Primary Purpose
The primary purpose of the computing facilities at Illinois College is to further the educational and research missions of the Illinois College community. By providing computing resources and services, Illinois College has made a serious and substantial investment in its students, faculty and staff. We all have an obligation to respect that investment.
Computing Policies
- Illinois College reserves the right to limit access to its networks.
- Where feasible, Illinois College will remove or limit access to material on Illinois College owned computers that violates other applicable Illinois College policies or code, contractual obligations or state and federal laws.
- Where time is of the essence, temporary restrictive actions may be taken by systems or network administrator(s) pending decisions of Illinois College administrators or other appropriate authorities or until the matter is finally adjudicated.
Inappropriate Use of College Computers and Network Systems
The computing facilities are not to be used for the following activities:
- Illegal or fraudulent purposes
- Large Mailings
- Tying up work stations
- Large print jobs
- Forged mail or postings
- Personal or commercial gain
- Printers used as copiers
- Giving out passwords
- Software piracy
- Unlicensed copying of copyrighted material
Email
Every student enrolled at Illinois College is assigned an official Illinois College email address. Important campus-wide announcements and emails from faculty and staff are sent to students via this official email address. Each student is responsible for regularly checking this email account. To protect students’ privacy, the college only uses the @ic.edu email address to communicate official business with Illinois College students.
Respecting Privacy
Only authorized users have access to administrative data. Examining and/or making unauthorized changes to this data are direct violations of Illinois College’s standards of ethical conduct. Unauthorized access to another person’s account to view their files, forging email messages and posting inappropriate material to social media sites are also violations of these standards.
Obeying Copyright Laws
It is against the law to copy commercial software that has not been placed in public domain or distributed as freeware. Software piracy injures all of us. It reduces the incentives for the software industry to invest in new software projects; it substantially reduces the willingness of vendors to support computing at Illinois College through attractive discount programs and it makes us vulnerable to criminal prosecution. But worse than any of these, software piracy is morally wrong. Indeed, it is ethically indistinguishable from shoplifting or theft.
Sharing of Limited Resources
While Illinois College enjoys a high-quality computing environment, during peak periods demand for computing resources may exceed supply. Be sensitive to the needs of all those who seek to use Illinois College’s resources, and limit your use of these resources to performing only the most essential academic tasks during periods of peak demand.
Civil Standards of Communication
Within the broad context of free academic discussion and debate, communications between members of the College community are expected to reflect high ethical standards and mutual respect and civility. It makes no difference whether the communication medium is a face-to-face exchange or a local or national computer network. The use of obscene, racist or sexist language clearly violates the ethical standards of the Illinois College community and is as inappropriate for computer-mediated communication as for other forms of College discourse.
Violations of Intellectual Integrity Related to Use of Computers or Network Systems
- Accessing, or attempting to access, another individual’s or entity’s data or information without proper authorization regardless of the means by which this is accomplished; and to give another individual the means with which to access such data or information.
- Supplying, or attempting to supply, false or misleading information or identification in order to access computers or network systems, or to access data or information stored in or transmitted across computers or network systems.
- Improperly obtaining another’s password or improperly obtaining or using another’s password to access computers or network systems or to access data or information stored in or transmitted across computers or network systems.
- Inspecting, modifying, distributing or copying proprietary data or software without proper authorization. It is also a violation to give another individual the means by which to inspect, modify, distribute or copy proprietary data or software.
- Subverting or obstructing, or attempting to subvert or obstruct, the operation of any computer or network system such as by introducing a virus, worm or other rogue program in the system; or modifying, altering or otherwise tampering with the system’s hardware or software; or hoarding computer or network resources.
- Initiating or encouraging the promulgation of chain letters or other types of electronic broadcast messages.
Policy on Responsible Use of Electronic Communications Services
The College may restrict the use of its computers and network systems for electronic communications, that is, the communicating or posting of information or material by way of electronic mail, social media or other such electronic tools, when faced with evidence of violations of other College policies or codes or state or federal laws. The College reserves the right to limit access to its networks through College owned or other computers and to remove or limit access to material posted on College owned computers.
The College encourages all members of its community to use electronic communications in a manner that is respectful to others. The College also wishes to enforce its policies regarding harassment and the safety of individuals, to protect the College against seriously damaging or legal consequences, to prevent the posting of proprietary software or the postings of electronic copies of literary works in disregard of copyright restrictions or contractual obligations and to safeguard the integrity of computer, networks and data, either at the College or elsewhere.
Computers and network systems offer powerful tools for communication among members of the College community and of communities outside of the College. When used appropriately, these tools can enhance dialogue and communications. When used unlawfully or inappropriately, however, these tools can infringe on the beliefs or rights of others.
The College cannot protect individuals against the existence or receipt of material that may be offensive to them. As such, those who make use of electronic communications are warned that they may willingly or unwillingly come across or be recipients of material they find offensive.
The College cannot control the posting of material on computers it does not own, even if such computers are attached directly to College networks. The College may, however, limit access to such networks.
Furthermore, the College, cannot, in general, prevent the transmission of electronic communications across its networks based on the content of material transmitted, whether or not such material originates inside or outside of the College.
