status within the College. All violators will
be subject to prosecution under any local, state, or federal laws that apply.

Computer Abuse
The following are examples of computer abuse (this list is illustrative and not meant to be all-
inclusive):
1. Unauthorized use of account and/or password, including but not limited to, ineligibility.
2. Individual accounts cannot be transferred to or used by another person.
3. Attempting to gain access to privileged areas or to accounts that do not belong to you.
4. Frivolous, disturbing, or otherwise inconsiderate conduct including extensive use of
workstations, playing games, sending nuisance messages, wasteful or unauthorized use of
College supported facilities.
 5. Possession or use of programs capable of fraudulently simulating system responses;
modification of or possession of systems control information, especially that which
reflects program state, status, or accounting; attempts to modify or crash the system.
6. Any violation of the NYIT Student or Employee Code of Conduct which involves
technology resources.
7. Use of College resources for non-College related commercial purposes is strictly
prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, development of programs, data processing
or computations for non-College-related commercial use, and preparation and/or
presentation of advertising materials not related to the College;
8. Using College resources to gain unauthorized access to other systems;
9. Attempting to read another person’s e-mail or other protected files;
10. Using equipment to send obscene or harassing messages,
11. Copying, storing, displaying or distributing copyrighted materials using College
computer systems or networks without the express permission of the copyright owner,
except as otherwise allowed by copyright law, is strictly prohibited;
12. Using technology for any unethical, illegal or criminal purposes;

Computing Facilities Access and Use Policies

Access to computer facilities by any individual may be restricted or denied for, but not limited
to, the following reasons:
 Unauthorized changes to computing facility hardware or software, including but not
limited to: disconnecting/reconnecting or reconfiguring hardware; theft; removing,
changing, or reconfiguring files on drives; damaging laboratory hardware or software.
 Failure to observe policies, procedures, and protocol, including but not limited to:
refusing to leave the laboratory promptly at closing time;
refusing to respond to, or responding inappropriately to requests made by facility staff
(i.e., a request to move to another machine, to limit output pages to the printer, etc.), in
the normal course of carrying out their job responsibilities; using threatening or abusive
language or behavior directed at anyone in the facility.
 Attempts to bypass security measures, such as access permissions to files, or obtaining
permissions or account attributes with or without authorization.

Violations of this code, including the above lists, may lead to any of the following disciplinary
measures:
 Any employee found to be in violation of any of the terms of these policies will be
subject to suspension of your access and disciplinary action, up to and including
suspension or termination of employment and, if warranted, referral to the appropriate
law enforcement agency.
 Violators who are members of the College community will be subject to disciplinary
action under College regulations applying to their respective status within the College.
All violators will be subject to prosecution under any local, state, or federal laws that
apply
  Termination of a program or online session. NYIT may log off an irresponsible user.
Similarly, a harmful job running under the operating system may be cancelled without
notice.
 Inactivation of an account-ID.
 Reduction of allocations or restrictions of account privileges.

Reference: (https://wifi-registration.nyit.edu/registration/index-registration.jsp)
Part B

An Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is an important document in which governs students’

use of the Internet at school and it covers a wide range of issues surrounding the rights,

responsibilities, and privileges connected with computer use. An AUP contains topics, such as,

guidelines for the proper use of Internet searches, downloads, and browsing, rules in relation to

the use of email, phones, tablets, and online games (2017).

Developing and implementing an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is one of the best ways to

keep the Internet safe by teaching responsible use of the Internet. An AUP should acknowledge

that schools have attempted to limit access to inappropriate material and it should also address

issues of appropriate conduct online (Why Have a Technology Policy in Your School or Library?

| Librarians). Acceptable Use Policies help to establish a set of guidelines for the use of Internet

access and may help to establish or limit the extent of the schools or staff’s liability.

According to the website, eductaionworld.com, The National Association suggests that

an effective AUP contains six key elements. These six elements are as follows, a preamble, a

definition section, a policy statement, an acceptable uses section, an unacceptable uses section,

and a violation/sanctions section. The preamble explains why the policy is needed and its goals.

The definition section defines key words used in the policy. A policy statement must tell what

computer services are covered by the AUP and the circumstances under which students can use

computer service. The acceptable uses section must define appropriate student use of the

computer network. In the unacceptable uses section, the AUP should give clear, specific

examples of what constitutes unacceptable student use. The violation/sanctions section should

tell students how to report violations of the policy or whom to questions about its application

(Getting Started on the Internet: Acceptable Use Policies | Education World).

 The purpose of digital tools is to manage, gather, evaluate, and synthesize information, in

which includes the abilities to: plan strategies to guide inquiry, locate, organize, analyze,

evaluate, synthesize and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media, evaluate

and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks,

and process data and repost results. The use of digital tools increases critical thinking and data

management skills. The use of digital tools improves reading comprehension, students

achievement, and thinking and learning skills, such as organizing and communicating ideas

(Collins). Digital tools allow educators to differentiate for each student.

References
(n.d.). Retrieved August 7, 2018, from

https://wifi-registration.nyit.edu/registration/PortalIndex.jsp

Collins, S. (n.d.). How digital tools prepare students for the 21st century. Retrieved August 6, 2018,

from

http://www.inspiration.com/sites/default/files/documents/How_Digital_Tools_Prepare_Students

_for_the_21st_Century.pdf

Getting Started on the Internet: Acceptable Use Policies | Education World. (n.d.). Retrieved August

6, 2018, from https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr093.shtml

What is an Acceptable Use Policy? A brief explanation. (2017, November 30). Retrieved August 6,

2018, from https://www.webwise.ie/teachers/what-is-an-acceptable-use-policy-2/

Why Have a Technology Policy in Your School or Library? | Librarians. (n.d.). Retrieved August 6,

2018, from http://www.scholastic.com/librarians/tech/techpolicy.htm